Ginuwine

Tyrese, Ginuwine, Tank Form The 'Ultimate R&B Fan Experience'

23 May 2007 17:30:00 EDT

'I want this thing to be like how it was when the Beatles [debuted],' Tank says about new group TGT.
By Shaheem Reid

B2K? Broken up. 112? Broken up. Dru Hill? Broken up. New Edition, Boyz II Men, Jodeci? No new music in years. With Jagged Edge and the fairly new Pretty Ricky and B5 seemingly the only male R&B groups left standing, the days when fans had an endless array of acts to choose from — such as Troop, Silk, Guy, Today and Intro — have been long gone. But now there's a trio that want to give the game a "jolt."

Singers Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank have formed a trio called TGT — which stands for Tyrese Ginuwine Tank, of course — and have an album and tour in the planning stages.

"Imagine us putting all three of our worlds together for the ultimate R&B fan experience," Tyrese said Tuesday via phone from his house in L.A. "Me, Tank and Ginuwine been talking about this forever. The reason why this makes sense is that besides all of us being R&B singers, we're all good friends. In this industry, you can't have a real conversation with a lot of people. It almost feels like you're having a conversation with somebody famous, instead of having a real conversation. Every time I see Tank, every time I see Ginuwine, we all had good energy regardless."

Ginuwine and Tank revealed that the three have roots that go back deeper than just politicking at industry functions.

"We've all known each other for over 10-plus years, so it wasn't heavy on the brain," Tank weighed in on Wednesday (May 23). "It was like, 'Cool, let's do it.' "

"Tyrese is my boy," G said. "Tank is my boy. I'm the first artist he's ever been on the road with. We go all the way back to 'Pony.' He was my background singer on my tour. Tyrese was my best man at my wedding. Needless to say, we are all close. I always wanted to experience the group thing.

"There's a void," he continued, referring to the lack of male R&B groups. "This is the perfect time for Tank, Tyrese and myself to give that jolt. You have a lot of solo artists out here. ... R&B is at a downfall, it needs something to shock it. I think this is just the thing. So I brought it to them and said, 'Are y'all up to it? It's gonna be a whole lot of work, but let's get it done.' They both said, 'Yeah.' We figure we can handle it. Now the particulars have to get sorted out."

As G puts it, the biggest obstacle concerning the project is choosing which label to release an LP through. After over a decade on Sony Music, Ginuwine recently made the move to upstart independent label King Music. Tyrese is signed to Clive Davis' J Records and Tank is signed to Universal/Republic.

"Now you're talking about three labels, three R&B artists, it's gonna be situation," Ginuwine predicted. "I'm the one in the group that's trying to dot all the I's and cross all the T's. If all goes well, we should be in the studio in September."

"Everything can be worked out," Ty optimistically declared. "That's just the truth. How is it gonna happen? I don't know. I think when anything makes sense, you figure out a way to work it out."

That also applies to the three men trying to find time in their schedules to actually make the album. Tank's Sex Love & Pain just debuted at #2 on the Billboard albums chart (see "Linkin Park Rule The Albums Chart: New LP Has Best First-Week Sales Of The Year"), so he's been all over the country promoting and doing concerts. Tyrese has a busy concert schedule as well, and he's also promoting his July 4 flick, "Transformers" (see " 'Transformers,' 'Die Hard' Sparking A Totally Rad '80s Revival"). Ginuwine has also been a fixture on the stage the past couple of years — but mostly in an acting capacity, in musicals such as "Mama's Sweet Potato Pie," "Men, Money & Gold Diggers" and, most recently, "The Bachelorette Party." He begins work on his next LP, New Beginning, in July.

"It'll take scheduling. Some things might not happen," Tyrese admitted of the group's agenda.

This isn't the first time Ginuwine has tried his hand at making a supergroup. Ten years ago there was talk of him, Sisqó and Usher joining forces, but that never panned out. R&B hasn't seen a project like TGT take shape since the late Gerald LeVert teamed with Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill to form LSG in the '90s. They released two albums as a collective.

"Most of the things that people who have tried to do supergroups have done wrong in the past has ended up in the papers, so you learn from that," Tyrese said.

"I think when someone doesn't know their lane, when someone doesn't understand what they bringing to the table," he added about why supergroups sometime run into problems. "I'm bringing R&B and hip-hop R&B and the Hollywood side to the table. Ginuwine is bringing most of the #1 records to the table. Tank is fairly new, but he's on fire. What Tank hasn't done for himself, he's done for other people. He has the respect of everyone in the game with all of [the] #1 hits [he's written] as well as how big his record ['Please Don't Go'] is. So he's bringing that weight up, which is a lot of weight."

All three artists have an idea about who they want to work with. Producers and songwriters such as R. Kelly, Timbaland, Scott Storch, Tim & Bob, the Underdogs, Rodney Jerkins and Bryan-Michael Cox come up unanimously.

"Anybody that has hits, man," G said. "We're not gonna turn down no hits. We're looking at 10-12 songs on the album. I believe we can have at least eight songs that are smashes, that are able to be first singles. Whoever wants to be a part of this history-making CD, that's who we're gonna go at. It ain't about no check. It's about wanting to win. Changing the game and wanting to win."

TGT's first song together will be the remix to Tank's "Please Don't Go." Tyrese recorded his part Tuesday and Ginuwine is supposed to lay down his vocals within the next couple of days.

"The remix is gonna be crazy," Tank asserted. "I think we're gonna get a visual for it too, with a video. It's gonna kick off the movement and make the demand for TGT. ... They're gonna want us a lot sooner than maybe we were ready for. Once people see us together, it's gonna make some waves.

"Sonically, I'm putting the Jodeci edge on it," he continued. " 'Please Don't Go' already has a slight edge on it, but I kinda twisted the track. I dug into my DeVante [Swing] crates and put a nice edge to it. The kind of edge where you expect us to be wearing all black in the video, some leather pants and boots. That kind of sound.

" 'Please Don't Go' relates to a subject matter but I wanted to create a situation in the remix where we're interacting, not just singing a song. Like we're having a conversation where people are gonna be, like, 'Did you hear what Tyrese said to Tank? Did you hear what Tank said to Ginuwine? They're not beefing, are they?' "

Once the remix is complete, the group is hoping to hit the studio in September and launch a trek — which already has a name, the Shirts Off Tour — in November.

"As far as when it comes out, realistically, I would say next year," Ginuwine said about the album. "The tour hasn't really been set to where we wanna set it at. We want to meet Tank on a lot of the dates he's doing and give [audiences] a taste. Once we meet him on the road, we'll see what the reaction is to that. We're gonna try to change what he's doing into a Shirts Off-type thing.

"It's gonna be unfair, I think," Tank said, predicting that the trio will cause a big stir onstage. "When I did my album release party in D.C., it was crazy because Raheem DeVaughn performed. Akon performed. Avant performed. Morris Chestnut came out onstage. He got some 'Boyz N the Hood' love. Me and Ginuwine got onstage together and rocked 'Freek'N You.' The audience looked at us like, 'What is going on?' They were stunned. Me and G were like, 'If this is how it's gonna be, we're gonna have a problem. More security. Lock down the hotel floors. It's gonna be crazy.'

"I want this thing to be like how it was when the Beatles were out," Tank continued. "It was 1,000 people at the airport with signs and taking pictures. I want it to be an event. Pandemonium."

"I want the ladies in the audience to forget about the men in their lives that night and make it do what it do," Tyrese added about the tour. "We gonna go out and do records from TGT first. Then the individual records they all love. It don't get no better than that."

Well, "better than that" might be a high-debuting album. Tank knows a thing or two about that after the SoundScan results came in.

"I don't think going against Linkin Park for #1 is fair," he smiled. "It's a celebration right now. It's been a long road, but [I'm] back. I'll just say my fans haven't went anywhere. They've done me a great service by waiting patiently. I don't know who's gonna come out after five years and debut like this and have a [single] climb the charts like this. It's all basically due to the fans that stayed down."

[This story was originally published on 5.23.2007 at 2:30 p.m. E.T.]

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For The Record: Quick News On Fall Out Boy, Ciara, LL Cool J, The Olsen Twins, Ginuwine, 311 & More

18 Jan 2006 17:28:00 EST

Fall Out Boy, LL set for pre-Grammy gigs; Ginuwine picks next single; 311 to tour.
By MTV News staff report

Fall Out Boy, LL Cool J, the Goo Goo Dolls and Bonnie Raitt are doing a series of pre-Grammy shows at the House of Blues in Hollywood called "Signature Sounds Live on the Sunset Strip." The Goo Goo Dolls kick off the series February 4, Raitt follows on February 5, Fall Out Boy perform February 6 and LL Cool J with special guests Ciara and Ne-Yo finishes things off on February 7. Both Fall Out Boy and Ciara are up for Best New Artist. ...

Ginuwine's dropping his second single from Back II Da Basics, called "I'm in Love," just in time for Valentine's Day and his Ladies Night Out Tour with Jagged Edge, Donell Jones, Case and Ne-Yo. The trek begins February 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, and wraps March 5 in Miami. Ginuwine is also gearing up to launch a clothing line (Genuine Clothes and Genuine Jeans) and start shooting his next movie, "Rhythm Night," co-starring Whoopi Goldberg. ... Jagged Edge's new, self-titled album is due March 28, and features tracks produced by Jermaine Dupri and a guest spot from John Legend (on "Season's Change"). ...

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have hired a teen expert who herself has recovered from an eating disorder to write an advice column for their Web site, mary-kateandashley.com. Jessica Weiner, the author of "A Very Hungry Girl" as well as the new book "Do I Look Fat in This? Life Doesn't Begin Five Pounds From Now," will write a column called "Real Girls, Real Advice," which will address the many queries the twins' fans have sent to the site regarding such issues as self-esteem, boys, popularity, friendship, family, and body image. ... 311 have unveiled dates for their upcoming spring tour, which kicks off February 26 in Santa Cruz, California. Dates run through March 26 in Kahului, Hawaii. An opening act for the trek has not yet been announced. ...

Saves the Day and Circa Survive will be hitting the road together starting March 8 in Santa Cruz. The 24-date trek winds down April 6 in Cleveland. ... OK Go are hitting the road on Monday for a few months' worth of headlining dates and supporting slots with Motion City Soundtrack. The outing, which includes a "Jimmy Kimmel Live" stop on March 1, ends March 12 in Orlando, Florida. ...

Sparta, the band that features the members of At the Drive-In who didn't go on to form Mars Volta, have signed a deal with Hollywood Records. The band's third album, the follow-up to 2004's Porcelain, will be released this summer. ... The Sugarcubes are putting out their first DVD collection in the form of two discs, "The Sugarcubes Live Zabor DVD," featuring 15 live performances from 1988 and 1989, and "Sugarcubes the DVD," which compiles the band's biggest videos. The live disc also includes commentary and the band's hit singles "Birthday," "Motorcrash" and "Delicious Demon," while the video comp has three bonus clips, for "Hit," "Walkabout" and "Vitamin." Both discs are due February 7. ...

Live will release their Jim Wirt-produced seventh album, Songs From Black Mountain, on April 11. The first single, "The River," is available online now. ... UB40 get political once again on their new album, Who You Fighting For?, which includes such state-of-the-world tracks as "Plenty More" and "Sins of the Fathers." "You can't help but be influenced by what's going on around you," guitarist/vocalist Robin Campbell said. "We have some very strong topics to fire us up but we are not trying to provide answers. We would never presume to offer solutions. There's a propaganda machine that swings into action during a war. Young recruits are told they are fighting for freedom, so Who You Fighting For? is our small attempt to counteract that." The album is due Tuesday. ...

01.17.2006

Axl Rose made a rare appearance Friday at a party at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to announce Korn's upcoming See You on the Other Side tour. The reclusive Guns N' Roses frontman mingled with Korn as well as fellow musicians from Good Charlotte, Linkin Park, the Black Eyed Peas, Avenged Sevenfold, the Used, Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach, Alkaline Trio and 10 Years. Jessica Alba, Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody were also in attendance. ...

Avril Lavigne has been tapped to perform during the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. She's part of an eight-minute production that's previewing the next Olympic Winter Games, taking place in her native Canada in 2010. This year's games start February 10 and wrap February 26. ... Paris Hilton didn't have to show up in court on Tuesday (January 17) after all — one case against her, for harassment, was continued until February 7, when a judge will consider an event promoter's request for a restraining order against the heiress/actress. The other case against Hilton, for slander, had a little bit more movement, since the judge in that case granted four of her motions for more information as part of the discovery process. The slander case will resume in Santa Monica, California, on February 24. ...

Juvenile was arrested in Ocala, Florida, on Friday hours before he was to perform at a local nightclub. He was released on his own recognizance that same evening, and made it just in time for the gig. According to The Associated Press, the New Orleans rapper was picked up on a warrant relating to an active child-support case. Juvenile's new disc, Reality Check, drops March 7. ... Ashanti performed Friday night at what's commonly referred to as Detroit's prom — an annual black-tie charity gala that counted Aretha Franklin and Steve Harvey among its 17,000 guests (most of whom paid $400 per ticket for the privilege of mingling amid the latest concept cars). The North American International Auto Show raised $6.8 million for 11 Detroit-based nonprofit organizations, including children's charities, education funds and police athletic leagues. ...

Nick Lachey isn't an underwear model (yet), but he'll play one on TV, when he guests on the sitcom "Twins." Lachey's episode, called "Himbo," finds Jessica Simpson's ex playing Charlie Solik, an underwear-model-turned-underwear-mogul. The episode airs February 24 at 9:30 p.m. on the WB. ... Just weeks after fellow "American Idol" third-season finalist Jennifer Hudson was cast in an upcoming movie adaptation of the musical "Dreamgirls," runner-up Diana DeGarmo is going straight to Broadway. The singer has signed on to play Penny Pingleton in "Hairspray," and will begin her run on February 7. ...

Lil Jon and Lil Scrappy will appear in E-40's video for his new single, "Tell Me When," which showcases the Bay Area's "hyphy" movement. Jon executive produced E's new album, My Ghetto Report Card, due in March and featuring production from Jon and Kanye West and guest appearances from Mike Jones, Juelz Santana, 8Ball and UGK. E-40 is also releasing a book called "E-40's Dictionary Book of Slang, Vol. 1" and a liquor called Cloud 9 this spring. ... Chamillionaire is shooting a video in Dallas on Thursday for his next single, "Ridin," which features Krayzie Bone. Life Garland, who helmed Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz's "Get Low" clip, is directing. ...

Michael Jackson's been busy in Bahrain — he's in talks to help develop entertainment projects in that country — but he's allegedly been neglecting Neverland in the process. PETA accuses the singer of animal cruelty for abandoning the animals in residence at his Neverland Ranch, keeping them in "little more than holding cells" while he's away, instead of relocating them to zoos or sanctuaries where they can be taken care of properly. The animal-rights group is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate. ... Beatmaker Scott Storch — who owned the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for half of 2005 with hits from Mario ("Let Me Love You"), 50 Cent ("Candy Shop") and Chris Brown ("Run It!") — is crabby that he's getting no love from the Grammy committee, which snubbed the 32-year-old for Producer of the Year. "I was extremely disappointed to find I was not nominated ... and even more so when I saw the list of nominees," Storch said in a statement, claiming that the shutout was a result of politics within the committee. Instead, nods went to Danger Mouse, Nigel Godrich, Steve Lillywhite, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. ...

Andrew W.K., David Lee Roth and Ace Frehley, as well as members of Queens of the Stone Age, Guns N' Roses, Warrant, Tiger Army, Dio and many more metal bands, will take the stage Thursday at the second annual Raven's Heart Benefit at the Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles. The all-star jam is a benefit for the Raven's Heart Foundation, launched last year for Raven Nicole Robinson, who is still living with a large hole in her heart. ...

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Ginuwine Wants Justin To Help Him Bring The Ladies Some Concert Love

07 Dec 2005 21:03:00 EST

Seductive R&B singer touring in the spring to promote Back II Da Basics.
By Shelby Meyers

Seductive ballads and screaming female fans have always equaled success for Ginuwine, and he's not about to change up the formula.

On his just-released fifth album, Back II Da Basics, the soulful R&B singer says he's proud he's still making 'em drool.

"Ten years in the business ... I gotta say that 'cause 10 years in this business is crazy," said Ginuwine, shaking his head, on the red carpet at the recent Vibe Awards (see "Mariah Wins Big, Mary J. Gets Emotional At Peaceful Vibe Awards"). "I've stood the test of time, weathered a lot of storms and hurdled a lot of obstacles. I'm still here and I'm doing my thing."

As Back II Da Basics suggests, Ginuwine says his latest album returns to a time when there were no temptations to stray from his core formula.

"[The title is] a reminder to myself to take it back to when I first started and not look at it so much as a business," Ginuwine explained. "You gotta learn how to have fun with it too."

The album's first single, "When We Make Love," upholds the singer's reputation as a ladies' man.

"Oh, it's self-explanatory; it's [about] the sounds of lovemaking," he explained before expounding on the video treatment. "It's me wanting to get to my girl ... we hug, we kiss, all that kind of stuff ... [it's] a typical Ginuwine video."

Back II Da Basics — which features production work from Jazze Pha and the Trackmasters — gathers 15 tracks, including "I'm So in Love," a ballad lined up to be the second single.

Ginuwine says he's looking forward to being back onstage in the spring to promote the album. Never one to back away from other heartthrob powerhouses, (see "Ginuwine, Jagged Edge Join Forces to Seduce the Country"), he says he hopes to get together with another heartbreaking act sure to bring the girls in by the droves.

"We talking about going on the road with Justin [Timberlake]," Ginuwine said. "He's going on the road I believe in May and hopefully we can go on the road with him."

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Ginuwine

Madonna's Confessions Floors Carrie And Carey For Billboard #1

23 Nov 2005 09:51:00 EST

Green Day, Ginuwine and Bruce Springsteen are among the week's other big debuts.
By Chris Harris

It's not all that surprising that Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor — the Material Mom's first collection of fresh music in more than two years — opens atop the next Billboard albums chart, but it is something of a symbolic conquest. A top player in the game for more than two decades, Madonna has secured a spot among the most resilient pop-culture icons. But icon or not, bubbly "American Idol" victor Carrie Underwood and sultry diva Mariah Carey weren't about to just step aside and hand Madonna the Billboard championship belt. She was going to have to earn the win.

While Underwood came close, the latest "Idol" winner simply couldn't take the heat as Madonna scores her third-straight #1 debut (2000's Music took the top spot with close to 420,000 scans, while 2003's American Life finished at #1 with 240,000 plus). According to the latest SoundScan figures, Confessions sold close to 350,000 copies during its first week on record-store shelves, besting Underwood's debut, Some Hearts, by about 35,000 albums. Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi - Ultra Platinum Edition boosted the disc to #4 with 185,000 copies sold, right behind last week's #1, Kenny Chesney's The Road and the Radio, which slips to third with 191,000 plus scans.

The 20th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music compilation franchise finished at #5 with sales of 169,000 while the soundtrack to 50 Cent's gritty "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " sold just 167 fewer copies to land at #6. Nickelback's All the Right Reasons also drops four spots to #9 with week-seven sales of more than 91,000.

The rest of the chart is rife with debut discs, most of them live collections, reissues and retrospective best-ofs. After Madonna, Underwood and country duo Big & Rich's Comin' to Your City — which takes the #7 spot with sales of 157,000 — the biggest debut performance belongs to perennial punks Green Day, who score the #8 spot with Bullet in a Bible, a CD+DVD live set featuring tracks from the band's 4.6 million-selling opus American Idiot (which slips to #29 slot with close to 40,000 scans). Ginuwine's Back II Da Basics opens at #12 with a week-one showing of 74,000, while the 30th anniversary three-disc edition of Bruce Springsteen's classic Born to Run finishes at #18 with 53,000 in sales.

Pitbull's new one, M.I. Still A.M.I.: Money Is Still a Major Issue, debuts at #25 with close to 45,000 scans, while Jimmy Buffett's Live in Fenway Park takes #41 with nearly 28,000 copies sold. Wilco's Kicking Television: Live in Chicago opens at #47 with sales nearing 25,000 while The Collection, a career-spanning selection of Alanis Morissette's work, takes #51 with 23,000 discs sold. The soundtrack to the film "Walk the Line" comes in at #54 with close to 23,000 in sales, followed at #55 by Crunk Hits, a compilation featuring Trick Daddy, Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins, T.I., Ludacris, Chingy and more.

R. Kelly's Remix City, Volume 1, with reworked versions of his hits "Bump N' Grind," "Down Low" and "Step in the Name of Love," pops up at #72 with close to 18,000 copies flying off store shelves while the Insane Clown Posse's Forgotten Freshness, Volume 4 takes the chart's #88 spot with 15,000 copies sold. Sales of Staind's Chapter V, which was reissued with new material last week, experienced a 12 percent sales increase, though the disc falls three chart positions to #103.

The "Rent" soundtrack debuts at #127 with nearly 11,000 copies sold, while Three 6 Mafia's Most Known Hits opens at #154 with sales nearing 9,000. Two best-of collections from the Roots made the chart: Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Roots Volume One appears at #161 with over 8,000 in sales while Volume Two takes #187 with 7,000 scans. Jesse McCartney's Live: The Beautiful Solo Tour sells 8,000 discs to land at the chart's #168 spot, while Gold, the third official Sublime retrospective — following 2002's 20th Century Masters and 1999's Greatest Hits — opens at #182 with 7,500 copies sold.

For more on Madonna's Confessions, check out the feature "Madonna: Dancing Queen."

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Will Smith Beats 50 Cent, Kelly Rowland Flies Solo At American Music Awards

23 Nov 2005 07:58:00 EST

Mariah Carey won one award while no-shows Green Day and Kelly Clarkson scored multiple honors.
By Corey Moss

LOS ANGELES — With last week's Vibe Awards and Tuesday's American Music Awards, the winter awards season is officially under way and so far there's no clear frontrunner heading into February's Grammys.

Comeback queen Mariah Carey swept the Vibe honors (see "Mariah Wins Big, Mary J. Gets Emotional At Peaceful Vibe Awards") and was the leading nominee heading into the AMAs, but she took home only one trophy while Green Day, Kelly Clarkson, the Black Eyed Peas and Destiny's Child scored two apiece.

(Click for photos from the AMA red carpet.)

Only one third of one of those multiple winners actually attended Tuesday's show, but her emotional acceptance speech made up for the absence of her groupmates.

"I miss my girls. Beyoncé and Michelle, wherever you are, I love you so much," a tearful Kelly Rowland said as she accepted the Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Soul/Rhythm & Blues award. "All of our fans, thank you so much for holding us down for so many years."

Destiny's Child, who recently parted ways to pursue solo projects (see "Destiny's Child Look Back With #1's Before Going Their Separate Ways"), also won the Favorite Album: Soul/Rhythm & Blues for Destiny Fulfilled.

While Tuesday's ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium featured a plethora of A-list performers — from Pharrell and Gwen Stefani to Hilary Duff to Rob Thomas — the actual presentation of awards sounded like a broken record of "So and so couldn't be here tonight."

Along with Green Day (Favorite Artist: Alternative Music and Favorite Album: Pop/Rock for American Idiot), Clarkson (Favorite Artist: Adult Contemporary Music and the T-Mobile Text-In Award) and the Black Eyed Peas (Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Pop/Rock; Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Rap/Hip-Hop), Eminem (Favorite Male Artist: Rap/Hip-Hop), 50 Cent (Favorite Album: Rap/Hip-Hop for The Massacre) and R. Kelly (Favorite Male Artist: Soul/Rhythm & Blues) were not on hand to collect their awards.

On the other end of the spectrum, Missy Elliott — who had a good excuse not to attend as she just had surgery on a torn Achilles tendon — did make the show, and even rolled through the press room in her pimped-out wheelchair after winning the Favorite Female Artist: Rap/Hip-Hop for the second year in the award's existence.

"Y'all are looking at me like I got a booger on my face," Missy joked as she used a crutch to stand up. "I wasn't playing no football or basketball. I was dancing, doing the wrong moves, so I'll be sittin' down for a minute."

Stefani also made it to the podium to receive her Favorite Female Artist: Pop/Rock award, but just barely. She had just performed "Can I Have It Like That?" with Pharrell when her name was called.

"What did I win?" she asked. "I guess whatever I won, I just want to say thank you to the fans, especially all my girls. Imagine what it feels like to be me all these years and have your support. It's just outrageous."

Mariah also collected her award, for Favorite Female Artist: Soul/Rhythm & Blues, just after opening the show with "Don't Forget About Us," although she found time to change clothes.

For the second year in a row, a country act won the Favorite New Artist, with Sugarland besting the Killers and Jesse McCartney. Will Smith, meanwhile, won Favorite Male Artist: Pop/Rock, beating out 50 Cent and Rob Thomas.

"There's a lot of darkness in the world, and I'm committed with all the strength I got to bring the light. ... It's hard sometimes," Smith said of his positive hip-hop backstage. "When you're committing to something almost counter-culture, you can't find any support." Smith added that he recently befriended 50 Cent, who he beat out for the award, and doesn't consider 50's "brilliant" rapping to be darkness because it's honest. "The darkness I refer to are the guys who think they're doing what the top guys are doing. ... Somebody who's smacking girls on the ass and trying to get paid."



	Hiltons, Chris Brown, Ciara and Ryan Cabrera hit the AMA red carpet

Other winners, selected through a telephone survey of about 20,000 Americans, included Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson and Brooks & Dunn in country categories, Mary Mary for Favorite Artist: Contemporary Inspirational and Shakira for Favorite Artist: Latin Music.

"Everything that's been going on with my music and the Spanish album getting played in so many non-Hispanic countries is something to celebrate," Shakira said.

As with all awards shows these days, however, all the celebrities went home winners thanks to the goodie bags. The AMA swag topped $30,000 this year, and included something truly out there: a plot of land on the moon.

"I've actually broke ground on mine," All-American Rejects singer Tyson Ritter joked. "Condos, of course. Gotta capitalize!"

"I'm building a Starbucks, so we'll get a monopoly going," guitarist Nick Wheeler added.

Travis Barker, meanwhile, has more personal plans for his land. "I'll go up there and just play drums like a mother----er," he said, with wife Shanna Moakler at his side. "We want to be buried together, so maybe on the moon."

Not all the artists, however, were impressed with the gift.

"I'm gonna sell it," Ginuwine declared. "'Cause I ain't ever goin' to the moon!"

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Lindsay, Paris, Hilary, Chingy And More At The 2005 American Music Awards

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Ginuwine Turning Early Days With Missy, Timbaland Into Film

19 Mar 2004 20:41:00 EST

'The Basement' may feature his friends playing themselves.
By Shaheem Reid

Up till now we've just seen Missy Elliott and her good friend Ginuwine in bit parts or cameos on the big screen. Now the opportunity may have come for them to expand their screen time and bring along other members of their clique.

"I'm working on a movie called 'The Basement' about me, Missy and Timbaland and what all of us went through," Ginuwine said of a film he's spearheading that centers around him and his crew when they were starving artists in the early '90s. He hasn't yet talked to his friends about starring as themselves in the film.

Even if they shy away from the project, though, he said, "I do want to get their OK to use certain things and portray them in certain ways. It's definitely going to be us involved in it. I definitely want to be in it also. Hopefully that will work. I'm trying to work on it as we speak."

He said he's already had a lot of interest from movie studios. "The people who want to do it are anxious to get it started. They've got writers and everything ready right now," he said. "Say we do it in June or July or something like that — which is pushing it — it will probably come out January, February or March."

Even if Ginuwine isn't able to hook up with Timbaland for their Hollywood biopic, he still wants some beats from the Virginia producer. The cut-up crooner is getting ready to start his next solo LP, which he'll either title Back to the Basics or The Sixth Man.

"Oh yeah, we working on that, either in a month or two," the pop-locking singer said. "We gotta get things straight at the label. I gotta feel like I'm being done right, they gotta feel like they're being done right. It's a little negotiation thing going on right now. Nothing that we can't handle as business people. Hopefully everything will get resolved and everything moves forward. Hopefully I'll come out by Christmas."

Besides his solo joint, Ginuwine is still very much committed to recording a duet album with LL Cool J.

"Right now I'm trying to dig in the crates, and it's gotta have a plot because The Best of Both Worlds, they already said that. I gotta make something else up [for the title]. It's gotta make sense for LL and myself. I gotta pretty much go with a lot of what LL wants because I came to him with it. He's been in the business way longer than I have. I just want to make sure everything's right for him as well as for me. Once I'm done [coming up with a title], I'm bringing [LL] at least half the tracks and hooks so he can just take that album and do whatever he's gotta do with it. I'll leave the spaces so he can just add in."

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Ginuwine, Jagged Edge Do It Back-To-Back — For The Ladies

01 Mar 2004 20:36:00 EST

Ginuwine and his fellow crooners play two sets in one night — and the thongs fly.
By Shaheem Reid

NEW YORK — He's been traveling around the country on tour, and wouldn't you know it, just his luck, Ginuwine wasn't able to enjoy himself even when he played the live-entertainment capital of the world on Saturday.

G was confined to his Manhattan hotel room on Friday, suffering from the effects of a cold, but he had to recover in a hurry. The following night he was scheduled to perform back-to-back shows at the Beacon Theater as part of the "R&B Live — Ladies Night Out" outing.

"You gotta do it, that's all that's to it," Ginuwine said, audibly congested, about performing two concerts in one night. "I always give my all on whatever I do, but since the shows are back-to-back, you just gotta pace yourself."

G — who's out on the road with Jagged Edge, ATL, Avant and Joe — noted that all of his roster mates have conducted themselves like professionals. "It's been a blessing, man. I mean, we definitely been doing our thing," he said. "There's been no incidents or jealousy or bull crap. We just been all out here, grinding, doing what we've gotta to make a positive, peaceful, successful tour. So far every show we've done has been sold-out.

"I brought it to the table," Gin added about how the tour was conceived. "I brought my manager and asked him, 'Can we talk to these guys to see if they're interested?' I figured all of us had a single out, everybody was doing well, why not? Everybody says R&B cats have egos; if the rappers know how to get out there and make their money [together] without a whole lot of crap, we can do it too." The acts have been so eager to work together on the road that they all share the same band, and the headliner changes depending on the city.

On Saturday night at the Beacon, the ladies were definitely out in throngs and thongs (one woman threw her underwear onstage at Avant during the second show). After an eye-blinkingly quick performance by ATL and a longer set by Avant, the evening was handed over to the bill's three biggest acts: Jagged Edge, Gin and Joe.

Jagged Edge showed that although they're the quintessential R&B thugs, they can still get smooth. All four men began the set wearing suits, but soon into their performance, jackets were flying and their dress shirts were hanging out of their pants — especially when they sang the hit "Let's Get Married (Remix)."

Shortly thereafter, the foursome's dressy attire was completely gone as they changed into jeans, T-shirts and skullcaps backstage. Jagged Edge's set capped with "Walked Outta Heaven" and "Where's the Party At."

Ginuwine, who came on next, made it clear from the start that he felt the night should belong to him. "This is my muthaf---in' house," he shouted.

A couple of songs into his set, Ginuwine incorporated street-corner theatrics as breakdancers spun on their heads and pop-locked. Then the Washington, D.C., native displayed a little Broadway showmanship in a skit where he and his crew pretended to be on "American Idol."

"Oh yeah, it's always a situation with me where I want to have fun and make the people remember," he said. "That's why I come up with a lot of skits and things to do, so people say, 'I like when he did this, I like when he did that.' It ain't about just going out there singing songs. A show isn't just a show, a show is entertainment; it's modeling, acting, singing and dancing all ripped into one, with the little time that we have to do it. It's so continuous and it goes so quick that people are like, 'Is that over?' "

During another skit from G's show, one of his backup singers got on the mic and warned him that if his performance got "too freaky," he would be arrested. Then a man dressed as a cop walked onstage twirling a nightstick.

Gin and his dancers paid the man no mind as they performed "So Anxious." Toward the end of the song, Gin laid a white towel onstage and looked at the crowd as if he were having second thoughts about what he was going to do. He then jumped on the towel and started getting freaky. The officer immediately ran to the front of the stage and apprehended the singer. "I swear to God," one backup dancer yelled on the mic, "they just arrested my boy."

Later — surprise, surprise — it became evident that Gin didn't really get carted away to the big house when he came back out dressed in an orange jail uniform. After a couple more songs and another costume change, Gin was in jeans and sneakers and ready to close out the night.

A man dressed as the wizard Merlin came onstage to perform some black magic. He started transforming Ginuwine into some of his favorite rappers, such as 50 Cent and Jay-Z. Of course, the magic trick consisted of a DJ playing each MC's song and Ginuwine holding a giant cardboard cutout of their heads over his face while he pretended to rap.

Later in the set, a young woman came out wearing a regular-size pair of dungarees and some giant pants that looked like all three Fat Boys could have fit inside. But alas, Kool Rock-Ski, Prince Markie Dee and the dearly departed Buff Love the Human Beat Box were not in the house. Instead, Gin, with his wiry frame, jumped into her jeans — literally — and the two had a little bump and grind while he sang "In Those Jeans."

Joe ended the night with a classically crooned set that included "Stutter," "Ride Witcha" and "More and More." The tour moves on to Dallas on Friday.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

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Ginuwine

Ginuwine, Jagged Edge Join Forces To Seduce The Country

13 Jan 2004 18:22:00 EST

Seventeen-city tour kicks off on the eve of Valentine's Day.
By Joseph Patel

While R. Kelly awaits a judge's decision on the fate of his future tour plans, those looking for a little bedroom bump and grind in their city won't have to wait long — two of R&B's biggest, most seductive artists are joining forces for a nationwide tour.

Ginuwine and Jagged Edge are shacking up, so to speak, to bring their love crooning to fans across the country on a 17-city tour that starts February 13 in Cleveland and ends, after a six-week break, in Baltimore on May 2.

"I'm anxious to be back out on the road," headliner Ginuwine said when announcing the tour on Tuesday (January 13). "It's especially exciting to see all the top R&B acts together on the same bill. Let's just say I'm very happy."

Ginuwine released his fourth album, The Senior, last year, and this will be his first big tour supporting that album. Jagged Edge, meanwhile, will be shooting a video for a remix of their song "What's It Like" with Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta. The song is from their latest album, Hard.

Ginuwine tour dates, according to his spokesperson:

2/13 - Cleveland, OH @ State Theater
2/14 - Merrillville, IN @ Star Plaza Theatre
2/15 - Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
2/19 - Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium
2/21 - Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
2/22 - Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre
2/26 - TBA
2/27 - Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
2/28 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
2/29 - Westbury, NY @ Music Fair
3/4 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
3/6 - Houston, TX @ Houston Arena Theatre
3/7 - New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre
4/29 - TBA
4/30 - Miami, FL @ Knight Center
5/1 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheatre
5/2 - Baltimore, MD @ Pier 6 Concert Pavilion

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Ginuwine, LL Steal A Page From R. Kelly And Jay-Z's Book

18 Nov 2003 21:29:00 EST

Duo recording Best of Both Worlds-style joint LP.
By Corey Moss

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps Jay-Z should have titled his collaboration album with R. Kelly The Blueprint.

First Bow Wow and B2K announced they were doing a similar joint project (see "B2K, Bow Wow So Far From Beef They're Planning Joint LP"), and now LL Cool J and Ginuwine are copying the concept.

"I figured the ladies needed something because [The Best of Both Worlds] was real street and all that," Ginuwine said at Sunday's American Music Awards (see "50 Cent, Luther Vandross Take Home Multiple AMAs; Many Artists Skip Out"). "LL, he does a lot of love music [with his] rapping, and I do a lot of love music with my singing, so I dig it."

LL and Gin have yet to book studio time but they're lining up producers.

"Hopefully my man Timbaland will work with us. Just anybody that I've worked with in the past that's willing to do it and willing to give us their best," Ginuwine said. "I think it's gonna be a big project."

Ginuwine said the still-untitled collaboration album is just a one-time side project and that both artists are also releasing solo albums next year. "I just like to do things that people can remember, but I wanna always do my own album and make statements," he said.

Before Ginuwine returns to the studio, the R&B crooner will release one more single from his The Senior album, "Love You More."

Ginuwine will also be seen on the big screen soon, playing himself in the dance drama "Honey." The film, starring Jessica Alba and also featuring Lil' Romeo and cameos from several other rappers, opens December 5.

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Mixtape Mondays: Action Pac

21 Apr 2003 14:47:00 EDT

Mixed disc features R&B offerings by Ginuwine, Monica, Marques Houston, Dru Hill.
By Shaheem Reid

Name: Action Pac

Mixtape: Safe Sex 18

Hometown: New York, New York

Joints to check for: "That Girl" remix by Marques Houston featuring R. Kelly, "In Those Jeans" by Ginuwine and "So Gone" by Monica

Previous mixtapes: Safe Sex 1-17

The 411: On the R&B-filled Safe Sex 18 CD, there are no threats of anybody kidnapping their rivals' children and nobody is getting shot with guns the size of Lil' Bow. As a matter of fact, there is hardly any tough talking at all — instead, most people are begging.

Forget everything Marques Houston told his wifey in the original version of "That Girl" — about how he had just been looking at another female, but didn't want to do anything with her. Apparently it was all a lie. He enlists the help of R. Kelly to beg forgiveness for cheating with "that girl."

Meanwhile, as we've been hearing for the past few weeks on the radio, the guys in Dru Hill aren't in the best shape when it comes to relationships, either. The five-man crew feverishly tries to escape the confines of the doghouse on the ballad "I Love You."

The men aren't the only ones going batty, however. R&B siren Monica is losing her mind over an unfaithful man on "So Gone."

Maybe all these singers should get their pimp game up like Ginuwine and find somebody new. Throwing subtlety out the window, he literally tells a woman he wants to get in her pants on "In Those Jeans."

"Really thick like I like it/ Tell me is there anymore room for me in those jeans?" he sings on the chorus. And who could blame Gin for being blatant? After all, he is that "same ole G" from the block and the girl looks so "tasty" and "scrumptious" she "makes a thug want to cry something terrible."

If you're one of those music fans who fiend for a mixtape full of exclusives, then Safe Sex 18 is probably not your bag. Like most of his offerings, Action Pac focuses on the mixing aspect, providing a continuous play of R&B jams for everyone down for catching a little spring fever.

For a full-length feature on mixtape culture and the role of mixtapes in making a rapper's career, check out "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Mondays, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

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