FRIDAY R&B SCOOP ...

Did y'all notice my dumb ass mistake? Yesterday, I put that it was Friday when it was actually Thursday. I genuinely believed that yesterday was Friday which is why I was wishing my thousands of visitors a good weekend. Doh! No I'm not on the pipe, but I have had a few things running through my head as of late. Never mind. Anyway, I'm feeling lost without American Idol. Friday nights will never be the same, and just when I thought that we had Big Brother 8 to compensate for the loss, the show was outright rubbish - no hot fellas? An all-female house? Hell no. Screaming hormonal bitches acting like they just saw Brad Pitt. I don't even think I can carry on watching this mess. I think I'm going to hold out until The X-Factor comes back on in order to get my next weekly Reality fix.

Anyway, Rihanna mania just keeps coming and coming and the mainstream media just can't seem to get enough of Rih-Rih. She's a bonafide superstar now. There's no doubt about it. Chick is making history, moving mountains, making pigs fly and setting world records with her catchy hot new single "Umbrella". And as Umbrella continues to steam the charts all over the world, Rihanna is also setting pulses racing with her sexiest ever photoshoot. Here is her super hot new photoshoot in the latest Giant magazine:



In the latest issue of Giant she talks about her father's addiction to cocaine and that internet rumour about her alleged "affair" with her mentor Jay-Z which also reportedly caused the rift between her and rival Beyonce. Here's what she had to say on that: "I guess it's just the affiliation with him. Being a female and being on his label and having a close business relationship. I guess that sparks the rumors. I'm guessing. Because there's no other way. At first it was funny, like Ah this is so funny! Why would they think this? Really? Ew. Then it was like they're still talking about this? This is getting a little frustrating now. Can they cut this out? Because it got really intense where people just weren't letting up. Then it turned into a "beef" between me and Beyonce. I was like where are these people going with this? This is crazy." You can read more tidbits by going to Giant's official website. And if you want to check out the interview in full, you will just have to buy the June/July issue. The rest of the shoot is after the jump, as well as a brand new gorgeous shoot that Ciara did for Instyle.

And here are the *OFFICIAL* pictures of Rihanna on her video shoot for new single Shut Up & Drive:

[click images for bigger viewing: images via oh-rihanna.com]

Oh wow, she's knocking 'em dead. This looks hot and Rih-Rih looks simply amazing. I still cannot stand SUAD but once I see the vid (in which Def Jam has splashed $600,000 on), I may feel differently. I still say Don't Stop The Music would have made for a better 2nd single but things are only what you make of them, so who knows? Come to think of it, I am just realising how it all looks like a scene from Fast & The Furious. I bet this is what they were trying to make it look like. Head on over to Oh-Rihanna to see more pictures.

More pictures of Rihanna sees the sexy star take her image to another level:

I guess she truly is living up to the "good girl gone bad" role. The second picture where she's in the underwear vacuuming would have made the perfect album cover because at least it lives up to the album title unlike the actual cover. I cannot wait for her performance at the MTV Movie Awards in 2 days time. And if she doesn't do at least gold in first week album sales I will be hella shocked.

Ciara is in the June edition of Instyle magazine and here is the beautiful photoshoot that she did for the magazine:

[images via urban-hoopla.com]

I haven't seen a beautiful shoot from Ciara since lawd knows when but these are definitely a step-up.

The night before saw Diddy gather up all of his Bad Boy entertainment artists (except for Danity Kane and B5) for an Bad Boy UpFront party. The artists in attendance included Mario, Cassie and Cheri Dennis:

Cassie looked cute but I'm not sure if those bangs are quite working for her. Her mentor/producer Ryan Leslie was right by her side, and Cherri Dennis looked a hot shitty mess. I didn't even know the chick was still on Bad Boy. What happened to her album? And why wasn't Danity Kane at the event? Just food for thought.

Ne-yo celebrated The Grand Opening Of Carrington House which took place on May 30, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia:

Following the success of his sophomore album, Because of You, Ne-yo has expanded his horizons by opening up a new recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia simply called Carrington House. It will be a haven for new recording artists on his new recording label called Compound Entertainment (what's with all these R&B artists starting up record labels - first Usher, then Justin Timberlake and now Ne-yo). Included in Carrington House will be three state-of-the-art recording studios, two kitchens, and a lounge to relax in between recording sessions. Ne-Yo's Compound Entertainment includes up and coming R&B artists Paula Campbell (pictured above), Sixx John, and Shanell.

Jennifer Hudson surprised her idol Patti Labelle with a performance during her 63rd birthday celebration at Love Night Club in Washington DC this week:

Patti was astonished with Jennifer's' appearance and was brought to tears during her performance. Patti is Jennifer's inspiration so it was quite nice to see these two powerhouses having some fun together. Bliss.

R&B Bites

1. Michael Jackson OWNS Eminem!!! The King of Pop has bought a stake in Eminem's catalog, so not only does MJ OWN The Beatles, but he now owns the rights to songs by Shakira, Beck, and Bjork. Ha! And people were saying his ass is broke. Oh and Eminem, you can visually parody MJ all you like but he will be making money off your punk ass from now on and much more than what he actually paid for it too. Who gets the last laugh now hmmm? [READ MORE]

2. Fancy some Disney-cheese? OK, so this may not be hardcore Disney-cheese but check it out anyway. Ex-Cheetah girl Raven Symone's new track Got It Girl.

Stay tuned for more of your latest R&B Bites.