R&B Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Usher has made his return today (September 11) with the release of his smooth new single, ‘Bad Habits’.The single is set to appear on Usher’s forthcoming studio album, the follow-up to 2016’s ‘Hard II Love’, though details around that album are not yet available.‘Bad Habits’ is the follow-up to Usher’s latest single, ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ and the powerful and emotive ‘I Cry’, an exploration of social injustice in our time, released in June.The accompanying music video, directed by Chris

You might not know UNO Stereo by name, but you probably know his work: the Melbourne-based producer, born Nic Martin, has had a hand in a stack of lauded R&B projects over the past few years, including Kaiit’s lush 2019 single “Miss Shiney” and Khalid’s debut record American Teen. Now, Martin has released “TEXT,” a lovelorn, late-night tale of unrequited love that takes place in the moments when your text thread just won’t light up with those three dots.

Ronald Bell was a musician who co-founded Kool & the Gang and wrote and composed songs including their 1980 No. 1 hit, “Celebration.”Also known as Khalis Bayyan, Bell co-founded Kool & the Gang along with his brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, and several neighborhood friends in 1964.

Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle have been announced as the next artists to square off in the next instalment of live-streamed series, Verzuz.The soul icons will be pitting their hits against one another at 1am BST on Monday September 14 (8pm EST, Sunday September 13).

Taylor Swift's folklore spent its sixth week at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, officially tying her with late music icon Whitney Houston as the two women with the most cumulative weeks at No. 1.

Chloe x Halle's breezy song “Do It" has been given an A-list remix courtesy of City Girls, Doja Cat, and Mulatto. Check out the new version of the song, taken from Chloe x Halle's Ungodly Hour, above.

After what feels like eons, SZA has returned with “Hit Different,” her first taste of new solo music since the release of her cultishly beloved debut album Ctrl back in 2017. A collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, “Hit Different” was produced by The Neptunes, aka Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, and arrives alongside a gorgeous video directed by SZA herself.

Chloe x Halle have linked up with Doja Cat, City Girls and Mulatto for a remix of their single, ‘Do It’.Chloe x Halle and City Girls teased the collaboration in the hours preceding its release, with City Girls member JT hinting that a link-up with another all-female duo was coming out.

SZA has finally made her return today (September 4), with the surprise release of her new single ‘Hit Different’, alongside Ty Dolla $ign.She teased the release of ‘Hit Different’ just over an hour before it dropped, posting an image alongside a caption reading, “Midnight EST.”She’s also dropped the video for the single, which she directed. It sees her dance in a car yard and a stable, among other locations.The video also concludes with SZA singing part of another song.

Teyana Taylor has released a new video for “Still,” a highlight from her recently-released K.T.S.E. follow-up The Album.

Brandy and Monica were joined by special guest Kamala Harris during an eventful edition of the Verzuz series on Monday night. The duo, best known for their 1998 collaboration "The Boy Is Mine," reunited to celebrate their own solo back catalogs as well as donating proceeds to Michelle Obama’s non-profit When We All Vote.

Singer-songwriter Fana Hues is used to always having support close by. In her video for "Notice Me," she's surrounded by the women from her large, close-knit musical family, seemingly ready to forge a legacy of her own.

Five years after her last solo album, 2015's Reality Show, Jazmine Sullivan is back with a new single, "Lost One," an arid and stripped-back meditation on a love gone by. “‘Lost One’ is about being careless with someone's heart and having to live in regret from losing them," Sullivan wrote in a press release.

Ty Dolla $ign shared the video for his latest single, "Expensive," alongside Nicki Minaj on Friday. From a barrage of shopping bags, money literally flying out of pockets, and swimming pools filled with diamonds, the clip offers up a fun, animated take on excess.

Nao has released her first new music for the year, titled ‘Woman’, featuring Lianne La Havas.The track was premiered on BBC Radio 1 last night (August 24) before landing on streaming platforms. The cover art for ‘Woman’ features work by UK visual artist Tishk Barzanji.Listen to ‘Woman’ below:In a post on her Instagram, Nao said the song was a celebration of womanhood and women of colour.“This is a song Lianne and I are so happy to put out into the world.

Brandy and Monica have been announced as the next guests on Verzuz.More than 20 years after facing off on their hit song, 1998’s ‘The Boy Is Mine’, the pair will feature on the popular Instagram Live event – curated by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz – on September 1 at 1am BST.In August, Brandy released her seventh studio album ‘B7’, eight years after her previous release, 2012’s ‘Two Eleven’.The singer had announced the release of ‘B7’ last year, dropping a new single, the fierce ‘Freedom Rings’.

Frank Ocean and director Luca Guadagnino reportedly have, or at least had, a secret project in the works. Guadagnino, director of Call Me By Your Name and Kid Cudi's upcoming HBO series We Are Who We Are, told New York Times writer Kyle Buchanan that he and Frank were “collaborating on a music video that never happened.” He went on to add a plea for the project to come to fruition.

TikTok can be.

SZA's sophomore album and follow-up to 2017's Ctrl is one of the most anticipated albums in popular music, but information about the project has been almost non-existent. The album has no confirmed release date, and no singles from the project have been shared.

Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes have shared an animated music video for ‘Tidal Wave’. The song appears on their joint collaborative album ‘What Kinda Music’, which was released earlier in April this year.The clip was directed by Jack Brown, who was also responsible for the similarly animated ‘Nightrider’ music video, featuring Freddie Gibbs.‘Tidal Wave’ was animated by Brown, Ala Nunu Leszynska, Nanda Ormond, Guarav Wakankar, Chloé Mainge, Freddie Griffiths, Martin Robic and Caitlin Young.

In the two weeks since its release, Beyoncé’s Black Is King has already lived many lives; spotlighting West and Southern Africa through vibrant and meticulously curated wardrobe, set design, and choreography, along with a star-studded cast, that represented a larger narrative about the continent. While the story was meant to loosely mirror The Lion King, spirituality, folklore, and Afrofuturism drove it forward.

Alicia Keys and Khalid have teased new music together in a cryptic tweet exchange.Keys tagged Khalid in a post on Twitter and wrote “I think it’s time”, sharing a 15-second audio clip of her singing: “Because I’m so, so done/I’m living the way that I want”. Khalid simply responded, “YUP”.I think it’s time @thegreatkhalid pic.twitter.com/zYXT3to7wM— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) August 13, 2020YUP @aliciakeys !!!! https://t.co/9x2VlXAoqh— Khalid (@thegreatkhalid) August 13, 2020 Any new music from

Jorja Smith's song "By Any Means," released last week, is an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement brimming with rage at daily manifestations of systemic injustices and full of love for the resilient people who bear the burdens. The clarity of purpose combined with Smith's formidable vocal talents helps ensure that "By Any Means" meets the moment it was created for, and the urgency of Smith's offering is underscored by the song's music video, which is out today.

Jessie Reyez has shared a video clip for the titular track off her debut album, ‘Before Love Came To Kill Us’.The music video was directed by Claire Edmondson and features footage shot in Reyez’ native city, Toronto. Most of the scenes have been filmed at night, with frames of the singer among a garden of roses, sitting atop a moving car and backed by the twinkling Toronto cityscape.

The Portland rapper and XXL Freshman returns with his second studio album and third full-length project since 2017. "Shimmy," "Riri," and "Compensating" featuring Young Thug have preceded the project. Stream: Spotify | Apple Music

Ariana Grande’s ‘Thank U, Next’ and ‘7 Rings’ (her work with the superstar’s most recent album, also titled ‘Thank U, Next’, won her no less than four Grammy nominations last year), and has collaborated with artists as varied as Fifth Harmony and Nas since the early ‘10s.

Frank Ocean's younger brother Ryan Breaux was reportedly killed in a car crash on Sunday morning, along with classmate Ezekial Bishop, according to CBS Los Angeles. Officials responded to reports of smoke in the area of the accident around 1:30 a.m., and arrived to see a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

Brandy album – and the illustrious singer knows it. “Sorry for my tardy / Long time I was broken-hearted,” she sings on ‘Saving All My Love’, the opening track on ‘B7’, her first studio album since 2012’s ‘Two Eleven’.

TikTok has rapidly become a platform for tastemaking, launching songs into popularity just by playing in the background of everything from choreographed challenges to makeup application to self-deprecating wisecracks. For Fousheé, her voice was recognized across the platform before listeners even knew her name when rapper Sleepy Hallow used an instrumental sampling her voice on its makeshift hook.

Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can't get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order. Subscribe to Songs You Need In Your Life on Spotify. Read Next: Big Moods: 50 songs to glo up to

After starring in last year's remake of The Lion King and curating its soundtrack album The Gift, Beyoncé returns with Black is King, a new visual album inspired by the film's soundtrack and directed by Beyoncé. Songs from The Gift get the visual treatment in the film, which was shot around the world in locations such as West Africa, New York, London, and South Africa.

Spice Girls‘ Scary and Posh respectively for their latest televised performance of ‘Do It’ – this time for the 2020 GLAAD Awards.Joining the sisters are three notable RuPaul’s Drag Race alum – Naomi Smalls as Ginger Spice, Mayhem Miller as Baby Spice and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo as Sporty Spice.The performance was filmed at iconic West Hollywood gay nightclub, The Chapel at The Abbey.

Kehlani's new music video for "Can I" is out now. The clip stars a number of sex workers performing for Kehlani via livestream as she blesses them all with tokens.

Jorja Smith has shared ‘By Any Means’, the first single from ‘Reprise’, a forthcoming Roc Nation compilation of social justice-themed tracks.

Boston-born singer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist Leo The Kind made his first forays into the industry as a solo act last year, working with Grammy-nominated producers Swagg R’Celious and Keithen “Bassman” Foster to release his debut mixtape, U.G.L.Y. That project fused trap beats with R&B melodies and a promising flow, but his latest single takes that blueprint further.

A month after the release of the first trailer, Beyoncé shared a new trailer for her upcoming film BLACK IS KING. Written, directed and executive produced by the superstar, the trailer boasts appearances from JAY-Z, Lupita Nyong'o, and models like Naomi Campbell and Adut Akech.