Rihanna - Rated R

Can’t wait until Monday, November 23 when Rihanna’s long-awaited fourth album, Rated R, hits store shelves? Don’t live in Germany where the album comes out today? You’re in luck!

To ease the painful two-day wait, Rihanna and her label home Def Jam are offering fans a chance to listen to the full album right now — and legally! — in an exclusive listening party on her official website RihannaNow.com.

Also bringing you the exclusive first listen is mobile company Nokia. Earlier in the week Rihanna performed a kick-ass concert in London previewing tracks from the album, like the first single “Russian Roulette,” “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard” with Young Jeezy joining her on stage.

Head over to Nokia.com/Rihanna to see the performance again.

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a new recording artist navigating their way through the fast paced music industry? There’s photo shoots, rehearsals and recording your actual album. Take an exclusive look at Capitol Record’s new r&b/pop star Jaicko as he begins his musical journey in a Neon Limelight three part webisode series.

First up, see the Barbados native as he hits the recording studio to record his epic first single Oh Yeah and album track Air. Both songs are taken from Jaicko’s debut album, Can I, currently scheduled for a January 2010 release.

Stay tuned for part two next week!

Coming down with an illness during album release week is probably one of the worst feelings for a music star. If you don’t cancel countless appearances, you’ll have to find a way to successfully manage back to back performances.

Leona Lewis, the usually spot-on live performer, was forced to lip-sync during her Dancing With The Stars results show performance earlier this week due to an illness and it looks like she isn’t quite over that sickness.

Although some portions of her Happy performance on the Ellen DeGeneres show looks and sounds live, all signs points to a pre-recorded backing track when several adlibs are missed. But Leona’s past track record gives her a pass.

Leona is busy promoting her new album, Echo, that landed in stores this week.

Black Eyed Peas - Wireimage

The Black Eyed Peas were on hand to perform during the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that took place last night (November 19) in New York City. But it wasn’t all work for the chart topping 4-some. They got to eye some wicked fashions–and models while joining fellow music stars like Keri Hilson, Adrienne Bailon and Gavin DeGraw on the plush pink carpet!

Keri Hilson

Adrienne Bailon

Gavin DeGraw

Jared Followill, Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon, Jay Sean and Dr. Dre

photos: wireimage, getty images

Adam Lambert - Getty Images

Adam Lambert won’t even have an album out by Sunday, November 22, but he’s already one of the main draws for this year’s American Music Awards.

The breakout star of American Idol season 8 will perform his new single, the sizzling “For Your Entertainment,” live for the first time on the big stage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, joining other big names as performers like Whitney Houston, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna.

He rehearsed the performance tonight (November 19) with a bunch of sexy dancers backing him. Just judging by the photos, the performance looks steaming hot!

Check out photos from rehearsals below:

photos: getty images

The promotional stops for her new album, She Wolf, never end for Shakira. She was spotted out and about in New York leaving an appearance at Good Morning America where she performed her new singles “She Wolf” and “Did It Again.”

Chris Brown’s show at the Avalon in Los Angeles was a sold-out success despite what some media outlets want everyone to believe. After the show, he was snapped being whisked away to his hotel to catch up on his sleep before appearing in court later the next day to give a progress report on his probation.

Keri Hilson, who joined Chris Brown on stage in LA, was seen leaving the Avalon. She smiled and flashed the peace sign for the hungry paps.

It’s going to be a good week for John Mayer. He released his highly anticipated new album, Battle Studies (we kinda love it!), and he’s making a ton of appearances to promote the album, which is projected to come in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. He was seen arriving for his performance on the Late Show with David Letterman, scheduled to air later tonight.

Taylor Swift was in London yesterday promoting her mega-successful sophomore album’s re-release. According to PacificCoastNews.com, the 19-year-old country-pop darling disappointed a young fan by declining to sign an autograph, even after the fan shouted she had waited for over 11 hours outside of her hotel. Total sad face! Maybe Taylor did hear her…

Katy Perry looked fiery in red as she played host at Samsung’s Behold II launch event last night in Los Angeles at Boulevard3.

photos: wireimage, getty images, pacific coast news

Oh, Marie Digby! How we love thee! She can take just about any song and flip it to make an acoustic masterpiece out of it. And, oh yeah, she also has two albums of original material, Unfold and Breathing Underwater, that are just as amazing as her covers.

Electro-pop breakout star Owl City is the latest artist to have a hit song Digby-fied. With her handy Macbook cam rolling and guitar in hand, Marie turned with sensitive, synth-filled “Fireflies” into an even more gorgeous, stripped down lullaby.

Check out her brilliant version above and keep watching until the end to see when and where you can catch Marie on the road.

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Bauer-Griffin

Jay-Z has seen the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart before as a featured guest with Mariah Carey, Beyonce, and Rihanna, but this time it has to be just a little bit sweeter.

The New York-born rapper earns his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist with his city’s new anthem “Empire State of Mind,” from his latest album The Blueprint 3. The track, which features Alicia Keys, is still performing strongly digitally and blowing up at radio, topping the Hot 100 Airplay chart this week.

“Empire State of Mind” also marks Keys’ fourth trek to the top of the chart, joining past singles “Fallin’,” “My Boo” with Usher, and “No One.”

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
2. Owl City – Fireflies
3. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
4. Iyaz – Replay
5. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
6. Britney Spears – 3
7. Jay Sean – Down
8. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
9. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
10. Ke$ha – Tik Tok

Allison Iraheta may be a ’90s baby but her video for “Friday I’ll Be Over U,” the first single from her debut album, Just Like You, is totally ’80s.

The 17-year-old singer, who came in fourth place on American Idol season 8, pays serious homage to the music videos of arguably the most stylish decade with wicked splashes of color and sketching reminiscent of the A-Ha classic “Take On Me.”

The only thing bad about the video is that it makes you wonder why the same awesomeness wasn’t put into the album’s packaging. Allison’s fire and spunk are uncontainable in the video, yet the album cover paints her in a more timid, even dull light.

Matter not! It’s what’s on the CD that counts, right? (You can get a sample of the album here.)

Check out the brutal hotness of Allison’s video above and get her album when it hits stores on December 1.

John Mayer - Battle Studies

It must be nice to be John Mayer. He’s an unbelievable guitarist, a pretty funny amateur comedian, and even when he makes what may be one of his least memorable albums to date, it’s still pretty damn good.

When listening to John Mayer’s previous work, its generally not hard to guess what he listens to for inspiration. Based on his style, approach, and covers during the span of his career, he’s probably gone through phases in which his ipod has been stuck on everything encompassing folk, soul, blues, and of course, rock n roll.

So what was he listening to during the months he spent recording his new album in his rented Los Angeles home? Probably a lot of John Mayer. Not that that’s a bad thing.

On Battle Studies, Mayer continues to churn out well crafted and articulate soft rock, minus some of the class and soul of Continuum or the fire and rawness of his far-too-brief trio excursion on Try!

With his latest release, Mayer tries to show us his sensitive side by likening his emotional trials and tribulations to a constant metaphorical war, often juxtaposed with upbeat, easy to swallow pop tunes. Despite Mayer’s gift for guitar, he tones it down a bit this time around. Don’t expect anything too over the top, save for a few echoed guitars that sound like they were produced by U2 themselves.

As always, he’s at his best when he drops the dramatics and sticks to his honest and quirky self. Songs like “Who Says” and “Do You Know Me” are welcomed breaks from songs about assassins of love and heartbreak-bombs. It’s the short, intimate, and honest little bursts of creativity on this album that remind us that Mayer is more than just a pop heartthrob.

The truth is, Mayer is a funky guy, no matter how hard he tries to hide it, and he lets it loose on his cover of the Robert Johnson classic “Crossroads.”  Unfortunately, right now, funky is not his prerogative.

For better or worse, the majority of the album focuses on Mayer’s failed relationship with Jennifer Aniston, or what could very likely be any number of young ladies that most people will assume are Jennifer Aniston. But no matter, after a few listens clever albeit cheesy songs like “Half of my Heart,” which features Taylor Swift, become more catchy than anything.

By the end of the closing ballad “Friends, Lovers, or Nothing,” you probably wouldn’t fight someone if they wanted to replay the album, which would be a good decision because it only gets better with more listens. Despite any personal drama he may have suffered, John Mayer clearly hasn’t been beaten up enough to stop doing what he does best. Making good music.