Orange Is The New Black Star Taryn Manning Proves She Can Sing In New Video

I'll admit it. I'm way late to the party on this one. Although I am a massive fan of Orange is the New Black, I never in a million years thought any of those ladies were singers. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Taryn Manning, the local psychopath on OitNB, not only released a new single, but has been releasing songs for years. Egg on my face. But luckily not Manning's because this song is amazing.

I am in love with both this song and it's accompanying video. Taryn is such a beautiful person, which makes me kind of sad given her characters treatment on OitNB. She really is reaching for hear dreams on every front. She's got the acting gig solidified, so now, in the show's downtime, she's making her music dreams come to fruition. With her new legion of fans thanks to Netflix, I really do think this single is going to blow up for her.

The video's plot line is a bit confusing. A man hides some kind of orb in the desert, and Taryn seems to have the key, another orb, to finding it. Much of the video is Manning and her companions wandering around the desert landscape in some amazingly beautiful shots. I absolutely love the cinematography of this piece, only adding to her siren-like voice and amazing EDM production by British-Canadian producer Bynon.

In perhaps the most humble and adorable ever interview with E! News (those words don't regularly go together), Taryn talked about how she has long been a fan of EDM, even before that term was coined. She went on to talk about how she hopes that this song helps her move forward with her career, perhaps even garnering the attention of big time producers like Pharrell and Calvin Harris.

Honey, I wish you the best of luck. With the right promoting, this dance gem can really elevate your career. You've discovered a whole new fan in me! 

RuPaul's Drag Race Announces Chanes To "Untucked"

For the past five years (or six, if you count season one's Under The Hood), Untucked has been an amazing insight into what happens when the girls of RuPaul's Drag Race think nobody is looking. Some of the best moments came from Untucked. "This is not Rupaul's Best Friend Race" and "I'm feeling very attacked!" both came from this companion series to Logo's mega hit reality show, but they just announced one big change, with more hinted to come. Check out the new teaser.

Ok, so the teaser is a bit pointless. Not much happens, really, but we do get to see one big change. This year, instead of Untucked directly following the show, it will premier the next day at 9 AM EST exclusively on YouTube. It promises to be "uncaged", although it's not exactly certain what that means. The official World of Wonder website gave the following statement to accompany this big change:

"Untucked: RuPaul’s Drag Race, the after show of the hit Logo TV series, is being distributed as a digital series this season. “This is the viewer’s chance to see what really goes on behind-the-scenes at RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s not just untucked – it’s uncensored, unhinged, and unapologetic, bitch. Just like Madonna,” said World of Wonder founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Weekly, full-length episodes will premiere exclusively on WOWPresents every Tuesday at 9:00 AM EST, starting March 3."

I guess we will find out what that means exactly in one week!

Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Season 5 Episode 15 [Review]

Hey can you believe I've kept with this show this whole time? Usually I'd get bored by now. Lucky for me, this season is anything but boring. Even when things are incredibly positive and fun, there's always the one (or two or four) girls who have to make it something drama-filled. Makes for good TV, but not for good friends. Let's see what kind of insanity the girls get into this week.

Adam Barta's Newest Reality TV Team Up Song Is WIth Honey Boo Boo

Yes. You read that title right. Adam Barta is back to his old antics of going to reality TV stars to join him in his musical adventures. Previously he has teamed up with Octomom, Tan Mom, Angelina from Jersey Shore and a plethora of other people you may have seen on random reality TV. So now he's teamed up with TLC's recently canned reality megastar Honey Boo Boo. That's right. That girl is going to sing.

Inside Edition and Starcasm broke the story today about Adam Barta teaming up with the tiny star. Although it is unclear to what degree Barta is involved, it is clear that Boo Boo is the star, and her sister Pumpkin is also included at some point.

On Alana (Boo Boo)'s official fan page the following statment was issued. Careful, though. It's full of awful grammar.

"JUST WANTED TO SHARE ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS THAT WAS RELEASED TODAY WE HAVE A SONG/MUSIC VIDEO COMING OUT WITH PUMPKIN AND ALANA AND A AWESOME GUY ADAM WE HAD A BLAST RECORDING IT AND WAS COMMENTED ALANA DONE GREAT FOR HER FIRST EVER ON A STUDIO I'M VERY PROUD OF HER AND PUMPKIN AND WE DONT HAVE RELEASE DATE YET BUT WILL LET Y'ALL KNOW IT'S A GREAT IT'S A GREAT CATCHY SONG WE WANT TO THINK OUR TRUE FANS WE APPRECIATE OUR SUPPORT AND ALWAYS LOVING US THERE IS MORE EXCITING THINGS TO COME ‪#‎MOVINONUP‬ ‪#‎HONEYBOOBOOBOP‬
‪#‎AWESOMEFANS‬"

No clips are actively available nor is a release date, but an in-depth behind the scenes clip is set to premier on Inside Edition tonight, with many more details. All we have so far is that there will be a video, and the song is titled "Moving Up". It should also be noted that this is not the only announcement from Boo Boo and Mama June. They also are rumored to be returning to TV in a new reality show.

 We will be sure to update after more details become available.

Jayne Ava Gets The Party Going With "Something There"

It's been a hot minute since Jayne Ava released her debut single "March". She is ready to keep this music party going finally with her newest single "Something There", and if you haven't given this hot young talent a chance yet, there's not better time than now, as she prepares to launch promotions for this hot title.

I absolutely love that she chose to have her (real) face on the cover of this single. She is such a beautiful young lady, and it's great for the audiences to be more properly introduced to her. And let's not even mention that the cover is a real eye-catcher.

The song really holds up to the hype as well. We are able to really get a feel for Jayne's vocal range with this track, as well as see her breathe new life into the dying state of electro-pop music. This song is really something you would hear at a club (a gay one at least!) and it really makes you want to dance when you are listening to it. It is a song that manages to deal with heartbreak in a more positive way, spinning things upward with a powerful beat that would make any song sound like a dance anthem.

It is no shock that this song is so amazing. Behind the scenes, she was working with the production group The Prodigal, who may not be as big of names as Red One or The Cataracs when it comes to dance music, but they have developed a catalog all their own, which includes working closely with both Willam Belli and Courtney Act from RuPaul's Drag Race as well as Asia Monet from Dance Moms. Let's just say she needs to be getting way more love from the LGBT community!

For now, you can pick up the track on iTunes. There is also a music video in the works which began filming yesterday. It looks like we will be seeing more of Ms. Ava in the near future!

Dean Ford Previews New Album With Single "Somebody To Die For"

Dean Ford has been a long time favorite here at TOTU, ever since his debut album CTRL. He has been absent for so long, but lucky for me, he posted earlier this year that he was one the comeback and now he's out to prove it. He's back with is first single off his forthcoming album and he's ready to find his "Somebody To Die For".

Oh, Dean. It's been far too long. This guy came from out of nowhere and stole my heart back in the early days of this blog, and he's finally back to mesmerize again. His vocals are still light and airy unlike any male singer on the radio now, and his songs are still very fun and uplifting. It's the good old Dean that we've been missing, and if you haven't listened to him before this is the perfect track to pick up on.

Now, that's not to say that he's serving us the exact same thing. This time around we have zero overly obvious digital drums. Everything sounds more real and organic before, and the topic of finding a true love that is worth giving it all up is very cute and inspiring, a bit of a distinctive change from CTRL's more revenge driven lyrics. I feel like Mr. Ford is finally in a good place in his life. The song also features Renee Coolbrith, although it's not clear in what capacity.

While we still don't have a true release date yet for Get Messy, he is promising that it will come out this spring. Who knows? Maybe it'll be a great birthday present for me! On top of that he is tossing the word "album" around quite a bit, leading this blogger to feel like we may get more than six or seven songs this time around. Now let's hope for the best until I can squeeze all the juicy details out of him!

For now you can grab "Somebody To Die For" on BandCamp (Yay BandCamp!), wherein you can name your price!

Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Season 5 Episode 14 [Review]

Is it Wednesday already? After reaching a boiling point over the last two episodes, it really felt like things calmed down this week, which is good for the girls, not so good for us. It may have been a slower week, but don't let that deter you from reading. I'm still as snarky yet insightful as ever!

Andy Cohen Addresses RHNJ Rumors

Leave it to the king of all the Real Housewives franchises to come out and give us the news straight up. Lately, the rumor mill has been turning about one of these in particular -- New Jersey. Both rumors about casting and rumors about postponing the show until Teresa's return have been circulating, causing a bit of an uproar withing the fandom. Luckily Andy, being as vocal as always, has a few things to say to fans about these issues.

First of all let's give all the fans of the show a huge sigh of relief that Snooki, MTV's reality star cash cow from Jersey Shore and Snooki And JWOW, will not be on Bravo for Real Housewives of New Jersey. Thank God. I was very concerned when I heard this, but via Twitter, both Polizzi and Cohen have confirmed that she will not be a part of the casting process. "She ain't joining" was what Cohen responded to a fan on Twitter. And suddenly the world sighed in relief.

On the other end of the spectrum, a much larger and more likely rumor has been going around the internet, hitting all the major blogs that follow the franchise. This rumor looks at not only the survivability of the show without breakout star Teresa Giudice, but also the likelihood of it being postponed until next year when she is released. Andy's response to this was much less concise.

"I can't imagine not filming The Real Housewives of New Jersey. It's a big franchise for Bravo, and I think whatever we do, we're going to do it the right way," he explained to Us Weekly in a recent interview, "So we're still figuring that out right now."

It looks like things are still very unsure for the time being. We know that no official decision has been made just yet, but it's clear that the void will be large without Giudice. Perhaps they can bring back Jacqueline and Caroline Manzo to keep fans interested while the resident crazy lady is away. All we are left with is a vague yet hopeful quote from Andy. "Anything is possible."
 

Giulietta Unveils Second Single + Video For New EP

Australian indie-pop sensation has been teasing her new EP XXI for a while now. Last month she dropped the first single, "Over", and now she is wasting no time in getting more music out for us all to listen to. This time we get to hear and see "She Ain't Like Me". And thought the topic may sound like a Taylor Swift song, it's anything but.

I'll be honest with you all. I'm not 100% sold on "She Ain't Like Me". It's a far departure from even the RnB-Pop mix that we have been hearing previously from Giulietta. This song has a traditional sounding rap beat. It's very low key and slow, having a lot less energy. Basically it sounds like an extended interlude from a late 90s/early 2000s album.

That being said, she sounds flawless. Even if I'm not in love with the song, I can appreciate the vocal performance, which is always spot on with this lady. The video is along the same vein as it's predecessor, being very simple and focused on Giulietta in more common settings without a complicated plot or dazzly visual effects. This simple feel really fits with both the song's subject (of being better than your chick, obvs), and it's more relaxed and unconventional (in a pop sense) composition.

"She Ain't Like Me" might not be single of the year, but it's quality is a step above most other independent artist out there, and it leaves me very hopeful for XXI. The EP is said to drop in early March with the entire work being produced by L.A. producer Praajex. It has also been confirmed that this will not be the last music video released for the project.

"I'm A Ruin" Is The Froot Of The Month For Marina And The Diamonds

A few months back, indie-pop mega-hit singer Marina and the Diamonds announced she would be back in 2015 with a new album, and every month leading up until the release of said album will be a free track for everyone who has pre-ordered their album. This month she continues to follow through on that promise, and we have got their newest gem, "I'm A Ruin".

Anybody else get a Morello from Orange is the New Black vibe from this photo? Just me?

This song is a bit more of a slow jam. People who listen to the radio these days might see similarities to Lorde, given the airy vocals and drum machines, but those familiar with Marina know this bitch can make a low key track like no other. While this isn't exactly a premier single, it does show another side of what they can do, and gives FROOT an more three dimensional feel.

The song itself, as far as the current FROOT lineup goes, falls somewhere between "Happy" on the lower spectrum and "Immortal" on the higher spectrum as far as enjoyability. This gives the album four incredibly solid tracks. While the title track may be the only one that really lives up to the upbeat electronic sound that they presented with her last album, the new sound is really solid and still feels at home in both her vocal range and her musical taste.

There are still so many stories left to tell with FROOT. We have eight more tracks to discover and fall in love with, and with the album still two months away and only one free track left, we may be in for the long haul until this tasty bit arrives on our plates.

For now, you can preorder the album on iTunes and get four songs free!

Real Housewives Of Bevely Hills Season 5 Episode 13 [Review]

Can we get Cher down to Beverly Hills? Because we need to STOP THE INSANITY! Seriously, guys. This rollercoaster is spiraling out of control and fast. It's becoming difficult to keep track of who hates who now, and with everyone intertwining themselves in everyone else's drama, it's even confusing to figure out who is OK with who else. Oh lord. The things I do for Bravo. Anyway, let's get started with this weeks RHBH.

Side FX & Kim Cameron Have No Regrets With New Album

Side FX is one of those bands that don't get near as much recognition as they deserve. They have been on the Billboard Top 40 more times that I can remember at this point, and their vixen lead singer Kim Cameron has evolved into her role as a leader. They have once again defied the current state of music by doing the unthinkable (for indie pop anyway) -- they released an album. Take a look at No Regrets.

This album came as a bit of a shock to me. I hadn't seen a whole lot of promotion for it, and now it's out and ready to be listened to. No matter, I still gave it a thorough listen. What is really amazing is the band's ability to create a steady stream of music. They have never really had a drought where they were missing from the music scene, giving fans a steady stream of music to enjoy and discover as the year unfolds. They've started off 2015 with a full album.

And that's another thing that is a bit interesting about this album. I believe it may have originally been meant to be an EP, as there only technically only eight different songs. The rest of the impressive sixteen track album is filled out by remixes. While I find the track listing a bit off for it being classified as an album (as in hearing one song, and immediately having the remix follow it), I think this is a very interesting and cost effective idea. All of the individual tracks are strong on their own, and the remixes give them a different vibe. For instance, "Carnival of Baggage" has a very Blondie feel to it, but on the very next track it is remixed into a club banger.

This endeavor is a very bold one that not many artists would have chosen, but by the title, it's obvious they full well knew the risks they were taking. And not to be redundant, but I feel they truly had no regrets.

You can listen to the album in it's full glory now on Spotify.

Bentley Jones Releases First French Single + Announces New Albums

You heard right. Bentley Jones, constant music-making-machine, is at it yet again. Not even six months after his last release, he is already back at it, working on yet another project. I had spoken with him briefly in an exclusive interview about his next steps, but it wasn't until now that we finally know the direction he's heading. He's got one new surprising single out, and he's driving it straight through to a new multi-album project. Check out "Moi... Lolita".

"Moi... Lolita" is Ben's first French single, making it a very unique track. The song has been very well received by both his French and international fans. This is  definitely a new direction for the pop singer who's primary releases have been English and Japanese up until this date. The track is a cover of another artist named Alizee, which was a top ten hit in countries around the world, including number one on Japan's Oricon charts.

The release of this came with a very exciting announcement from the Bentley Jones team. "Moi... Lolita" is the first single from his new album Home (TRANS//LATION 3: Chapter I). That's right, guys. Chapter I. This project is planned to be three full albums, each with it's own theme. The theme for Home is focusing on Western countries, recreating different hits countries in Europe and North America (presumably).

Although no track list or even names of other artists he's covering mentioned, we do have a release date for Home. He will be granting us this gift March 22, his 30th birthday and the 6th anniversary of the very first TRANS//LATION. He has promised that the album's two companion parts will not be far behind. Now can I just get me a Bentley Jones/Koda Kumi cover please?

For now you can snag "Moi... Lolita" on his official site!

Chelsea Korka Teases Debut Album "Being Human"

I can't even put to words how excited I am for this. Chelsea Korka has been one of those artists I've been watching for years, waiting (basically begging) for new music. Trust me, her EP and one single she has released over the past four years are not enough for this blogger. Luckily, I came across a post from her that if you'd blink, you'd have a substantial chance of missing it. It was the first promo for her new album, Being Human.

Chelsea Korka. Where do I begin? She is one of those artists that seems to have their careers stolen from them at every turn. She started out on The CW's reality show The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll 2007, where she was a finalist to join the band. After missing out on that opportunity, she was approached to join a new international girl group, Paradiso Girls. The band, which was a collection of girls from diverse nationalities, went to release two amazing singles, but selling girl groups in the United States is a hard bargain, and the group was canned. Their fully recorded album was permanently shelved.

Since then, Korka has been making a go on her own. She has done extensive touring and released a solo EP back in the early 2012 and more recently released a single called "Save Me". Unfortunately all of this has been taken down from iTunes. On the bright side we have confirmed that she does have the intention to release new material soon. Check out this sneaky post she made to Facebook yesterday.

Post by Chelsea Korka.

Most notably, it seems that having her songs taken off of iTunes is part of a re-branding strategy. Instead of going by Chelsea Korka, here she is going by CGK, the "G" presumably being her middle name. Whether or not that is the case is unclear, but the words "Debut Album" and "Being Human" are definitely there, giving this blogger hope for the future.

We do not have a release date yet, nor an indication as to whether stand alone single "Save Me" will be a part of this album. All we know is that she has felt solidified enough in the release to make the announcement, and that we get a very, very short clip of a new track called "Romeo".

Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Season 5 Episode 12 [Review]

The season is in full swing now, and we've gotten pretty much all the major story lines (drama lines, more like) set up. Now we just sit back and see where the cards fall. The lines have been drawn and people are coming to the end of their ropes. Who will be pushed over the edge today? Let's find out.

Jpop Watch - Koda Kumi's New Album Details Revealed

That's right! Koda Kumi has finally revealed the details of her new album. With barely a month to go before it's release, this quick announcement has caused a stir in the JPop community, leading everyone to rush to get their favorite artist's album on lockdown before it's March release. Let's get ready for Walk Of My Life.

The new album titled Walk Of My Life comes out March 18, giving Kumi just barely a month to do promo, but I've seen her do crazier things. Though not a lot about the album is known, we do know that as per usual, there are several versions of the album planned for release, and we also have the track list.

As for versions, we have the normal CD, the CD+DVD containing music videos of all of her singles so far and making of videos for a few of them, and a DVD+Bluray containing the same material as the DVD. Each version has it's own cover, each more beautiful than the next -- meaning I might need to buy this album a few times. My poor wallet. There is also a Japan-only fan edition containing a DVD (I believe) of a special live event.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Introduction
02.Dance In The Rain
03. Lippy
04. Mercedes
05. Like It
06. House Party
07. Dance
08. HOTEL
09. Gimme U
10. You can keep up with me
11. MONEY IN MY BAG
12. PIECE IN THE PUZZLE
13. Fake Tongue
14. Sometimes Dreams Come True
15. LIFE so GOOD!!
16. WALK OF MY LIFE

It looks like her smash hits "Hotel" and "Dance In The Rain" are present, as well as B-Side single "MONEY IN MY BAG". The rest of the album is unknown. While many fans were not happy with her last album, coming into a more mainstream pop sound, honestly hope that this album keeps on track with it's singles, giving us a more vocal, less RnB version of Koda Kumi.

Aside from this news, we did get a small preview of the title track, "Walk Of My Life", which is a slower ballad. I could totally get into it.

Post by 倖田 來未 Koda Kumi - America.

Miss Fame of Drag Race Season Seven Interviewed in Drag Queen Magazine

Some of you have pointed out that the interview train has slowed down. Starting with the return, I vowed to get a minimum of one interview a month in, but last month seemed to be lacking. Well that's because I was busy working up a great article for an online magazine about -- you guessed it -- drag queens! For their February issue I got to do the featured interview with Miss Fame, upcoming star from RuPaul's Drag Race season seven!

View the full Magazine here.

In this six page interview, I was able to get up close and personal with Miss Fame. Although I couldn't exactly ask her if she won the show (and with Mama Ru's twists and turns she probably doesn't even know yet), but I did get to find out who she is as a person. It was great to get to to know a contestant before the show begins, giving me a fresh look, and maybe even shining light on a side of her we might not have a chance to see on the show.

But don't stop at my interview! There is also a feature on trans NYC legend (and my good friend) Dina Delicious, as well as an in depth look at covergurl La Voix, known across Britain for her appearance on Britain's Got Talent. This issue has enough to keep it going, but I'm glad I got to help out. Hopefully there will be many more season seven interviews in my future.

I'm calling you out Violet, Katya, and Ginger! (And pretty much the rest of the cast! I love them all!)

Animated Band Gorillaz On The Comeback

Way back in 1998 the world's first breakout all-animated band (sorry Jem!) made their way into just about every home across the nation. They created a bit of a pattern of appearing and then subsequently disappearing. Now, after being absent for nearly four years, creator Jamie Hewlett has released new artwork confirming rumors of their return.

Gorillaz has been a revolutionary band since it's incarnation. For years, they managed to keep their identities hidden from the massive public. Eventually it came out that the project is the lovechild of two men, Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn. Their concerts, consisting of all animated characters opened the doors for a lot of other projects, including the all hologram concerts in Japan via Vocaloids.

Recently, Hewlett posted on twitter two pictures -- one of Murdock the bassist of the group (seen above) and another of Noodle the guitarist. With these, he confirmed that the group was coming back. Setting aside rumors that the band had a falling out over the past years' hiatus, he said "Yes. Gorillaz Returns."

No song or release date has been announced yet, but we can certainly hope that 2015 will contain a new single at least.