Mary J. Blige to Headline 2010 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans

R&B singer Mary J. Blige will headline the 2010 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. The event, which is billed as one of the nation's largest annual events, celebrating black music and culture, will be held July 2 - 4.

A full list of performers have not been released yet. The performers will hit the stage at the Louisiana Superdome and motivational seminars will be held during the day at the Morial Convention Center.

Mary J. Blige has performed at Essence eight times. This year she is expected to perform songs from her latest studio album, "Stronger with Each Tear."

Read more »

Billboard Live Presents Alicia Keys at The Apollo in HD on Jan. 7, 2010, in Downloadable Free Concert

BillboardLive.com has teamed up with R&B powerhouse Alicia Keys to show off its new technology which allows fans to watch free concerts broadcast in high definition (HD) via iPhone or iPod Touch. You can access the live performance, which will be available on January 7, 2010, by logging on and downloading the Microsoft Silverlight and OWL (Our World Live) HD player onto your computer free of charge. Once the download is completed, fans will have the ability, for the first time ever, to view the concert from up to five different camera angles of their preference, according to Eurweb. Of course, this depends on the viewers' bandwidth.

The concert, featuring the 12-time Grammy Award winning singer, will take place at 6 p.m. PST at The Apollo Theater in New York City. Keys will also be introducing new artists who will also perform during this broadcast. Alicia Keys latest album, The Element of Freedom, debuted in the No. 1 spot on Billboard's R&B
Albums and Digital Albums charts and No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums charts, according to Nielsen/Soundscan.

To watch the promo for the concert on BillboardLive.com, CLICK HERE.

Read more »

Beverly Johnson Sued by Former Boyfriend Mark Burk, Claims They Had Oral Agreement for Money

Beverly Johnson has been sued by her former boyfriend, Mark Burk, who claimed she failed to live up the an oral agreement in which she promised to pay him half of whatever she earned while they were together. He said they agreed that they would act like husband and wife.

According to TMZ, in the lawsuit, which was filed in California, Burk claims Johnson agreed to support him "for the rest of his life in the same style and manner that was established" during their relationship.      

Burk's lawsuit states they broke up in December 2008 and Johnson has yet to pay him any money.  Burk is seeking $5 million in damages. This is laughable and I hope the judge throws this case out. I find it hard to believe that Beverly Johnson had to resort to a "pretend" husband because she couldn't find a real one.

Read more »