Credit: Supplied by WENN

From The Grio

What kind of former child performer can sell a million records in a matter of days?

Such is a week in the whirlwind life of Justin Timberlake, the megastar every woman wants and every guy surely wants to be. An anomaly in more ways than one, the man is officially embarked on a path to world domination.

The birth of Timberlake-Mania

From the gilded gramophones of the Grammy Awards to the laugh-filled set of Saturday Night Live, the world’s most famous former boy-band mate and Mouseketeer is both in your ears and your face. Timberlake-Mania is racing ahead at warp speed, not unlike sales of his new album The 20/20 Experience. Timberlake’s third solo effort threatens to break one million sales after just a few days in circulation.  All of this comes less than six months after tying the knot with his longtime girlfriend, actress Jessica Biel.

Read more at TheGrio.com.

Source: AP Images

When Justin Timberlake announced his return to music, no one really knew what to expect. However, it seems that the majority of people seemed to think he would be bringing sexay back just like the good old days…that somehow, in the course of seven years, he couldn’t possibly have grown up at all. With that being said, I’ve come up with three reasons why Justin Timberlake may appear to be copying Robin Thicke, when in actuality he is NOT copying Robin Thicke.

First of all, anyone who knows anything about Justin Timberlake’s history in music knows that Justin Timberlake has always had some soul or R&B flavor, even back when he was in ‘N Sync. However, within the constraints of a pop boy band like ‘N Sync was not able to express it. It was only until the Celebrity album that Timberlake was able to write three songs, two of which became some of ‘N Sync’s most “urban” songs to date, Girlfriend, and Gone. This is when we started to see his strong use of falsetto, and his use of R&B style runs and ad-libs. By Timberlake’s first solo album Justified, we saw drastic increases in his use of falsetto, and even some obvious Michael Jackson influences. The use of R&B-sounding runs were in abundance on this album;  however, because of the fact that this was Justin Timberlake’s first solo album there was still under pressure from the record company, and thus he had to create a more pop album.The same was true for FutureSex/LoveSounds. Fast forward seven years to today with Justin Timberlake now being a successful actor and entrepreneur, and having taken seven years off from music, it’s quite obvious that JT is simply making music now because he misses it and without having anything to prove, we now have the sound that is The 20/20 Experience.

The next possible reason for similarities in styles is a reason that Robin Thicke himself actually came up with. While speaking to VIBE TV, Thicke spoke about “Suit & Tie,” and why the two of them appear to have similar style.

“I like the song; the thing about Justin and I is that we’re inspired by a lot of the same singers, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder …so when you’re inspired by the same masters, sometimes you’re gonna make certain songs that sound alike but I like the record. It grooves.”  - Robin Thicke

I’m sure some of you are probably thinking that “obviously Robin Thicke has to say something like that because he wouldn’t dare say that Justin Timberlake is copying him.” However, before you go passing judgment, perhaps I should remind you exactly why this is a very plausible reason. Justin Timberlake is originally from Memphis, yes, that’s right, the home of some of history’s most soulful music. In that case, it is very possible that Justin Timberlake would be influenced by the same sort of sound that Robin Thicke has been influenced by.

Justin Timberlake may also be adopting a mature sound because he might just actually be more mature. Can you believe it? After 7 years, and a brand new marriage, he might have actually just grown up? Older people tend to listen and prefer more mature sounding music, that’s just the reality of the situation. In addition to that, his fans have grown up too. It might actually be an insult to his fans if he brought out new material that sounded more like Justin Bieber or Chris Brown. Sure Usher did it by selling out his urban R&B style and adopting the sounds of the younger generation, but with Justin Timberlake making a lot of money as an actor, he doesn’t need to adapt to the changing music industry. In fact, he can make whatever type of music he likes, hence why we have his current sound…a sound that Robin Thicke did NOT invent, a sound that not only one white male is allowed to have.

***NOTE: I am a fan of both Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake and have nothing against Robin Thicke in anyway.

They didn’t look like your ordinary soul and R&B singers, but they definitely were. You could hear the R&B influence in their singles, from “I Can’t Go For That,” to “Freedom 90!” and “This Is the Right Time.” Their songs and talent were often so dope that the local black radio stations had to slip their tracks in from time to time (like they used to do Justin Timberlake). We know where our recent faves are (the Joss Stones, Amy Winehouses, Adeles, etc.), but where are our past faves (and a few somewhat recent ones who haven’t dropped new music)? We found a few. Per the usual, be ready to click, and let us know who you’d love to catch up with below!

Source: Last FM

Lisa Stansfield

This talented UK singer became a favorite of black folks everywhere when she dropped the song, “All Around the World,” from her solo debut, Affection. But don’t get it twisted, Stansfield had many more jams that people love and still play to this day: “This Is the Right Time,” “You Can’t Deny It,” “All Woman,” and her remake of the Barry White classic, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

Nowadays, Stansfield is still putting out music from time to time. She’s put out two new albums since the new Millennium began, including 2001′s Face Up, and 2004′s The Moment. She’s working on a new album that she hopes to drop in 2013 (currently untitled). She’s also done her share of acting, doing the “Vagina Monologues” in London, and showing up on the series “Goldplated,” as well as the movie, The Edge of Love with Keira Knightley.

When it comes to good music, it doesn’t matter what the artist looks like. Check out this list of blue eyed singers with soul, or at least a catchy beat at Hello Beautiful.com.

What’s your favorite song from this playlist?

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According to London police officers, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her Camden Square home. The 27-year-old soul singer had a long and public battle with drugs and alcohol. Winehouse had been in and out of various rehab programs over the past few years. A video of the singer giving a cringe-worthy performance in Serbia went viral last month with many people commenting that she appeared to be back in the thick of her drug addiction.

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