Jason Derulo Says No to the Friendzone

It's official, Jordin Sparks and Jason Derulo might be the most likable couple in R&B...sorry Nick and Mariah. I've always enjoyed JD's pop zeal and MJ-esque dance moves on stage, but in addition to that, it's hard not to cheer for a dude that broke his neck practicing his stage act. The good news is he's back and about to release a third studio album. Below is his recently released lead single, The Other Side, off his yet-to-be-titled album and a little behind the scenes action on the video for the single...

I can appreciate the message of the song because there are a lot of guys out there who willingly get stuck in the dreaded "friendzone." You know that area that guys are sometimes willing to patiently remain in hopes that there will be some more the friends type stuff happening down the road. Hopefully this song inspires more people to just take the gamble and push the issue without regard for whether or not there will be a friendship afterwards. If you want to date the girl, actively see if she's willing to fill that role, or else be content with her toying with you and target someone else. I'll be here all week for relationship advice, holler atcha boy...#FreeAdvice

Jason Derulo - The Other Side

Videos of the Week July 6th

Critics have never been shy in calling @kanyewest a genius as an artist, but now I think the credit he receives should be broadened to include his general managing skills. Signing under-appreciated free agent @PUSHA_T, reinvented @2chainz and up and coming @bigsean have all proved to be positive moves so far. This week @g_o_o_d_music continued their ascension with their performance at the @bet awards. That performance combined with the much hyped, high-budget video for @davidguetta's new single featuring the gyrations of @chrisbrown were the two big highlights video wise in the past week.

If you're a fan of Hip Hop dance you'll probably enjoy @justicedanccrew's new Boom Boom video. Also, I found it really hard not smiling when watching @JordinSparks's new Celebrate video that featured the last acting ever done by Whitney Houston in Sparkle. Kudos for the music industry as a whole for doing as many tributes as humanly possibly to honor one of the most influential artists in R&B history.

David Guetta feat Chris Brown &Lil Wayne – I Can Only Imagine (Video)

G.O.O.D. Music Performs at BET Awards

Justice Crew - Boom Boom (prod by David Guetta) (Video)

Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks - Celebrate
(From Motion Picture Sparkle) (Video)

Wale & Meek Mill feat French Montana - Actin Up (Video)

Videos of the Week March 2nd

For one, I've evidently been riding the short bus because I totally missed that @JASONDERULO and @jordinsparks were dating. Put it this way, anyone who didn't realize they were dating, definitely does after watching their new remix duet video for It Girl. Other than that little tidbit of knowledge I gained this week, you may have missed @wizardcud's rant vs his record label as a result of the lack of promotion his new album WZRD received. It sounds like his label undersold the potential of his newest record and the estimated 80K sales that it's projected to get first week may even be a little low as a result. As per the usual, I mixed in the obligatory Drizzy concert video and even snuck in a #kendrick_lamar performance. It only their tour looped around to Philly somehow before going overseas...#Fail

Jason Derulo feat Jordin Sparks - It Girl (Remix)

Drake Performs Crew Love in New Orleans

WZRD Listening Sessions in NYC at W.i.P. Feb 23rd

Kendrick Lamar Performs Hii Power in New Orleans

Young Jeezy feat Ne-Yo - Leave You Alone (Trailer)

Jennifer Hudson feat Rick Ross & Ne-Yo - Think Like a Man (Video)

Ryan Tedder - I Am a Woman (Jordin Sparks Demo)

Being someone who prides themselves in giving limelight to talented individuals who don't get quite as big a piece of the credit pie as they deserve, it's not a coincidence that I write about Ryan Tedder frequently. I'd venture a guess that 90% of the people who are fans of @OneRepublic don't even know that he is the lead singer or that he does a lot of producing for other artists.

I'll take it a step further and say it takes some balls for any man to proudly demo a track titled I Am a Woman. Not just demo the track either, own it and rock it the F word out like you are proudly exclaiming your race from high atop a mountaintop. Put it this way, if I were to compare it to @jordinsparks's version, it'd probably be a push...

You be the judge, Who Rocked it Better? Demo version or published version?

Ryan Tedder - I Am a Woman (Jordin Sparks Demo)

Ryan Tedder is the Man

Find me a better all around artist/group member/demo singer/writer and producer than Ryan Tedder. Dude does it all, he's been behind countless singles that have blow up on the radio and oh yea, ya he's also the lead singer for One Republic. I like how he's got a whole album's worth of hits listed on his wiki page as sort of a footnote that is explained as "Other Songs performed by Ryan Tedder". If you haven't heard his version of the songs below, it would behoove you to scour the internet for them:

• All For You
• Back To Me
• Boy Like That
• Dance
• Day In The Life Of
• Everything
• I Will Try
• If This is Love
• Listen
• On My Way Here
• Show Me
• Strong Enough
• The Look
• Unbroken
• Gravity
• Not 2 Luv You
• Ice

I see at least 4 songs that I feel like are Billboard Top 100 Single worthy(The Look, Everything, Gravity, Not 2 Luv You), but they have yet to make it to the general populace. Maybe he's saving them as demos? Maybe they'll surface someday? Who knows, but it's getting a little absurd that he hasn't decided to launch a solo career based on those songs. I can respect how he's leading One Republic on their tour that's about to head overseas to Europe next month after finishing up their US tour by in Philly tomorrow night though.

As far as his two new tracks, it's a toss up right now which one I like better. I'm leaning toward Not 2 Luv You because as the track progresses so does the intensity on the synthesizers, blending perfectly with the head nodding beat and RT's on point vocals. It doesn't surprise me in the least that the always underrated Norwegian production team of Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen known as Stargate are behind the boards on both these demos. Peep the NY Times article putting a spotlight on the magic this duo creates without getting any publicity love for their creations. Check the first track below:

Ryan Tedder - Not 2 Luv You (prod by Stargate)
| Download

I could definitely see Rihanna doin' some serious work on this next power ballad. After hearing Ryan kill yet ANOTHER demo (Battlefield, Halo, Unbroken), I'm starting to think he's actually a terrible demo singer because he consistently sets the bar waaaay too high on his version. Sure @THEREALJORDIN and @BEYONCE were able to match his skills on the demo versions he had of Battlefield and Halo, but damn, you wanna talk about pressure, try following this dude. Definitely more of a dramatic, pull at your heart strings type of captivating ballad that is accentuated perfectly with the use of piano throughout the verses giving way to a crescendo of energy building up to the hook. At this point, I'm hoping Rihanna attempts to one up Tedder...gooood luck @RIHANNA...

Ryan Tedder - Ice (prod by Stargate) (Rihanna demo)
|Download

Ryan Tedder = Underrated and Underappreciated

Sometimes artists don't get the credit they deserve. They work for years to get noticed and even then, a lot of the time they don't gain the notoriety they deserve when their work is done behind the scenes.

Which is a great segway to Ryan Tedder's introduction. Long story short, in 2001 soon after he graduated from Oral Roberts he caught Timbaland's eye via an MTV talent contest. See him below performing one of my favorite unreleased songs titled The Look in 2000 on MTV.



Yea for all of you at home, that means he's been creepin' on a come up for damn near a decade. I love that Brian McKnight openly gave him props on the performance right afterward too...was very fitting. Pretty good for a kid who learned how to play the piano at the age of 3 using the Suzuki method, which basically means he learned how to play by ear instead of through learning notes...oh yea and if you watched the video he also learned how to play guitar by listening to Dave Matthews in college...hah must be nice!

Needless to say you probably know his voice as being the lead singer of the band One Republic and providing you the lead vocals to their songsApologize and Stop and Stare. He started the group One Republic in 2002 with his high school friend Zack Filkins and since 2004 have been a Myspace product, getting over 30 million plays since 2004.

That's the side of him you know, so now that you have a little familiarity with who he is, I'm going to get you all learned on what he does behind the scenes...you know where real artists work to produce that great finished product you end up hearing.

If you want a longer list of his production and writing credits go here, but his highlight reel includes writing the tracks Apologize by One Republic (obviously), Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, Halo by Beyonce, Long Gone by Chris Cornell (favorite of mine) more recently Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. Must be why he was up for two Grammys in 2008.

Personally my underground favorites of his writing include Damn Thing by Josh Hoge, Please Don't Stop the Rain by James Morrison and Break Anotha by Blake Lewis...again just my opinion...but on the real quit sleepin' on these!

Oh yea and you knew I'd save the best for last. His writing, singing and performing all showcase his incredible talent, but my question is have you heard him demo some of these tracks?? You wanna talk about a bad decision, having him demo a track, then you try and do it better. So far, Jordin Sparks was the only one to barely escape that trap because she absolutely killed Battlefield in her own right.

Here are my four current demo favorites plus a bonus in hopes of me finally getting you to develop an appreciation for this insanely talented singer, songwriter, and MegaTron of a musical act.

1. Ryan Tedder - Everything (Demo for Leona Lewis) No Way She Does it Better!!!

1. Ryan Tedder - Gravity (Demo for Jordin Sparks) Again, No Way She Does it Better!!!

3. Ryan Tedder - Battlefield (Demo for Jordin Sparks) Great Demo!!

4. Ryan Tedder - History (Demo for Menudo) New Demo!

Oh so you also heard One Republic has a new album coming out in November? That must mean you have heard their new single All the Right Moves?? Betcha can't guess who wrote and produced this one??

Bonus:

One Republic - All the Right Moves Hoootttttttt New Single!!!

Bonus x2: You know I couldn't leave ya hanging on the first track that got him on the map too.

Ryan Tedder - The Look CLASSIC!!!