Melody
January 2014 ISSUE 1 £2.10
Rihanna
TOP
Rocks Rio
50
Ashanti's
RAPPERS
tour a
SUCCESS
BET Awards Nominations
Nicki Minaj HOT hits & collabs
R&B'S RISING STAR
kim j
‘
’
I WANT TO SHOW MY PERSONALITY
THROUGH MY OWN MUSIC
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: DRAKE
+
Eminem Beyonce Usher's Confessions Destiny's Child Top Ten Diva's
0 1256536590 TREY SONGZ | CHRIS BROWN | SHONTELLE
Melody Editor's Note
INSIDE JANUARY
Issue 1
Subscribe to Melody Magazine for just £3.00.
Get the UK's first ever R&B dedicated music magazine for just £1.50 each and you will recieve the latest news on events and artists right at your doorstep.
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Hi guys, It’s been one crazy month at Melody HQ’s. We received news that we won the best debut R&B music magazine at the MOBO awards. How exciting! We caught up with artists like Rihanna, R.Kelly, Fuse ODG and our home town mate Dizzie Rascal. In this month’s issue, we are jam packed with information you don’t want to miss out. The Latest Albums, reviews and Hot News will be in your hands. We will also update you with the top lists of the best rappers to the artist of the month. Each Month, Melody will give our readers exclusive gold chances to enter competitions and special article of our artists in ‘demand’. We have the one and only Kim J (Grammy award winner) as our main cover story in this issue. She talks about her fearless journey into the crazy and witted music industry. Kim J talks about her friendship with top artists and rappers like Nicki Minaj, Ciara and Nelly. Enjoy!
contents
Geeta Gohil
123
Features 14 Usher Exclusive Behind the Scene’s Footage
of Usher’s Performance at the EMA’s.
Ten Diva's 37 Top Check out on who the top ten striking Diva’s are, who snapped their way to the list.
of The Month 103 Artist This person has started from the bottom and hit the top of the lists.
22 Top
50 Rappers in History
Re-live those historic moments of rapping legends 2Pac and Eminem.
63 Eminem We caught up with Eminem on how
he is preparing for his upcoming world tour.
it Up 118 Arjun YouTube Musical Sensation Arjun,
1
shares his influences on how he mashed up Popular R&B and Bollywood tunes.
Side of Drake 77 Other The ‘Started From the Bottom’ rapper
EXCLUSIVE
Our exclusive guest talks about her jouney in the music industry and how it all started. interviewed by Geeta Gohil
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Megan Sellar travels back in time to recap the top R&B artists in the 90's.
shares his inspirational story of how he reached to the top of the charts.
Derulo 81 Jason I rather give up my career for my family and health’
1
37
Kanye West and Ashanti’s Tour kicks off with each have 1 sold out London show.
99
Exclusive
Rocks Rio 10 Rihanna Rihanna shines brighter than a diamond in her last show of her Diamond World Tourwhich kicked off in the US in May 2013.
Awards Nominations 52 BET Nominations and prepatation go ahead with the BET Awards 2014 to be greater than any other award show in history.
28 Megan Sellar goes back in time to find Travel Back In Time
out who were the biggest R&B artists in the 90’s.
Child 36 Destiny's Wait… Is it True? Really? Beyoncé confirms rumours that Destiny’s Child will reunite. Something is up their sleeves.
J 123 Kim 'The music
industry is not what you expect it to be'
We talk with Grammy Award Winner for Breakthrough artist – Anna J. We get to know the good, the bad and the ugly side of her.
Minaj 122 Nicki She’s back… fiercer, brighter and crazier. She is all ready to launch her brand new album. – ‘I’m grateful for my barbies and Ken-barbs for their crazy support.
42 Bruno Mars 50 Chris Brown 101 R.Kelly 46 Trey Songz 25 Jay Sean 67 Ashanti 118 Arjun 95 Beyonce 55 Musiq 80 Jason Derulo 85 Alicia Keys 14 Usher 22 Mariah Carey 130 Justin Timberlake Top Ten Diva’s 122 Nicki Minaj of R&B - Is 63 Eminem Georgia Leaper one of them? 107 Shontelle 68 Kanye West 98 Ciara 117 Robin Thicke Competition Don’t miss your chance to win an 77 Drake exclusive pair of ticket to the unmiss123 Kim J able gig of the month – Usher’s 88 Conor Climax Tour. Maynard New Reviews This months we put in place Nelly’s 15 Destiny Childs upcoming single by our very own 60 Jay Z ‘Melody’ critics. 110 Pharrell Williams Download Chart We update our readers with the top 104 Will.I.AM 40 most downloaded music of the 29 Ke$ha month. 49 Pitbull Gig Review: 90 Macklemore Ashanti's 'Brave Heart' tour Our very own Natasha Petal talks 115 Mary J. Blige about her fab time at Ashanti’s gig in 119 Stevie Wonder London. 120 NeYo Gigs & Tours 103 Prince Get the freshest updates of the unmissable tours in the country, this Charice week we talk about Kanye West’s 2 Cee Lo Green and Ashanti’s sold out tour! 75 Whitney Houston Artist Fact File 34 IYAZ Want to know everything about your favourite artist? Check out our 21 Keri Hilson very own personalised Artist Fact 26 Lionel Riche File. 62 Nichole Scherzinger
Regulars 113 8 90 99
Rap Battle 96 Upcoming Rappers join forces to ‘Rap it all out’ for a charity which provides aid and support to young ill patients.
Artist Index 10 Rihanna
84 110
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3 | Contents | Melody
Melody | Exclusive
www.melody.co.uk
www.melody.co.uk
‘
KIM J
THE WORLD
OF MUSIC IS ALL ABOUT
TAKING
RISKS.
TAKE ANY RISK OR
SACRIFIES THEN I WILL KNOW THAT
I WILL
NOT
SUCEED
KIM J
One Normal Teenager – makes history as being the first youngest British artist to win a golden shiny grammy. Words and Photography by Geeta Gohil
Stealing the hearts of the world with her outstanding surprised performance dedicated to the one and only ‘I’ll always love you’ singer Whitney Houston. Her successful journey and amazing talent got her into the world of music. >> 5 | Exclusive | Melody
Melody | Exclusive
“EXPECT THE
HOW WA
“I DIDN’T WANT TO EMBARASS MYSELF
IN FRONT OF MILLIONS” Taking a walk down success lane, Kim J shows her talent in singing to the whole world at one of the biggest stages in musical history. Photography by Geeta Gohil
www.melody.co.uk
R&B’S RISING
STAR
W
e have exclusive interview with the young breakthrough artist- Kim J. Spilling beans on her crazy and unexpected entry to the world of music which lead her to the biggest stage of musical history – The Grammy Awards Stage, where musical legends like Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Rihanna have all performed to their best.
Kim J is the first British young singer to be awarded with a Grammy Award for the best breakthrough artist of 2013. She broke the record by being the first young British singer to be awarded with one. Impressive! Despite being at a young age of 17, Kim J has achieved so much since day 1, she worked her butt off which at the end it all paid off by bagging herself with a shiny, golden Grammy award. Kim J is her stage name and is more recognisable compared to her real name Kimberly Jane Ford. Kimberly was only 9 years old when she started to have a passion to sing and perform. Joining the school choir in primary school got her loving to perform. You must be wondering on how she got fa-
ABOUT ME, my mind was blank and all the possible things that could happen when you receive good news’ Being discovered by her idol, Queen of R&B… Beyoncé. Kim J shares her thoughts that she never expected Beyoncé to be surfing the YouTube. That’s a right shocker for us too. Kim was followed by an invite to UK’s biggest R&B and Urban Radio station – Kiss FM. She became a controversial topic within 2 days… Beat that Miley Cyrus! Little did she know that the visit to the Kiss FM studios would be a one in a million chance for her life to do a roly-poly. The one and only Queen B met Kim J in person and offered a recording contract to Jay –Z’s Record label where stars like Rita Ora, Calvin Harris and Alexis Jordan. Now that’s called destiny. Not only does Queen B influence Kim J, but top notch artists like Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and the mother of all R&B artists Whitney Houston were also Kim J’s influence. Their tough journey into stardom had become Kim’s one strong influence on how to come to the top of the charts. Kim J took this chance as she knew performing was her passion and she wanted to share her musical talent of singing with the world. She had already had a soaring fan club starting on twitter with over 1.5 million followers on twitter, 1 million likes on Facebook and what not. She is living the dream… or shall we say best of both worlds.
UNEXPECTED, NO MATTER
ACKY IT SOUNDS” mous? Well it all started when her friends uploaded a cheeky video of Kim J singing. The star reveals that if her friends didn’t do this funny but worthy prank on her then she wouldn’t have been sitting with us for her first ever exclusive interview and bag herself a grammy. ‘It’s funny how a prank won me a grammy, My friends are to be credited the most, without them I would’ve have been here’ The star confessed ‘My friends cheekily recorded me belting out in my room to ‘Halo’, uploaded it on YouTube and the next day I get a call from Amber, my best friend who told me that my video hit over 3 million views, and that Beyoncé herself tweeted the video, I like had a panic attack as firstly they put a video of me without my permission and secondly BEYONCE TWEETED
KIM
She was just a normal teenager when a something wrong J made her life flip around – the rich and famous life, however recently she has been having issues with the music industry. The rising star reveals that the prank must’ve been the best thing that happened to her, making her strike a grammy and a mind blowing performance at show dedicated to the musical legend Whitney Houston, got Kim J at the top of the world. Melody’s very own Geeta Gohil caught up with the young star to discuss about her entry to the musical world and what created this tense between the rising star and the competitive industry.
Kim is mainly known here in the UK as she released her first single ‘Paradize’ 2 weeks ago which immediately hit No.1 in the UK charts, selling over 410,000 copies on the first day, topping the record made by Drake with his single ‘Hold on, We’re going home’. After reaching Number 1, Kim J told us how she celebrated for her debut single to be No.1 in her home country UK. ‘I ate food… lots and lots of food, I also performed at a restaurant in London where I was having my celebration meal with my family, friends and crew’. Melody’s journalist Geeta Gohil also got told by the young star that she is soon going to tour around UK and get a chance to meet her fans and thank them for all
their support. ‘I have already started my planning dates for my tour in the UK, i’m spuer excited to trave and meet everyone who has given me extreme support throughout my hectic journey. I am also deciding who will be my openeing act.’ Kim loves to perform whether its singing or it’s just presenting a failed magic trick, she likes to see the smiles she brings to the audience’s face, and indeed she is doing it again. By her own fan base ‘Kimmies’ who have put a smile on her face and treating her like the Queen. Kim J reveals about her fans being the best in the world. ‘My fans are so supportive’ ‘Kimmies’ are cool and not dramatic. I’m glad they like my music and appreciate my talent’. Now that’s pure bond between the upcoming star and the fan base. Back to her Grammys Performance where she won the hearts of the world, Kim J was one nervous pea. ‘I’m glad it’s over’. Kim J had many sleepless nights before the actual performance, now every music artist would k n o w how she would feel as t h e y must’ve felt the same… w e l l maybe some do. T h e young star revealed that she was so n e r v ous and scared. S h e added on ‘I didn’t w a n t
>>
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Exclusive | Melody
Want to ask Kim J a question? Tweet us on @Melodymag
Melody | Exclusive to embarass myself infront of millions who were watching live!’ Kim J responded that she never performed in front of a large crowd of 150,000 people while the rest of the world in millions watched her performance live on TV. Not that, but her tribute performance to Whitney Houston got her over 4 million hits on
There are 4 tracks which have a catchy beat to it and there are 2 ballads in which one is with the only and one Mr Sexy Back – Justin Timberlake. ‘Recording with Justin Timberlake is like winning the lottery’. Kim J stated that she got too excited about recording her album that she already started writing her own songs and to be
“I WAS TOO BUSY BEING A
TROUBLEMAKER” YouTube in just under 48 hours. Can you smell that sweet success of hers? Check out her outstanding performance on MelodyMagazine.co.uk/Kim J
Little did she know that after this performance her mad journey to the music industry will go even crazier and unbelievable. Her managers and producers were chasing after her to get into the American charts as quickly as possible. Kim J told us ‘The Music industry is not what you expect it to be.’ Kim J exposed the truth of her music was all made last minute and she never got a chance to record her own songs. The tension between her and the industry began from her. ‘I wish I could bring out my own personality then the music industries personality’ Her debut album is just around the corner, Fans have been waiting impatiently however Kim J has started to give out small clues on each track on her album. ‘My album is different; it has a mixture of R&B and Soul. I’ve been told that my voice is perfect for that combination. I’ve have quite an experience recording this album and I’m just hoping my fans and everyone appreciates the hard work I put in even though I The didn’t singer get a confesses, chance to express my thoughts and feelings through the songs written by me’.
www.melody.co.uk
ready to record. ‘I’m hoping that once everything is solved out, I can release aan EP with all my songs and pure talent I’m willing to share with my fans’. Throughout the struggle of young Kim J’s career, Beyonce has helped in mentoring Kim J, as at a young age she has received a lot of pressure from critics to perform well on the charts, but when Queen B is there, we’re all fine right? Back to the happy note, Kim J not only talks about her exciting life in LA, but goes back to how she misses her
she never used to take her first days of her career seriously. Trouble-free Kim J believes that being crazy makes life bearable.
Check out the latest pictures of this exclusive interview only on our instagram page - Instagram. com/melodymag family and friends back home, the good old normal life without anyone having to boss you around and no one following you around. Kim J’s mum used to encourage her daughter to pursue a career in music, she knew that her daughter would have the potential to get to the top and now look, I think Mama J’s words came out right. ‘The word of music is all about taking risks, if I don’t take any risks or sacrifices then you will know that you will not succeed. Anyways everything happens for a reason, in this case for me I had to leave my family and friends to go to America and make them proud.’ You wouldn’t think that behind this innocent face is a prankstar. Kim J cheekily tells us that she went to every single dressing room at the night of the Grammy’s and played knock down ginger. ‘I came in for rehearsals for the Grammy Awards, and I couldn’t focus, I was too busy being a troublemaker, my assistant kept tracking me down and make me practice until everything was perfect, when I knew she was coming I used to hide’ To impress everyone, means that you need to put an effort on. But was it all worth it for Kim J after her tension with the industry? Kim J is one lovely girl, at a young age she has achieved so much that no other teenage girl must have done. We are so proud of her and hoping her best for the future. ‘It’s been such a privelage to be here at my first magazine interview, I really enjoyed it, I loved every minute and sharing t h e story be-
h i n d my success with everyone is truly amazing. I want to say a big thanks for Melody for having me and all my
KIM J Kim J strikes a pose at the camera, before she goes and prepares for her UK Leg Tour
fans who are reading this article, I love you lots and thank you for you immense support. I’m definately taking the left over cake... shhhh’ Tweet @MelodyMag to get behind the scenes of this exclusive interview. Kim J will be online on our twitter page on the 30th January 2013, she will be answering your questions. If you guys have any questions for Kim J, drop her tweet on @MelodyMag. In the meantime check out her current music video to ‘Paradize’ on our website. Follow her on twitter - @KimJ to catch up on recent events and tweets of the stars. Buy Kim J’s debut album which hits the stores and available to download on 25th February 2014, featuring her latest top hit single ‘Paradize’.
Twitter Questions Follow us @Melodymag and @Kim_J @lizzy_xo: What is your favourite song and album currently? Rihanna - What Now, it’s such a beautiful song and very catchy of course. I love Tattoos by Jason Derulo, this album has been repeat on my iPod for the past few weeks. I love it! @sofiaspring: Who would you want to collaborate with in the future? Timbaland and Alicia Keys. I love Timabalands music, it has such a good vibe to it and Alicia Keys is just perfect and it would be an honour to sing with her. @Natz_97: Do you think you’ll be nominated for a BRIT Award in 2014? You never know... I’ve got my fingers crossed. I will be delighted if I even got an invitation to attend the show.
“RECORDING WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS LIKE WINNING THE
LOTTERY”
@ohsnapitsray: What does your tour have for the fans? ohh... My shows will amazing, watch out guys, tickets will be on sale soon, you can only find out if you attend my show.
Pre-order Kim J’s Debut Single ‘Paradize’ now. Available on iTunes,
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Exclusive | Melody
Melody | Exclusive
SPECIAL EDITION EXTENDED INTERVIEW Words by Fiona Wong
Photography by Geeta Gohil
I’m here with the young and talented Kim J for an extended interview. We caught up with her at the Melody HQ with a cuppa. So Kim J, you’ve been having a right good year and I’ve heard that next year will be even more successful? ‘Yes, you’ve finally heard something true and no stupid rumours. Next year will be a bomb, I am going to be kicking off my UK tour with special guests performing and giving my fans a treat. I’ve also got many award shows to attend and hopefully launch my new album in the later months of the year.’ That’s amazing, talking about rumours, how do you try and communicate with your fans to make sure that they don’t believe in them? ‘As I’m a honest girl I would tell them upright, I wouldn’t lie to anyone, especially my fans, they are the reason for my success and the support they have continued to give me even with those pointless rumours shows that they care. It’s important to have a strong and trustworthy relationship between an artist and their fans, It’s because they dedicate nearly their whole life, and I feel like if I give them back something and treat them as loyal fans then I’m sure that they would be amazing at supporting me.’ What was the funniest rumour you’ve heard about yourself?
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‘oh god, the funniest rumour had to be when the paps were taking picture of me and Macklemore, thinking we were actually going out… oh come just because we walked out of the recording studio at the same time doesn’t mean we are going out!’ Will Macklemore be featuring in your future album? ‘ahh you got me! Yes we were in the studio writing the song and composing it. It was one long day. I’m hoping the fans will love it. Getting personal here, but how did it feel like growing up with your mum, We know you’ve lived in rough areas and kept on moving homes and schools, how much did it affect you? ‘To be honest with you, my childhood had to be a unique one, it wasn’t the greatest but it wasn’t the worst. Me and my mum had our memories and we made sure we put the effort in taking care of each other. Concerning about the locations I’ve lived in, Yes they have been an impact on me, it was not really a neighbourhood, every is a stranger of their own, hiding in their houses. The only thing good about the areas I’ve lived in is the shelter, right now I just think I’m blessed to living my life to fullest and make my mum proud. School never affected me, I never liked school. The schoolchildren weren’t the nicest friends; they teased me and bullied me. I always was the quiet girl sitting in the corner of the classroom.’
‘
‘
Everyone is a stranger If you could go back to change one moment in your life, what would it be? That’s a tough one, I may need to think about that. There are many moments I would change. I have a reason for them to change. We’ve heard that you have had struggles with people in the music industry, will there be a way to solve this problem? Do you think it’s going affect your career? ‘I don’t want to get too personal into this. All I’ve got to say is that there are problem between people everyday, it’s a common and natural. They only way to solve it is to be mature and solve it, not complain and think negative. I am a positive thinker and I really like to think about the good outcome and not panic. My career has just started, I don’t to end it that quick! Is it hard to communicate with fans while doing your work? ‘Very hard of course, I always get told off by my manager for not getting the work completed on time, it’s like high school all over again. I love my fans and I always try my best to respond to everyone, it’s just that some
things need to be completed in order for them to be happy, all my hard is for them. What your favourite social network site to communicate with your fans? It’s obvious going to be Twitter. It’s so in right now. It easy and very interesting as well. I’m not really into Facebook and other socal networks as it’s not as popular as Twitter. Like there is over a billion accounts, like woahhh!!! Thank you very much for taking your time out for answering some our questions. So where are you going to go from now on? ‘It was great of you to tell us some of your personal things with us. From me and the melody magazine team, we wish you all the best for your career. ‘Thank you so much, I’ve had a great day at Melody HQ and I’m hoping to come back soon. Well in a few weeks time, I’m off to New York to visit my mentor Beyonce and plan about my album. EXCITED!’
Scan the QR Code below to watch an exclusive video of Kim J performing her
latest single
'Paradize'.
Buy Kim J’s debut album which hits the stores and available to download on 25th February 2014, featuring her latest top hit single ‘Paradize’.
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SPECIAL | Melody