It’d be the understatement of the century to say that Ciara’s been given a hard time by the blogs and the media since her third album Fantasy Ride tanked last year, but instead of hiding from the criticism Ciara is addressing it head on with a brand new leaked track “I’m Up In The Bank” featuring The-Dream.

“Ya need to stop actin’ all funny and stop thinkin’ about me and think about your money” spits Ciara over The-Dream & Tricky production, which is most probably still unfinished and in demo form.

“See I tried to be humble / But they be hatin’ on the pie / Hatin’ on the fly / Hatin’ on I / And they don’t even know why / What cha doin’ looks so lame / Writin’ on the blogs / I’m in the bank / And who really care about what the hell you think?”

The song returns Ciara to her urban roots, whilst showing that she’s back with a new attitude, confidence and sound. Ciara knows that this fourth album is make or break for her and she’s definitely not taking any chances. Also expect production from Darkchild and Bangladesh when the albums hits stores later this year.

Australian pop star Gabriella Cilmi has started the international promo for her 80’s-inspired new single “On a Mission”, delivering the first ever televised performance of the song in the UK this week on Let’s Dance for Sports Relief.

Gabby kept up the retro Barbella theme from the songs video, singing live and throwing in a few little moves here and there to show everybody that she’s all grown up now and old enough to grind around on stage with no pants on.

If you’re keen to see more of the sexy teenager then pick up her second album Ten when it hits stores on March 22.

In of the most unlikely musical pairings that I’ve seen in a while, R&B-dance diva Kelly Rowland has teamed up with jazzy crooner Michael Bublé to cover the Bee Gees classic “How Deep Is Your Love”, which first hit #1 on the US charts before Kelly was even born over thirty years ago.

I always knew that K-Row could rock out to R&B, hip-hop, pop and dance, but I didn’t know that she could master easy listening to. The song really allows Kelly to show off a different side to her vocals, and she sounds absolutely beautiful with Buble by her side.

There’s no word yet as to where this song is going to end up, but I have a feeling that it could be part of her plan to continue conquering the international music market.

If her third solo album really is diverse enough to have songs like this on it as well as dance and urban than it’s going to be pretty damn impressive.

Jennifer Lopez had a bit of a bad week after splitting with her record label right before the release of her new album Love?, but the light at the end of the tunnel was her scheduled appearance on Saturday Night Live where she would not only be hosting and participating in skits, but also performing as well.

SNL was Jenny’s chance to brush off the critics and ease concerns over her future as a recording artist and a star, but instead of focusing on her strengths such as her tight choreography and electric stage presence, Jenny decided to slow things down with two stripped-back ballads; live vocals included.

The results were less than impressive, and that’s putting it nicely. The subject matter of the songs came across like a bizarre and misguided attempt to show the world that she was ready to dust herself off and keep fighting after all her career setbacks, but the whole thing just fell flat and felt underwhelming, and dare I say it – cringeworthy.

Jennifer also performed in some skits on the show, one being a parody of the “We Are The World” remake which saw Jennifer dressing up and spoofing Rihanna. You’d think that JLo dressing up as Rihanna would be hilarious, but, well, it wasn’t.

Sorry Jen! Better luck next time I guess.

Ashley Roberts couldn’t take it any longer. She thought that she was stronger, but all that’s left is goodbye now, and a way to tell you that she has left the Pussycat Dolls.

The attractive blonde, 28, announced the split earlier today via her official website. She also shed some light on her future plans by revealing she’s shot a special for the E! channel titled “Maxim Does Spring Break”, which you just know is going to be the classiest television event of the year.

She also shot a pilot for MTV as a host with Aubrey O’Day, and she’s been in the studio recording some music of her own.

Now that Ashley has ditched the dolls the only original member of the group that’s left is frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger, who will terrorize an all new group of backup dancers later this year when she hits the studio with them to record the third PCD album.

I feel bad for Flopzinger wasting away all alone in a group that she can’t stand whilst dreaming of a solo career that was never meant to be, so I thought I’d pay tribute to her below with a very special song from a very special lady, Celery Dijon-mayonnaise.

American Idol winner and VH1 reality TV star Fantasia Barrino will release her third album soon (supposedly in March, but I predict a pushback), and now four new songs from the singer have hit the web.

The tracks don’t sound 100% finished but they’re a good indication of what could possibly be in store for her next album. “On & On” and “Never” are both feel-good R&B midtempos similar to Fanny’s first single “Even Angels”, whilst “Control Freak” shows off a raunchy side of the American Idol winner that we haven’t seen before.

My favorite however is “Bounce Back” which really packs a punch thanks to it’s funky production and sassy, confident attitude from Fanny.

They’re all very radio-friendly, but that was to be expected after hearing “Even Angels”, which by the way has yet to chart despite being released at the beginning of the month.

Anyways check the songs out below and let me know what you think.

On & On | Bounce Back | Never | Control Freak

Britney Spears has ditched the dark brunette hair that she’s been sporting lately, heading to the Nine One Zero salon in West Hollywood on Friday to dye it back to a delicious looking honey blonde.

With the amount of times she’s dyed her hair I’m surprised that it hasn’t all fallen out of her head by now, but I’m actually even more surprised at how beautiful she looks now. See what a difference a shower, a comb and some clean clothes can make Britney?

The Queen B, who earned almost $40 million last year off her music alone, has also rubbished reports that her new album will be released this June, taking to her official website to label the story “bullshit”. She also denied the rumors through her rep who released an exclusive statement to JustJared.

“There is no scheduled release date for a Britney album at all,” her label rep exclusively tells JustJared.com. “There has been zero discussion about it.”

It’s a shame that we’ll have to wait longer for new music, but it’s probably a lot better that she has more time to write and record so nothing is rushed at all.

It’s been five years since Swedish pop star Robyn released an album, but it’s safe to say that the singers comeback will be worth the wait after she announced this week that she’ll drop three brand new albums this year.

When it rains it pours!

Whilst the new albums will be more “dance-orientated”, Robyn has still found a way to fit Snoop Dogg in on a song which she describes as a “rap duel” between the two.  In case you didn’t know Robyn rapped on her last album, and also worked with Snoop when she did an official remix to his hit “Sexual Eruption”.

Other songs on her new albums include the Röyksopp produced “None of Dem” which Robyn says sounds like a Timbaland track, and the Diplo produced “Dance Hall Queen” which leaked online recently under the title of “No Hassle”.

Klas Åhlund, Kleerup, Patrik Berger, and Savage Skulls have all also worked with Robyn on new material for the LP’s.

Bon magazine report that the first album is due in the Spring, with the next two following in the Summer and Winter. [source]

The human chameleon Kelis has began promoting her new single “Acapella”, performing it at Eve nightclub in Las Vegas on Friday night.

“Acapella” has yet to dent the Hot 100, but it’s rapidly shooting up the Billboard club charts, this week reaching a new peak of #3.

A video for the David Guetta produced song has already been shot, as has the artwork for Kelis’ next album Flesh Tones which is due out this Spring.

[Pics via Faded Youth]

Last week British singer-songwriter Kate Nash gave us a taste of her new sound by leaking a punky new track “I Just Love You More” onto the web, leaving some of her fans to wonder what monster had gone and devoured the cheeky redhead they loved from 2007.

Now Kate’s back again with another song “Doo Wah Do”; the first official single from her upcoming sophomore album (April 22).

The surfy pop-rock song has a vintage 60’s feel, but still sounds modern and fresh thanks to Kate’s sassy vocal delivery and cockney accent. It’s a lot more coherent than “I Just Love You More”, and it sounds like the type of tune that’ll appeal to both the indie crowd and the mainstream folks which I’m sure will have her record label jumping for joy with dollar signs in their eyes.

So now I’ve heard two Kate Nash songs and I absolutely love them both. I might actually have to go out and buy this album!