RIDE THIS BEAT • Pop Culture 1814 • Happy Holidays!

Beyonce Named Artist Of The Decade

2009-11-29T01:35:00.003-05:00

ForeverKillingYouHoes Knowles, was just named UK's The Observer Artist Of The Decade honor. Thinking back I really can't think of anyone, literally anyone who has been out doing something literally every year of the decade. (2000, Independent Women .. 2001, Survivor .. 2002 '03 Goldmember, 2003 Dangerously In Love, 2004 Destiny Fufilled, 2005 Check On It, 2006 B'Day, 2007 Beyonce Experience, 2008 I Am Sasha Fierce, 2009 Obsessed) just to name one thing from each year. Anyway, in honor of the well honor .. Beyonce did an interview with them. It was a really interesting read. Beyonce is my absolute favorite but I did grin at somethings that she says (such as the songwriter comment). Anyway it is a good read, and to check it all out click here.

Billboard.Com's Grammy Awards 2010 Predictions

2009-11-28T17:02:00.003-05:00

Billboard.Com has revealed its list of Grammy Award 2010 nominee predictions. Topping off the list is Lady Gaga, who is said to be illegible to win "Best New Artist" because "Just Dance" was nominated last year. However President of the Grammy Nominating committee says the rules can be changed at any time. The list of Billboard's nominee predictions include: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Keri Hilson, Owl City, Greenday, U2, Kings Of Leon, Phoenix, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Maxwell, The Black Eyed Peas, Drake and more. To read Billboard's list of predictions click here.

Rihanna Speaks On Nude Photos

2009-11-28T15:15:00.002-05:00

In a new article with Celebrity Health and Fitness, Rihanna spoke about her nude photos once again.

When [the leak] happened, I sent my mom flowers first before I called and then she texted me – when the world is against me she’s always there supporting. If you don’t send your boyfriend naked pictures, then I feel bad for him. I just felt like my whole privacy was taken before that and then, when that came out, I thought, ‘Oh great, so now there’s nothing they don’t know about me and my private life.’ It was humiliating and it was embarrassing.

Ah this whole Rated R era makes me love Rihanna. I truly think this is the real her. She is so blunt about everything and honest with it. She looks fierce and it matches her attitude, not to mention the music flows along nicely with it all. Good for Rihanna, I'm not sure sending naked pictures is the best way to please your significant other as things don't always work out the way you'd like but to each is own.

Slow News Day ... Beyonce, Janet, & Mary J. Photoshoot

2009-11-28T14:24:00.009-05:00

Well it is a slow news day, and I found these pictures on an image account of mine so I thought .. why not share? I am not sure if many have ever seen these pictures, nevermind remember them. I didn't until I saw them this morning. I never knew they did a photoshoot together. They were taken for the June 2004 edition of Essence Magazine and feature the lovely Beyonce, Janet Jackson, and Mary J. Blige. Check out the photos and if anyone is interested in the full-set for their own website or for their own pleasure just e-mail me and I will send them all to you.

Album Review: Beyonce - I Am .. Yours

2009-11-28T13:15:00.008-05:00

Arguably "The Voice" of this generation, Beyonce Knowles released a 2-CD/DVD combination this past week that captured her performances at Las Vegas's Wynn Theater. A broken down version was shown on Thanksgiving. However, is it worth it?

The first CD has Beyonce showcasing a more intimate side, with acoustics and beautiful renditions of our favorite songs. My absolute favorite being her version of "Halo". (Click Here To Download "Halo" Live) Another guaranteed favorite will be her whopping 9 & a half minutes long "Sweet Dreams Medley". It is absolutely amazing and shows off her vocal ability to new levels. The medley features "Sweet Dreams", "Dangerously In Love", and the Anita Baker classic "Sweet Love". Another song to note is the "Deja Vu Jazz Medley". It showcases just how diverse she can be as she scats along to a classic Ella Fitzgerald tune. All in all, this part of the CD was spectacular and left you excited for more.

Now comes the second CD, the more storytelling side. The most remarkable and standout of all the songs on this side is by far the near 12 minute long "Destiny's Child Medley". The medley starts off with "No, No, No", "No, No, No Remix", "Bug A Boo", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name", "Jumpin' Jumpin'", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious", and lastly "Survivor". What a moutful, and what an entertaining set. The only thing I could have done without were her ad-libs about how she wrote some of the songs.

All in all, I would recommend this to ANY, and I mean ANY Beyonce fan. You don't have to love her to love this. There are so many amazing songs, and it is truly amazing that she .. an R&B artist is releasing an album like this. Albums like this haven't been done since MTV Unplugged, or by bands such as U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd, etc...! Beyonce is really in a league of her own and deffintly made this CD worth while. While I would never condone illegally downloading a Beyonce CD (just because she is my favorite :p), I do recommend downloading it if you really won't buy it because so many songs are just that good.

Music Video Premiere: Timbaland - Morning After Dark

2009-11-28T13:04:00.003-05:00

Timbaland's new video for "Morning After Dark" featuring SoShy and Nelly Furtado has been released. The song is from Shock Value 2. I really like it, but I don't think it will be as big as "The Way I Are" was.

Shakira is Yahoo's 8th Most Searched Today

2009-11-28T04:26:00.003-05:00

Shakira is Yahoo's 8th most searched topic for today, and for a few reasons. One being her new album She Wolf being released this week in the states. Another is how she will be appearing on the April 8th, 2001 episode of Ugly Betty. The episode will have Shakira playing herself, a Latina icon, appearing in Mode Magazine. The photo shoot will be taken place in the Bahamas where something goes wrong but Shakira saves the day. Peep the preview video above.

In other news, Shakira will be holding a talent search for talent to appear in her 2010 tour.

Welcome to Ride This Beat

2009-11-28T02:29:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Ride This Beat! A blog that will hopefully mesh well with all different types of familiar pop culture in music and movies. The inspiration behind the name comes from Rihanna's song "Hard", and the Times Square backdrops in some of the graphics on the site come from it being the Holiday season. For some reason the holidays always remind me of NYC, maybe because I live so close but anyway I hope you guys enjoy your time here and visit back frequently. I also am accepting affiliates so be sure to drop me a comment letting me know if your interested.

Opening Night of Monster Ball Tour

2009-11-28T01:50:00.003-05:00

Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, has kicked off in Montreal. Details and photos sound very interesting. According to Lady-Gaga.Net the following took place ...

The show began late and Kid Cudi did not perform.
GaGa’s father attended the show.
GaGa opened the show with “Dance in the Dark” and closed with “Bad Romance”.
She smoked at least four cigarettes while onstage.
Kid Cudi came onstage for “Poker Face” and performed some of “Make Her Say”.
The “Speechless” performance was dedicated to her father.
A non-album track was performed after “The Fame”.
The costume for “Paparazzi” is the same one from the cover of The Fame Monster.
“Telephone” is the only song from The Fame Monster not performed.

Heres a video of her performing "Just Dance" ..

To view the set-list and photos from the tour be sure to check out Lady-Gaga.Net. I wanna go to this, hopefully it won't be sold out by Christmas time.

2010 NRJ Music Awards commercial

2009-11-28T01:32:00.002-05:00

The 2010 NRJ Music Awards commercial are coming up on January 23, 2010. This commercial (which I don't understand), features Rihanna, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, and more. Its cute, remember you can still vote for the winners by clicking here!

R.I.P Anna Nicole Smith

2009-11-28T01:26:00.003-05:00

A very happy birthday goes out to Anna Nicole Smith who today would have been 42. Nicole was not a musician but a beloved member of Hollywood and pop culture over the past decade.

The Lenghts MJ Would Go ...

2009-11-28T01:05:00.000-05:00

Director, Kenny Ortega (whom directed This Is It), recently told reporters a story about how he once thought Michael Jackson had stood him up. The two were supposed to meet up at Universal Studios in Hollywood, to see Beowulf together.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I was looking for Michael Jackson to show up to meet me. I'd been with him many times before when he dressed up - he went to the theatre in New York as the Mata Hari's daughter once. You wouldn't believe some of the outfits that we saw him in. So I'm standing around and looking around. There were young tourists running up to me to get my autograph because they recognised me from High School Musical, and this old, old man in a wheelchair is getting closer and closer to me until I just went, 'You son of a gun!' It was Michael just laughing under his plastic face. I went over and wheeled this old man into the movie theatre - it was the only way he could get in and more importantly get out. If we could sneak him in, if people knew that he was somewhere it was almost impossible to get him out."

Such a cute story! Gotta love Michael and his antics.