BEYONCÉ RUNS THE SHOW AT 2011 BILLBOARD AWARDS

Beyoncé at 2011 Billboard Music Awards

Absolutely stealing the show tonight at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards was Beyoncé, performing her new Single Run the World (Girls).  Tonight's show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas marked the big return for the Awards Show after a five-year hiatus.  Performing alongside Video Projections of herself for most of the performance, things reached a high point when hundreds of Female Dancers were unveiled on stage, marking what could be called a Brevolution.

Shortly afterward, her Mother Tina Knowles presented Beyoncé with a Millennium Award as former Bandmates Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Husband Jay-Z applauded proudly in the Audience.  She even took the time surpsingly to thank former Destiny's Childresses LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson.

Despite not nabbing any Awards, Britney Spears was another highlight this evening, performing S&M alongside Rihanna earlier in the broadcast and also a Remix of her current Single Til the World Ends with Nicki Minaj.

JENNIFER LOPEZ - LOVE REVIEW

In what is easily her best work since 1999 debut On the 6, Jennifer Lopez gives it her all on this her seventh studio effort. She proves once again that she can do it all despite her impossibly hectic itinerary - a Mother of Twins, Wife, Designer, Entrepreneur, Television Personality, Actress and oh yeah, a Singer. Lopez's surprising switch last year to Island Def Jam/Universal Music has played a pivotal role in her sudden musical resurgence after spending some celebrated years at Sony Music - some years not so celebrated. And after spending over two years on this Disc Love?, expectations are heightened but fear not - she delivers.

We all know how infectious On the Floor (ft. Pitbull) is with that Lambada sample it features. In fact it has already reached the top of the Charts in Canada, but on this Disc are a few more missiles waiting to fire thanks to Super-Producer RedOne who not only oversaw that mentioned first Single, but also the thematically similar Papi with its dramatic synths and big choruses; an outstanding piece of Pop. Invading My Mind and Hypnotico also have the Swedish-Moroccan's signature sound imprinted and interestingly, Lady Gaga is credited on both these Tracks. Admittedly they are more telling of her The Fame era rather than her current Born this Way era.

The-Dream and Tricky Stewart who have been rather hit-or-miss since finding meteoric success with Rihanna on her star-making Good Girl Gone Bad Disc from 2008, yield a result leaning more towards  the "hit" side with the aptly-named Good Hit. The Track is defined most by its experience-altering Breakdown complete with a Key Change. Villain and Run the World are met with mixed results and easily could have been eliminated here without much impact.

WIN A "RIO" PRIZE PACK

From the creators of Ice Age comes an animated 3-D Musical about two almost-extinct Macaw Birds, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway). The two are brought together in Rio de Janero but kidnapped soon after. After managing to escape from a pair of greedy Poachers who are looking to sell them off, the two Birds find themselves on the wildest adventure of their lives!

RIO features the voices of George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Jamie Foxx, Wanda Sykes, Tracy Morgan and Bebel Gilberto. Released through Fox, you won't want to miss RIO when it hits Theatres on April 15, 2011!

TAIO CRUZ FT. KYLIE MINOGUE - HIGHER (VIDEO)

Taio Cruz, Kylie Minogue and Alex Herron on the
set of Higher

At long last the scintillating pairing of Kylie Minogue and Taio Cruz has materialized in Video form! Watch their Video for Cruz's new single Higher from Director Alex Herron here.  The single for this will be released Valentine's Day 2011 overseas.  A version with Travie McCoy will be released in North America at the end of November, although we really need to have Minogue's version released here as we're still on-the-snooze about her in these parts....

(Photo credit: Alex Herron)

CEE LO GREEN - THE LADY KILLER REVIEW

It's this year's Back to Black (Amy Winehouse) in the sense that it is rare that a Traditional R&B/Soul album finds crossover success in this day and age.  Soulful Cee Lo Green releases his third solo studio effort The Lady Killer after a brief turn in the duo Gnarls Barkley, which saw the massive Billboard Hot 100 Chart number two hit single Crazy in 2006.  Back again and front-and-center where he belongs, Green is a star in a genre where Male Vocalists have been lacking for quite some time.

We've all heard Fuck You, or depending which part of the world you're located, FU or Forget You. The Smeezingtons-produced (includes Bruno Mars) hit has caught-on internationally with its Curtis Mayfield-like Motown swagger, appealing even to the most wholesome of demographics, with Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow just having covered it on Glee. Ideally, it would have been great if they could have lent their hands to a couple more collaborations here considering the magic they achieved together. But is Green a one-hit-per-album type artist? The Lady Killer certainly would prove that assumption wrong.

Bright Lights Big City is classic R&B, the type Smokey Robinson and and The O'Jays made, punctuated with the presence of a String Section; a fitting follow-up to the thrill of the album's first single. Green helps the amazing Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Jennifer Hudson, Fergie) in co-producing the track Love Gun, taking a backseat to Guest Vocalist Lauren Bennett for a moment. What results is a bit of a James Bond-type moment, which works considering that much of the album is an homage to another era.

Satisfied is delightfully sunny and instantly likable, while Cry Baby owes much credit to some fantastic Horns as without them, it is just another sweet Motown number. Both tracks are produced by Fraser T. Smith, who has had a hand in some greatest tracks in recent memory, namely Broken Strings (James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado) and Break Your Heart (Taio Cruz). Green digs deeper emotionally on another Remi collaboration Old Fashioned, which really would have already been a fitting tight finish to the album, over No One's Gonna Love You.

EXCLUSIVE TAIO CRUZ TORONTO MUCHMUSIC PHOTOS AND AUTOGRAPH GIVEAWAY

UK R&B/Dance Pop superstar Taio Cruz is in Toronto doing a bit of promotion for his stateside debut Rokstarr, which has seen much success overseas already.

Having made a number of modifications to the album for its release in North America, he is now poised to release his second single Dynamite, a recent addition to the collection.  And if the decision to add rapper Ludacris to  Billboard Hot 100 Chart number one single Break Your Heart is any indication of his decision making ability,  Cruz will become a  household name in no time in these parts.

Born Jacob Taio Cruz, the 27 year-old London based singer-songwriter's success has been long in the making.  He's written for the likes of Ke$ha, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Pussycat Dolls, Kylie Minogue and many more.  It's only fitting that he's now writing songs for himself and getting proper recognition for it.   Cruz confirmed today at MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand with VJ Sarah Taylor that he's working with British Boy-Band McFly and the likes of Rihanna.   And the girls in the audience seemed to take a liking to his British accent when asked what they thought of it.  The singer also was quizzed about his relationship status, to which he confirmed awkwardly that currently he has a girlfriend, although he would not expand further on the matter.  Taylor noted, "You make that (having a girlfriend) seem like it's a bad thing!".

TAIO CRUZ - ROKSTARR (NORTH AMERICAN PRESSING) REVIEW

Taio Cruz (pronounced Tye-oh Krewz) is just what American music needs. It's too bad that we had to go to the UK to find him. Having done the Urban Dance-Pop thing ahead of the curve that is dominating airwaves and iPod players in North America, the talented 27 year-old singer-songwriter picks up where Ne-Yo teased us back in 2008 with his excellent single Closer, but failed to run with on subsequent singles.

Originally released in October 2009 in the UK, sophomore effort Rokstarr is repackaged and modified for tastes on this side of the Atlantic with just ten solid tracks. The North American pressing of the album includes smash single Come on Girl (ft. Luciana) from his debut album Departure, plus three additional new tracks. Italian Disco meets Reggae track Higher is undeniably a welcome addition to his catalogue, while I Can Be takes a queue of the string sample heard in Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve) and planned second single Dynamite is almost as catchy as Billboard Hot 100 Chart topping Break My Heart. Although musically it has no bearing with its presence, a collaboration with Ke$ha, Dirty Picture gives North Americans that added bit of familiarity to ascertain that Taio Cruz can be a household name in these parts too.