Keeping the Faith

When celebrities, especially those in the music business, go on stage to accept an award for their accomplishments in the industry who is the first person they give thanks to? You guessed it…God. Faith is very important in this competitive world because it helps stars to overcome struggles and criticisms that go hand in hand with fame.

Keyshia is no different. She, too, admits that her number one love is God. When asked about the people she most idolizes, Keyshia responded “God because no matter what I went through growing up he always made a path clear for me to follow my dreams. He was there every step of the way of me getting to where I am right now.”

It’s easy to see why Keyshia’s faith is so strong-an unstable childhood on the tough streets of L.A. may have inspired this talented songstress to seek guidance from up above and we should give her credit for that. Without her faith and religion, Keyshia may have turned into another gang banging, drug abusing statistic. The hip hop community would have lost out big time if Cole didn’t insist on keeping the faith, even through her toughest times.

Here is Keyshia performing “His Eye is on the Sparrow” at the City of Refuge United Chruch of Christ in Oakland, California.

You Know You Want It…

Screaming fans, hot celebs, the latest in fashion and music-that’s right, roll out the red carpet, it’s time to get ready for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and your girl Keyshia has your tickets!

If you are a verizon wireless customer with a V Cast phone, grab your cell right now and log on to www.verizonwireless.com/songid. If you can use the song ID application to recognize Keyshia’s latest single you will automatically be entered to win a trip to the VMAs.

The VMAs are always star studded events filled with shocking moments, surprise appearances and the best and worst fashion choices of our favorite celebs in the entertainment industry. I mean, people are still talking about Britney’s much anticipated yet forgetful performance from last years show and thanks to Keyshia Cole and Verizon Wireless, you can catch all the action live this time around. So what are you waiting for?

Oh, and just in case you forgot how painful it was to watch Brit’s performance, here it is again for your viewing pleasure…

This Ain’t a Game

By now it’s obvious that many artists in the music industry sweat Keyshia Cole. In the past year she has collaborated with P Diddy, Trina, Missy Elliot, Lil Kim, and now The Game.

The Game picked Keyshia to do back up vocals for the second single off of this new CD entitled “L.A.X,” which is set to release on June 24th of this year. The single, entitled “Pain” features a new style for the X-G Unit rapper. The song is more layed back than some of his rough and tough lyrical stylings of the past.

Fans on the blogs seem to really like Keyshia on the track. A blogger named D-12 said “Good cool track and Keyshia Cole’s voice is perfect for this track. I’m looking forward to Game’s new album.” However fans of The Game are getting sick of him namedropping throughout the track; it leaves less room for real music.

I’m not a fan of The Game, so I probably won’t be buying his album, but it’s interesting to see Keyshia adapt to the stylings of all different artists.

She Really Won’t Stop!

Keyshia Cole has no doubtingly been a major hit-maker especially in 2007 and2008 and she won’t let anything get in her way of success. Keyshia is eager to stay fresh in an industry that’s constantly changing it up. As an artist, you need to be flexible. You’ve seen it happen a thousand times in the music business with artists such as Chingy and, in the most extreme case, Vanilla Ice…one day you’re hot, the next you’re not.

Keyshia is planning to switch gears by releasing what she refers to as an album that will show the good side of love. “I’m calling it The Love Album, but that could change. I’m just focusing on the subjects of love that make you happy. I just wanna switch it up a little bit. That’s all.” Keyshia’s goal is to have the album released by Christmas of this year and believes the time crunch will only contribute to the album’s success. Cole is confident that this album will be a hot stocking stuffer. “I wanna do a million my first week, ’she says.’ That’s when they drop…on Christmas time. Everybody is ready to spend their cash on the artists, so I wanna be one of those artists this time…”

Unfortunately, I cannot give you a preview of any tracks on the album as it is still in the works…but it’s something to look forward to this coming holiday season!

 

Spring Bling

You guessed it! It’s time for BETs annual Spring Bling celebration hosted in Riviera Beach, Florida.

To kick off the festivities, Keyshia Cole hit the beach and performed a mix of her biggest hits including “Shoulda Let You Go” and “I Just Want it to be Over.” Artists such as Lil’ Wayne, Soulja Boy, Mario, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, J. Holiday, Flo Rida, Mike Jones, Shawty Lo, Chingy and Day 26 also performed throughout a number of shows.

The “Spring Bling Bash” featured many famous faces and also included special programming for viewers such as a dance competition show called “Get to Steppin” and also a dating show entitled “Irreplaceable.” Tonight is the last night it will be aired, so catch what you can! If you missed it, check out the link to Keyshia’s performance.

My Bad!

C-Side Hits 

I thought I had every new Keyshia song and collaboration covered, but I was wrong. Yesterday I heard a song on the radio that I really liked. I had heard the song before in bits and pieces, but never had a chance to listen to it in it’s entirety. So, like any normal consumer in today’s world, I decided to download it. I almost fell off my chair when I realized that Keyshia was featured as the female vocalist.

Apparently, Keyshia paired up with an up and coming male hip-hop group known as C-Side. The threesome reps their hometown of Atlanta with catchy beats that you can’t help but bop your head to. The group has been around for about six years in the music business and has produced for many big names in music, but their collabo with Keyshia has been their first mainstream success as it’s old school beat has fans constantly hitting up their Myspace page.

The song is called Boyfriend/Girlfriend. Listen to it! I’m sure you’ve heard it before without even knowing it.

 

Jaheim Features Keyshia

R&B artist Jaheim has teamed up with Keyshia cole on his new album, The Makings of a Man. The single which features Miss Cole is called “I’ve Changed” and is a follow up to the first single released off the album, known as “Never”, where Jaheim admits to doing things that he would never have done in the past for love.

Jaheim is not as mainstream as Keyshia Cole, but his smooth voice sytlings are a favorite for the ladies and the struggles which come across through his music have made him relatable to the average Joe in love. The single “I’ve Changed” is expected to help Jaheim cross over from the Urban-AC market because Keyshia may be able to target fans who never took a liking to Jaheim.

On the blogs, fans are responding postively and are anxiously awaiting the video. I listened to the track and I like it. The two seem to have good chemistry. Check it out for yourself…

She’s Got The Blues

I’ll admit, I wish I had an amazing voice and a booming music carreer like Keyshia. But recently I heard that she will be perfroming with one of my all time favorite artists, Robin Thicke. To say the least, I’m bitter. I know I won’t be able to see the performance and even worse, I know that I will not have an opportuinity to meet Robin Thicke.

Thicke is also an R&B artist who hooked me in when his music was featured on MTVs Dance Life, a show about a group of young people trying to make it in the entertainment industry . Some of you may also remember him from last year, when he hit the scenes with his smooth and sexy single, Lost Without You. His voice and his unique style are nothing short of amazing. And now he’s pairing up with the R&B queen otherwise known as Keyshia Cole!

The Two will be performing together on April 20th at the House of Blues in San Diego, California. Doors open at 7 and the show is supposed to start at 8…but we all know that you cannot count on a punctual performance. Even if the show is delayed, tickets will be moderately priced from $28 to $31 but only for those 21 years of age and older.

For those of you who aren’t Robin Thicke fans, check out the video posted above and get hooked!

What Happens in Vegas?

 Vegas is an obvious hot spot to catch celebrities acting a fool. The list of stars who visit sin city is endless, from the A listers, like Keyshia Cole, all the way down to the D listers, like Floyd Mayweather, for example.

As some of you may know, Mayweather is an accomplished boxer with a record of 39-0 and a reputation for extravagance. He and Keyshia were seen canoodling together in Vegas and pictures of the two indicate somewhat of a close relationship. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Not for celebrities, no matter their level of fame.

But Keyshia kicked it up a notch this month by partying with other A listers at Jet Nightclub to celebrate the birthdays of Quentin Tarantino and Fergie, the leading lady of the Black Eyed Peas turned solo hit maker. To everyone’s surprise Keyshia was looking cute and casual in jeans and striped top.  The celebrity infested soiree was attended by other huge acts in the music business such as Usher, Nelly and Kanye.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

Through checking up on the latest from Keyshia Cole, I discovered that she may be comming out with a clothing line. Could the rumors be true? Well, no one seems to know. No official date has been set for the line to be released, and fans are wondering what the line will be named, as many are eager to see her designs for clothes and shoes.

But with all of the headlines Miss Cole has made as a result of her own fashion catastrophes, many bloggers are suprised that she would risk investing in a clothing line. I mean, who is going to want to buy clothes and shoes made by someone who often appears under the “fashion disaster” headline? I have read numerous articles accusing Keyshia of having one of the worst stylists in the business, and if this clothing line really does take off, I hope that person has nothing to do Keyshia’s designs.