New Music: Melanie Amaro – ‘Don’t Fail Me Now’

After seizing the first U.S. X Factor crown last December, Melanie Amaro finally released her debut single, “Don’t Fail Me Now,” on Wednesday (August 1).

“I’ve walked the longest road so don’t fail me now, feet don’t fail me now, I’ve never got this close so don’t fail me now,” she sings over the uptempo dance beat, produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and penned by Livvi Franc.

New Music: Marcus Canty ft. Wale – ‘In & Out’

Marcus Canty riding the rollercoaster of love on the bouncy “In & Out,” the lead single from his upcoming Epic Records debut. The former X Factor contestant scores a verse from MMG’s Wale on the club banger, produced by Harmony “H-Money” Samuels, who drops a hot 16 midway through.

Hot Shots: Ciara Unveils ‘One Woman Army’ Promo Photos

It’s all about the stars and stripes in the first promo shots for Ciara’s new album, One Woman Army.

“OWA MOVEMENT HAS JUST BEGUN!! TURN UP CSQUAD!!:) JOIN THE MOVEMENT!” tweeted CiCi on Friday (June 1).

The first single from the album, “Sweat,” is expected any day now, with the album to follow sometime before year’s end. One Woman Army is the follow-up to 2010’s Basic Instinct, which peaked at No, 44 on the Billboard 200, and its singles barely made a dent on the charts.

“This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been in my life and career,” she told MTV of the new project.

Jay-Z & Beyoncé, L.A. Reid, U2 Make Billboard’s Power 100

Today, Billboard unveiled its Power 100, a ranking of the most powerful people in the music business.

The list consists executives from record labels, television and film, radio, and music-publishing industries, digital service providers, music branding companies, and six artists, each of whom cracked the business ranking for specific reasons.

Among the artists who made the list are Jay-Z and Beyoncé as a power couple, Taylor Swift, U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga.

Sitting at the top of the list is Irving Azoff, the executive chairman of Live Nation, who ranks number one due to his command of the biggest concert-promotion company, the largest ticketing company and the largest artist-management firm in the world.

Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder, 50 Cent Scheduled for ‘X Factor’ Finale

After appearances by Alanis Morissette, R. Kelly, and Avril Lavigne on Wednesday (December 21), Fox’s The X Factor is digging a little  deeper for Thursday’s finale results show.

Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder, 50 Cent, and Leona Lewis will perform on the season finale. According to The Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Reid, coach of the men’s team, “still has a couple surprises up his sleeve.”

The inaugural season of The X Factor has been disappointing — the judging, the contestants, the show overall. It’s been picked up for a second season, so hopefully the new season brings much needed changes to Simon Cowell’s creation.

Watch R. Kelly perform “I Believe I Can Fly” with top 3 finalist Melanie Amaro below.

Nicole Scherzinger to Debut New Single on ‘X Factor’ This Week

Nicole Scherzinger’s career has more lives than a cat. The former Pussycat Doll  will perform on this week’s elimination episode of ‘X Factor’, where she serves as a judge alongside Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid.

According to Interscope Records, Nicole will debut a new track titled “Pretty.”  No other details were given.  At this point, she can release as many flop singles as she likes and people won’t care. Her solo debut has been in on the ‘Coming Soon’ list since 2007, and has only managed to be released internationally. We’ll see what comes of this single after the performance.

Will you be watching?

Mary J. Blige Performs on ‘X Factor’

Backed by an acoustic guitar and violins, Mary J. Blige gave a rousing performance of “Need Someone,” from her latest album My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act I), on tonight’s episode of X Factor.  Watch the performance below.

Ciara Clocks Studio Time with ‘Ni**as in Paris’ Producer Hit-Boy

The road back to relevance is long and lonely, but it appears Ciara is moving closer to reaching her destination. With a new record deal in place, Ciara has returned to the studio to work on her new album.  Hit-Boy, the man behind Jay-Z and Kanye West’s No. 1 single “Ni**as in Paris,”  spilled the details about a track he crafted for the “Goodies” singer.