We’ve all been there. You had an outfit you liked, a project you were doing, something you worked long and hard on only to find that those around you felt that it was…uh, how to say this…a piece of crap. It’s never easy, and these type of realizations happen every day in the entertainment world, where many an artist gets excited about a new single and release and force it on folks, only to find that those same folks wouldn’t touch that mess with a 10-foot-pole, let alone their hard earned cash. Here are 10 songs these artists thought were the greatest thing since sliced bread, but got the cold shoulder too fast.

Girl On Fire – Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys released the album Girl On Fire in November of last year, and being that it’s almost March and she’s still pushing the song “Girl on Fire” on us at every opportunity, you would think the album came out last month. It’s not a terrible song, but its attempt at being the girl power anthem of the decade fell short when people started noticing that Keys was doing a whole lot of yelling as opposed to singing. A bunch of remixed versions and different ways of performing it live couldn’t make it hot, but hey, you can’t knock a girl for trying. But it’s time to stop.

When we hear his name, we swoon, and when we see him on the screen, big or small, we pay close attention. Since the mid-nineties, Idris Elba has been making appearances on dozens of television shows, taking on the role of gigolos, bar hoppers and forensic scientists, and also the notable role of a cunning drug lord and an aspiring businessman on the critically-acclaimed show, The Wire. A few years later, he earned reoccurring roles on The Big C and The Office, and presently, he’s headed into the third season of his hit British crime series, Luther, which has earned him a Golden Globe.

The Sierra Leonean/Ghanaian West Londoner’s contribution to the film world has been just as significant. Starting off small, he’s played a lowly mechanic in Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, a troubled and harassed husband in the thriller Obsessed, and a valiant spaceship captain in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. He’s been in more than 20 movies to date, and he’s currently filming two more as we speak, one of those movies being a biopic about Nelson Mandela’s life, in a film entitled, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and the other movie is a sequel to Thor, where he will be reprising his role of the all-knowing guardian, Heimdall. And, word around the web is that Idris may be in line to become the next James Bond once Daniel Craig’s contract is fulfilled. One can only hope, as it’s time they bring some color to that role.

Booming film and television career aside, we respect Elba’s hustle, because he tries his hand at everything and has a plethora of other ventures in the works. We’ve spotted him on dozens of print and online Tanqueray ads, holding ice glasses of gin and wearing a gamesome expression. And, as of 2011, he became the face of a new Smartwater campaign.  He’s also been seen in the music videos of Fat Joe, Angie Stone and UK artist Gigs. Elba co-produced and performed on Jay’s American Gangster album, and he starred in and directed a moving Mumford & Sons music video, called “Lover Of The Light.” And, he’s released two EPs, and performed all over as a DJ with the stage name DJ Big Driis the Londoner. And, by no means is he an amateur in the music department. He’s been DJing since the late 80s, having once owned a DJ company with a group of close friends.

In terms of his personal life, the once divorced transatlantic stud has one daughter, Isan Elba, for whom he bought a home in Atlanta to be closer to; and he has one son, by the name of Ortega. Elba shares time between Atlanta, London and Los Angeles, considering U.S. his home, though he still prides himself on being a ‘London boy.’ And, forever discreet about his love life and presumed single, it was rumored that Elba has excluded black women from his net of dating hopefuls, BUT, he enthusiastically denied those claims on Twitter. And we can’t help but be enamored by a guy who isn’t vain, and actually claims to not know what the hype surrounding his beauty is all about. I mean really!? Has he looked in the mirror!? That skin? That smile? That body? That accent? He could be our Valentine anytime, but we’ll just have to dream about that happening…for now…

Wake up. Think about a man. Get dressed, while thinking about a man. Go to work. Complain to co-workers about not having a man. Go home and talk to friends about why none of you have a man. Go to bed. Dream about a man.

If this is the story of your life, this will probably remain the story of your life, unless you actually get a life. Men should be additives and not the reason you eat and breathe. Unfortunately, some women have become so obsessed with the idea of finding Mr. Right that they’ve allowed it to consume their lives, thus sitting around playing the waiting game while life passes them by.

Then there are other women who end up getting in a relationship, only to allow their man and relationship to define their existence. Sound a bit extreme? Surprisingly, it happens more than you realize.

So how do you know if you are one of these relationship-obsessed women whose world revolves around men? Consider these six, somewhat blatant signs.

It was the mid 90’s and life was good.  TGIF was in full effect on the ABC network, instead of Facebook, AOL instant messenger and chat rooms connected you more to complete strangers than friends and no one could tell me that I wasn’t going to marry Marques Houston, the lead singer of the popular boy band Immature who would later be known as IMX.  At the most intense point of my fandom, you could find my walls literally wall-papered in posters of glistening boy pecs and the single “I Don’t Mind” from their first LP blasting faithfully from my room every morning before school.  Whether it was Jodeci, Hi-Five, Shai, N’Sync, Boys II Men or Backstreet Boys we all had boy band or pop star crushes that captured our hearts, and lifted them up only to send them crashing.  Don’t let your favorite one, whether it be the “The Quiet One” or “The Dangerous One” be pictured with the next hot, new starlet and suddenly you felt that you were in an emotional rollercoaster with someone you’d probably never meet.

Now in a time of Twitter and Tumblr, fans of today have one thing that the teen version of me didn’t: What seems to be a direct connection to the celebrities they either would love to be or love to be with.  And more and more the fame monster is preying on the prepubescent, making the obsession with lifestyles of the rich and famous dangerously delusional.

We’ve got the Beliebers, Justin Bieber’s personal disciples who spread the written gospel of “Baby” and “Never Say Never.”  Then there’s the Rihanna Navy who make sure everyone gets drenched in Rihanna’s reign of girl power and stand as the ultimate FU to demure unfashionable females everywhere. Chris Brown’s Team Breezy held it down for the boy through all of his ups and downs.  Trey’s Angels make sure ladies everywhere can show their appreciation for the chisel chested Songz for a mere $30.00 a year membership fee. And if Drake should be proud of anyone it should be Team Drizzy for following him across the globe and making sure a fan book is always there waiting for him.

Infatuation is one of the illest feelings when a relationship is new.  You can’t wait to see your new boo, get a call or a text, or a surprise lunch date.  But then, after three months or so, you feel like, maybe, your dude is pulling away.  He doesn’t call as much, so you call more.  He doesn’t call back right away, so 30 minutes later you’re sending him a text wondering why he hasn’t answered your calls.  You show up at his door (even if he lives a hour-and-a-half away) unannounced to treat him to breakfast.  You question why he’s not answering is home phone, and drive by his crib to see if his car is there.  All the while, you feel crazy and desperate, but you can’t stop.

He’s becoming your obsession, and the more you push, the more he pulls away.  ”Most obsessive relationships don’t last.  The partner of the obsessive love frequently becomes tired of [the other's] overwhelming needs” says Monique Belton, PhD, co-author of The Essential Guide to Overcoming Obsessive Love.

Dr. Belton gives us some red flags that you can identify in either yourself or your partner.  She calls them “Obsession Alerts”…..

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