Fantasia Four 'American Idol' winner
Fantasia will be mining for Grammy gold at tonight’s 48th annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The High Point, NC native, who won on the wildly popular show’s third season, is up for four awards in the R&B category. “It’s a blessing,” Fantasia told Black Voices yesterday, while on the red carpet at music mogul
Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy bash at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “Because it’s my second year in the industry and my first album and all of that is so early, and to be nominated not one, not two, not three but four [times], and even if I don’t take none of them home, it’s a blessing to be a nominee against so many talented, awesome people.”
Since the Dec. 2004 release of her critically acclaimed debut, ‘Free Yourself,’ the 21-year old single mother (of a daughter, 4-year old Zion) has been on a
whirlwind; touring the country with pros such as
Kem
and the ubiquitous Kanye West; gracing the cover of ‘Essence’ magazine; and even penning her memoir (‘Life Is Not A Fairy Tale’).
Fantasia is also scheduled to perform during the much buzzed about
Sly & the Family Stone tribute. While remaining modest about her nominations, she revealed that a win in ‘Best Traditional R&B Song’ category --for her striking rendition of the Gershwin classic ‘Summertime’-- would be significant. “It was just a song that I put a lot into,” she said. “You know you don’t get a lot of young people my age that go way back with a song like that and try to perform it. So that’s the one that I’m really, really rooting for and I really want to win for that.” It was her show stopping version of the standard that took her to the final round on ‘American Idol’, and subsequently made her a household name.
Big MissionKanye West
is confirmed to perform the theme song for ‘Mission: Impossible III,” which is scheduled to hit theaters May 5, and stars
Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, and
Laurence Fishburne. “As a fan of Kanye's work, I was thrilled at the prospect of him contributing his talents to 'M:I:III,” Cruise said. “We wanted to take this installment of 'Mission' to the next level and Kanye's music definitely added to accomplishing that goal. As we've done with the film, what he's done with the 'Mission' theme is going to blow people away." West, who is nominated for eight phonographs this year, continues the tradition of artists re-interpreting the classic theme, as
U2 did in 1996 for "Mission: Impossible," followed by
Limp Bizkit in 2000 for "M:I-2." "My goal is to take the 'Mission' franchise and re-interpret it to make a movie that is familiar, but absolutely brand new,” director
JJ Abrams –who helmed hit TV shows ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’-- added. “Kanye has done just that with his version of the classic
Lalo Schifrin theme and we're thrilled to be working with him."
New Bag For IceIce Cube
will release his seventh solo CD, ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later,’ on June 6. According to his publicist, the platinum selling rapper and actor will release the 18-track disc via his independently owned label, Lench Mob Records. ‘Laugh Now,’ will feature collaborations with in-demand producers
Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz and
Lil' Jon, along with cameos from
Snoop Dogg and
WC. A single and video for a track titled ‘Chrome & Paint’ have been serviced to underground outlets, while the official first single will be the Storch produced ‘Why We Thugs,’ Cube’s social commentary about guns, drugs and politics. In the late 1980s, Cube (born Oshea Jackson) fronted the seminal West Coast rap outfit
N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude). Since then he has gone on to star in many films, most notably
John Singleton's ‘Boyz N’ The Hood’ and the successful ‘Friday’ and ‘Barbershop’ urban franchises, which he produced. His last recording, the multi-platinum-selling double disc ‘War & Peace,’ was released in 2004 and concluded his partnership with Priority Records, a subsidiary of Capitol/EMI.
Motown’s Big CannonNick Cannon has signed to Motown Records. The label’s President
Sylvia Rhone made the announcement of a joint venture called Can I Ball/Motown Records. "Nick is one of the most extraordinary, multi-talented stars in the entire entertainment business," said Rhone. "His charismatic presence, his endless reservoir of talent, his boundless creative depth and sensitivity toward the human condition makes this a seminal signing for us. Nick's tremendous poise and business acumen also ensures the Can I Ball imprint is destined to become a vital component of the Motown legacy." Cannon, largely known as a movie (‘Drumline’) and TV (‘Wild N’ Out’)
star, was previously signed to Jive Records, where he released hip-hop themed tracks for a full length project that never materialized. The Motown disc will share the same title as the proposed set, ‘Stages,’ and will be released this spring, featuring collaborations with
Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Anthony Hamilton and
112. "I'm thrilled to be able to work with such a passionate, monumental executive like Sylvia Rhone," Cannon said. “The new team she has put together at Motown has hit the ground running, and I'm excited to be launching this venture with such a capable and inspiring group of people who love music.”
New DestinyMichelle Williams and
Kelly Rowland of
Destiny's Child will appear on popular UPN sitcoms ‘Half & Half’ and ‘Girlfriends,’ respectively this month. Williams makes her television acting debut in a three-episode arc of ‘Half & Half’ starting Feb. 13. In the episode ‘The Big My Funny Valentine Episode,’ she plays a record producer named Naomi Dawson, who has a secret rendezvous with one of the show’s lead characters. Williams previously starred on Broadway in
Elton John and
Tim Rice’s ‘Aida.’ Rowland, who appeared on ‘Eve’ in 2003-- will play Tammy Hilton , an ambitious young woman seeking an apprenticeship with lead character Joan Clayton, played by
Tracee Ellis Ross.
Arthel Neville also appears on the show, which airs Feb. 20.
