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She only came in seventh place on American Idol, but she’s the only one to date who’s an Academy Award winner.  Now Jennifer Hudson is set for more accolades with the release of her self-titled disc.

Vibe senior associate editor Keith Murphy told USA Today that “‘Spotlight‘ could have been sung by Rihanna or another pop or R&B act, but (Hudson) takes it somewhere else. She can belt out a song and make you cry.”

Hudson has no reason to shed any tears but tears of joy these days.  She recently got engaged to reality show contestant David Otunga, and her latest film The Secret Life of Bees, the follow up to her role in the box office smash Sex and the City, comes out October 17th.

So the question is raised again — is it better not to win American Idol?  Comment and let us know.

Robin Thicke is working his “Magic” once again.

His new album Something Else is here, and he’s about to embark on a fall tour to introduce his new material, kicking off with an instore at the Virgin Megastore in New York City.

Recently, Thicke has been featured in publications as disparate as The Source and The New York Times. His universal appeal is evident in the many YouTube remixes of his single “Magic,” where his many fans posted their takes on the song.  Check them out and while you’re there, check out the official video too!

He’s a Grammy winning songwriter who penned one of today’s biggest hits: Rihanna’s “Take A Bow.”
Yet, Ne-Yo tells the Miami Herald, “(I’ve) never seen the cover of Vibe magazine. Never seen the cover of People magazine. Never seen the cover of, you know, Rolling Stone magazine. And won’t. ‘Cause these people feel that for whatever reason, because I’m a fully functional adult and not a heroin addict, that I won’t sell magazines.”

Is he bitter, or does he have a point? Ne-Yo, whose latest album is The Year of the Gentleman, claims that despite his many songwriting credits (which also include Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”) he is underrated as an artist in his own right, mainly because he doesn’t live the opulent and controversial life style shared by many rappers.

“Everybody wants me to be the (guy) who’s (sleeping with) every celebrity woman in the industry. Everybody wants me to be this (guy) in the club, popping 17 bottles just because. Everybody wants me to be Diddy, and that’s not me,” he explains.

Do you think Ne-Yo is a refreshing change, a gentleman among gangstas, or do you think that his lack of controversy will keep him under the radar? Comment and let us know.

Touring behind his album Sleep Through The Static, Jack Johnson gives his audience “Hope” for a better tomorrow.

ABC News recently reported that Johnson requires recycling stations backstage at all his concerts, as well as locally grown and raised food. He uses a solar powered recording studio and buses that run on biofuel, inspired by the efforts of fellow musicians Willie Nelson and Neil Young.

“We’re not gonna change the world, me or the band or our little crew, but when you take the thousands of people we play for each night and when they start taking action and everybody starts to work together it’s a big growing wave and everybody does their little part so in that way music can change the world,” Johnson told ABC.

Do you think music can inspire change? Comment and let us know.

3 Doors Down’s new single “Let Me Be Myself” is another hit in the band’s short but illustrious career. The band’s popularity is soaring like Superman, and the realities of the road are taking a toll on 3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold, who is struggling with his voice after playing most of the dates on a nearly sold out tour this summer.

On a post on the band’s official website, Brad says:
HEY EVERYBODY! I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I’M SO SORRY FOR HAVING TO CANCEL THE SHOWS THIS WEEK. TOO MUCH SINGING AND RUNNING FROM ONE CITY TO ANOTHER JUST KINDA CAUGHT UP WITH ME FOR A SECOND. THE DOCTORS HAVE MADE ME COME HOME AND BE COMPLETELY SILENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS……..THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW ME KNOW THAT THAT’S NOT SO EASY FOR ME. I APOLOGIZE TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TICKETS TO THIS WEEKS SHOWS! I PROMISE YOU THAT WE WILL MAKE IT UP. THOSE OF YOU IN CINCY KNOW THAT WE MAKE GOOD ON OUR PROMISES. GUYS, I JUST CANT SAY HOW BAD I WAS SITTING ON A TOUR BUS RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF IN MY HOUSE. I JUST WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU ALL AND I ALWAYS WANT TO GIVE YOU MY BEST AND I NEVER WANT TO LET YOU DOWN. WE’LL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN VERY,VERY SOON! THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT!

The band’s sincerity and devotion to their audience have made them fan favorites, along with, of course, their strong songs and great hooks.

Check out 3 Doors Down performing “Let Me Be Myself” live on New York’s 92.3 K-Rock:

To think that Colbie Caillat, she of the smash hits “Bubbly” and “Realize” was rejected from American Idol.

Colbie recently told News & Observer, “I was super shy and really nervous, so I was not what they were looking for. I’m still kind of that way, although I’ve gotten a lot better at being onstage”

Good thing — she just wrapped up her summer tour with John Mayer, and now she’s heading to Europe for a fall trek that will take her to Japan, Australia, and more.

This winter, listen for Colbie’s “Mistletoe” on the upcoming release Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs.

Her new single “The Little Things” (the follow up to her smash hits “Realize” and “Bubbly”) is on course to continue Coblie’s reign as the next big thing.  Check out the video:

The Little Things

Eric Hutchinson is an Artist on the Rise, and his popular tune “Rock and Roll” keeps climbing onward and upward on the chart.

Here’s the video:

Eric’s fans include the infamous Perez Hilton, who featured Eric’s performance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on his blog. Speaking of fandom, check out some of Eric’s favorite videos here.

He loves Polaroids, his cat Holmes, and of course, making music.  He’s Jason Mraz, and his hit single “I’m Yours” is all over the radio right now.

Song lyrics | I’m Yours lyrics

Besides writing hit songs, Mraz has put together a book of Polaroid pictures he has taken over the years.  Titled A Thousand Things, the collection showcases Mraz’s eye for unique details, which is no surprise to fans of his eclectic lyrics.  The book will be available for purchase soon — you can get a sneak peek here.

Mraz’s U.S. fall tour starts October 8th in Scranton, PA.  Check out the dates here.

She does now!  Her latest song “So What?” lands the coveted number one slot on the Billboard  Hot 100 this week.

“So What?” was written in the wake of the break up of Pink’s marriage to Corey Hart — notice his name in a heart with her real name Alecia in the tree she chops down in the video for the song:

It may be her first solo number one, but Pink’s no stranger to the top of the charts.  She and fellow songbirds Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil’ Kim took their cover of “Lady Marmalade” to number one back in 2001.

Pink’s new album Funhouse hits stores October 28th.

They’re baaaack!  Metallica roars to the top of the Soundscan chart this week with Death Magnetic, their new Rick Rubin produced CD.

Many fans are saying the disc is a return to form for the band, but others are complaining about the volume of the tracks, including mastering engineer for the project, Ted Jensen from Sterling Sound.

Responding to some die-hard fans’ complaints, Jensen posted:

“…I’m certainly sympathetic to your reaction, I get to slam my head against that brick wall every day. In this case the mixes were already brick walled before they arrived at my place. Suffice it to say I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. Believe me I’m not proud to be associated with this one, and we can only hope that some good will come from this in some form of backlash against volume above all else.”

Some fans say the volume of the tracks is so high that the sound is completely distorted.  While it’s common for CDs to be compressed in this manner in the age of the iPod and tiny computer speakers, it seems that someone on the Metallica team pushed this technique too far.  It’s especially disappointing, according to die-hards, because the songs on the album are some of the best work the band has done in years.

Apparently, the songs sound very different (and much, much better) in the video game Guitar Hero 3, and there is a petition to release these mixes and/or re-mix/re-master the CD and vinyl versions of Death Magnetic.  Want to sign?