Outstanding CD Release: Jordin Sparks - Battefield

Jordin Sparks' sophomore release Battefield sets her apart from the American Idol studio treatment she had on her first album and provides a pack of R&B/pop tunes from today's major hitmakers. From teaming up with Ryan Tedder to T-Pain, Battefield showcases a big bag of products that are stellar in writing, producing, and the amazing stylings of Sparks' voice. The album starts of very upbeat with the thumpy, empowering "Walking on Snow", telling a boy that everything he does is pointless from now on. The title track "Battlefield" is one of the best ballads on this joint, starting off a tad bit slow, but by the mid-section, Sparks picks it up with a lot screams and vocal layers. Other stand out tracks are "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)", "It Takes More", and "Emergency (911)".

This is definitely worth the buy. Her best material to date and she's just getting started FOR REAL! Jordin isn't playing. Battefield is in stores now!

Is There No More IDOL for Paula Abdul?

With all of the renewal of contracts going on with Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Ryan Seacrest going on, there seem to be no hope for kind hearted judge Paula Abdul. Her manager has been waiting for a proposal for contract negotiations from Fox, but none have yet to come. The auditions for the ninth season of American Idol start next month, so hopefully something comes back, but from the looks of it, she probably won't be on the panel anymore.

Paula should just be a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Personally, I never thought she was fit to judge a show for singers. For dancers??? YES!!! I mean, of course, she's won a Grammy and sold millions of records, but that was based off of her performance value. Her singing ability... not so much talent there. I'm sure some people feel me on this.

Ruben Says Next Album is Not a Comeback

American Idol winner Ruben Studdard is hoping to reconnect with his AI fans with his upcoming release, Love IS. Heavily at work with hitmakers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson), Stargate (Ne-Yo, Jordin Sparks, Beyonce), and country artist John Rich, Love IS is a collection of love songs and covers that Studdard's fans are desiring to hear.

Love IS is the Studdard's first release from Hickory Records, a distribution label of Sony BMG. Studdard left J Records in 2008, which is also distributed by Song BMG. He hopes that Hickory will help him capture his fans with his new material in a way that has never been done before.

The album will be released on May 19, 2009.

Fantasia gets reality show treatment from VH1

American Idol alum Fantasia has just inked a deal with VH1 to have her own reality TV show. The show will chronicle her life as a recording artist, Broadway star, and a single mother. Episodes are to start airing in early 2010. A title and episode count have not been set yet.

Also, she is to start another run of Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple in June and in the process, release a single from her forthcoming album with no title.