Bruno Mars, the R&B crooner that brought us the massive smash singles “Grenade”, “Just the Way You Are”, “Marry You” and from the Twilight soundtrack “It Will Rain“, drops his sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox today. Judging by the album’s successful lead single “Locked Out of Heaven” it seems Mars isn’t facing the dreaded sophomore slump with his new release. The album -a riskier, grittier take on his signature sound- offers 10 sexually charged and perfectly selected tracks. Since his debut Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Mars has impressed critics and a growing loyal audience with his genius blend of vintage and modern. Delivering his tracks with throwback choreography and production, then mixing it with…

Congratulations go out to Lady Antebellum‘s Hillary Scott and her husband, drummer Chris Tyrrell, who announced that they are expecting their first child later next year. The pair made the announcement exactly 11-months after their January 7th wedding in upstate New York. Hillary posted the new on the band’s website, saying: Chris & I are excited to announce that our Christmas gift has arrived a little early this year! We are having a BABY! We feel so blessed!!! – Hillary I’m sure this will be an exciting new adventure for Hillary, her husband and her bandmates. Get Lady Antebellum’s Christmas record On This Winter’s Night now on iTunes.

You may remember the sweet-voiced songstress Marié Digby from the acoustic version of Rihanna‘s hit single “Umbrella” that was featured on MTV’s The Hills or her sugary-sweet single “Say It Again” from the 2008 release Unfold. Since then, Digby has continued to fill the ears of her fans with her musical gift and has spent a significant amount of time touring in Asia. Early this week, Digby delivered her new video for the single “First Picture of Earth”, an emotional and spiritual clip that was shot in Yosemite National Park. The video beautifully illustrates the gorgeous track. Whether Marié is covering a massive R&B hit or delivering a soaring vocal…

If you anxiously awaited the “Exclusive World Premiere” of the new video from will.i.am and Britney Spears during last night’s episode of ‘The X Factor‘, I’m guessing you were probably pretty disappointed to find that the clip had been edited down to a one-chorus version of the party anthem and Spears looks none to pleased to be showing it off. I mean I suppose it’s understandable, right? The show is called The X Factor and is packed full of talentless wannabes -with the exception of Carly Rose Sonenclar and Simon Cowell’s groups- so why dedicate a full 5 minutes (of the 2 hour show) to two of the industry’s actual…

Josiah Leming is no stranger to the Tragic Kingdom. Over the summer, I featured the prodigy-like talent’s release of a series of singles, including the radio-worthy “Love Me Or Not” and catchy-chorused “High“. And with the release of his latest, “Twenty Twelve Eleven“, the put-it-all-out-there songwriter strips it down and delivers a raw performance of a track that’s much more personal than the previously mentioned summer jams. As the singer works on the follow up to his one-year old Another Life LP, Leming will hit the road in 2013 to spend time with the people he cares most about: his fans. Watch the video, which was shot at the House Of Rock…

On Wednesday, the “Turn Back Time” legend known only as Cher released her new single “Woman’s World”. Due to international leaks of early mixes of the single, Warner Brothers rushed its final mix and delivered it one day before Thanksgiving – which I am guessing left some Cher fans very thankful. The song -a woman-empowering club anthem with striking beats and slamming synths- is the first from the performer’s new album, which is set to drop in 2013 and includes songs written by other power-pop divas Lady Gaga and P!nk. “Woman’s World” was written by Anthony Crawford, Paul Oakenfold and Matt Morris. Yes, that Matt Morris – the one I…

First off, I apologize for missing the Wednesday Wrap Up last week. A nasty cold got the best of me and I was down for the count. But in an effort to get you all caught up, I’m serving up two giant helpings of all of the biggest headlines in music over the past two weeks. Just click the links below to get all the news you’re looking for – and there’s a lot of good stuff here, so grab a turkey leg, a slice of Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie and enjoy!Here’s some of the week’s biggest headlines and stories:– The new season of NBC’s SMASH is returning on February 5th with…

It’s no secret that Nashville is packed full of talent, but while most of the attention that falls on Music City is reserved for its Country royalty, the city has earned major street-cred in other genres this year as well. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine named Nashville the nation’s Best Music Scene early this year and GQ featured the city’s scene in an 8-page editorial spread. Rockers Jack White, Kings of Leon and The Black Keys all proudly call Nashville home, as does pop’s Ke$ha and a slew of well-known singer-songwriters. So when it came time for the Princess of R&B to look for talented folks to appear on her latest record, it…