Billboard Music Awards 2011 Performers

Sunday will mark the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. There should be a good variety of performers on hand from hip hop music to celebrate this latest show in Vegas. There will be a Lil Wayne Billboard appearance. He'll team up with singer Mary J Blige to perform a duet together on stage. This will be their song from the Diddy-Dirty Money album, also scheduled to appear on Blige's upcoming solo album. Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green and Snoop Dogg are among the other performers scheduled for the show. Among the presenters will be everyone's favorite young couple of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The 2011 Billboard Music Awards will also award Jay-Z's wife, Beyonce Knowles, with a special Millenium award. The show airs Sunday night starting at 8PM EST on ABC. Check local listings for appropriate channel in your area. See the official website for more details on Sunday's awards show. Also check out the "Fan Favorite" award voting here.

Common's Invincible New Album

Great hip hop minds think alike. According to a recent Billboard.com article, rapper Common will have an "electro-tinged" feel to his next album entitled "Invincible Summer". Kanye West, his friend, producer and collaborative guest many times, first did this sorta thing on the critically-acclaimed, award winning "Graduation" album released last year. Ironically this new Common album doesn't include a single bit of Kanye on production, but instead has The Neptunes and Outkasts' producer Mr. DJ at the helm. According to Billboard.com: "Kanye was focusing on his 'Glow in the Dark' show, so he hasn't been able to make it to the studio to weigh in," Common says. "But it worked out well, organically. The Neptunes & Mr. DJ came up with a fresh sound for me." Cee-Lo and The Neptunes' pop group, Chester French, guest on the album, but Common says singer-MC Santogold is "one of my favorite artists right now" and adds that he's awaiting a verse from her for the track "Runaway," which draws its guitar riff from Pat Benatar's 'Love Is A Battlefield." The first single is due out by the end of this month called "Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)". It's said to be a "high-energy" track, featuring techno-inspired drums. Here's a look at the early tracklist for Invincible: "Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)" "Make My Day" feat. Cee-Lo "Punch Love" "What A World" feat. Chester French "Changes" "Party Shit" "Dreaming" "Runaway" feat. Santogold Read more at Billboard.com.

Gnarls Barkley Odd Couple Reviews

Gnarls Barkley had the huge smash hit "Crazy" in 2006 which seems like it was out just a short while ago. The song continues to remain a favorite amongst music lovers everywhere around the globe. It made household names of the group which consists of rapper Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob and Dangermouse, the DJ behind "The Grey Album" - a mashup of Jay-Z over Beatles tracks. Their debut album St. Elsewhere did quite well and the odd couple went back into the studio to churn out album #2. The end result is entitled The Odd Couple which dropped 2 weeks ago. The sophomore album contains 13 tracks with "Run" as their first single: 1. Blind Mary 2. She Knows 3. No Time Soon 4. Whatever 5. Who’s Gonna Save My Soul [Video] 6. Run [Audio] [Video] 7. Would Be Killer 8. Open Book 9. Going On [Audio] 10. Charity Case 11. Surprise 12. A Little Better 13. Neighbors There's been a slew of positive reviews and some not so nice critiques of the group's latest musical journey. It's gotta be hard to compete with the previous success of St. Elsewhere and the breakthrough popularity of "Crazy". Reviews have called it everything from "a milestone in modern psychedelic soul" to a subpar sequel, much more "Rocky V" than "The Godfather: Part II." Here's 8 different reviews to check out from around the web if you've been considering picking up the new Gnarls album. LA Times Review - Score of 100 RapReviews.com - Score of 90 Entertainment Weekly - Score of 83 Billboard - Score of 80 NY Times - Score of 60 Spin - Score of 60 Village Voice - Score of 40 NOW Magazine - Score of 20 Check out the latest Gnarls album, The Odd Couple at Amazon.com. Gnarls Barkley Ringtones at Funtonia See the music video for Gnarls Barkley's "Run" here.

Odd Couple: Cee-Lo & Danger Mouse

After the critically acclaimed hit album, St. Elsewhere Gnarls Barkley is back at work in the studio. The duo consisting of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse is putting finishing touches on a new album called "Odd Couple" due out in April. They recently recorded with live musicians in Los Angeles for the on-going project. According to Billboard.com's article, there is no official tracklist yet, but Cee-Lo has one song asking "Who's gonna save my soul now?" Danger Mouse has upcoming projects he produced on by Black Keys, Martina Topley-Bird and Shortwave Set. This will be the group's sophomore release, and will be released on Downtown/Atlantic label. Many artists fall into that dreaded "sophomore slump" but you've have to believe this talented duo has more great music in store for the fans. Gnarls Barkley Celebrity Playlist - Download on iTunes