Sean Kingston in his "Fire Burning" music video
Photo: Epic

At what point do we go from Boyz II Men? That is the eternal question being pondered by baby-faced crooner Sean Kingston in his "Fire Burning" video, a clip which aims to take him from "Beautiful Girls" into the great booty-ful beyond.

It's a tougher transition than you'd think. Kingston, 19 (though he looks about 14), struck gold in 2007 with a pair of easy, breezy semi-reggae hits: the the aforementioned "Girls" and "Me Love," both of which could generally be described as "sweet." Now he's back with a new album, Tomorrow, a new swagger and a new, mature sound. But so far, the kids aren't buying it. Growing up, it would seem, really is hard to do.

Earlier this year, Kingston leaked "I'm at War," an overwrought, Auto-Tuned track that featured a cameo by none other than Lil Wayne. Somewhat surprisingly, the song failed to gain any real traction, which sent everyone scurrying back to their respective laboratories and boardrooms, and eventually led to "Fire Burning," which has officially been dubbed the official first single from Tomorrow. (Officially.)

So here, we get Sean Kingston: King of the Dance Floor, shouting out the ladies burning up the club (and presumably buying him drinks, since, you know, he's 19). We get plenty of sweaty popping and locking, a bare midriff or 15 and a three-second cameo from Rick Ross (I think). Gone is the sweet, slow-paced subtlety of "Beautiful Girls" — a notion which made the song seem genuinely retro back in '07 — replaced instead with a cut-to-the-chase, your-place-or-mine immediacy that belies Kingston's age. It seems that waiting goes out the window when you make the leap to manhood. Seduction does too.

And yes, perhaps I'm reading too much into what is essentially a sweaty, sunny, summertime jam (and a sweaty, sunny, summertime video). Make no mistake about it, Kingston and producer RedOne (who's worked with Lady Gaga and Akon, both of whom reportedly have cameos on Tomorrow), have created a surefire smash with "Fire Burning," a track that you'll hear blasting out of fine establishments like Señor Frog's for the discernable future. But beyond that, who knows?

Tomorrow, by title alone, is already looking toward the future. And judging by the pair of tracks we've now heard from the album, Kingston is too. He's exploring genuinely adult themes here (namely, sex) because he's ready to become a man ... and, given his age and his success, why wouldn't he?

But here's the thing: Making the leap from sweet-faced pop star to lust-driven lothario is difficult for almost anyone to pull off, and the chasm between the two is littered with also-rans too numerous to name (anyone seen Omarion around?). Can Kingston pull it off? Does he even want to? That remains to be seen, though it's certain that with "Fire Burning," he's already got one foot on the ledge. Now all he's gotta do is jump.

• Sean Kingston's 'Fire Burning' Video Premiere

• Sean Kingston

Sean Kingston on the set of his video "There's Nothin'"
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Sean Kingston may be Miami-born, but sitting in a director's chair on the Brooklyn set of his latest video, "There's Nothin'," he's looking like the young King of New York. Biggie Smalls, that is, not Christopher Walken — just to be clear.

And apparently, Kingston, besides bearing a resemblance to the BK Don, is also connected like the legendary MC. For the track, the fourth single from his self-titled debut, the reggae-pop crooner said he personally reached out to Juelz Santana to be on the remix.

"Yessir, called him up direct, hit him up on the Sidekick and let him know like, 'Yo, you gotta be on this record,' " Kingston told MTV News recently from the video set. Santana answered and hopped right on the track, which originally featured Paula DeAnda.

"I wanted to come out and show Sean Kingston some love," Santana said. "I feel like he came in the game real strong, looks like he has a bright career in the game, so any way I could show a helping hand and just help out in any way, I was there to do it. So that's why we here; we getting busy."

DeAnda appears on the original version of the song, but Kingston said he called Rihanna, Ciara and Keyshia Cole for the remix. He didn't have as much luck that time, though.

Eventually, he and the label settled on Élan Luz of the D.E.Y., the bilingual trio who broke out recently with their hit "Give You the World," produced by J.R. Rotem, who also helmed "There's Nothin'."

"It's cool to be in the same family and go, 'Hey, I got an idea: Élan,' " the singer exclaimed. " 'Come fly over here to L.A., record this song and we're gonna make it a hit, baby.' "

"Having Luz involved is big for us, because it's a stepping-stone," her groupmate Divine said. "Sean Kingston is a big artist, our labelmate, and we're excited to see her shining on the remix."

The track, Kingston explained, is another heart-wrenching song about teen love. But this time it ends much better than his "Beautiful Girls" — and he's speaking from experience.

"I been with a girl before where it's been the relationship going smooth, that there's nothing in the world that can stop me from going out with you," Kingston said of the origins of the song. "Not my mom, not nobody, 'cause the way I feel, how I feel, is crazy. You the best one, you a dime piece, and nobody can stop it."

Next up for Kingston, who recently celebrated his 18th birthday, is prepping his sophomore album. He said he wanted to reach out to other producers, beyond Rotem, who exclusively produced his debut. Kingston said Rotem begrudgingly gave him the OK to reach out to the likes of Timbaland, Scott Storch, Pharrell and Polow da Don.

"He was kind of a little bit tough about it, but he's happy for me," Kingston said. "J.R. is an awesome guy. If you think about it, I'm still J.R.'s protégé. I'm still Mr. Beluga Heights, I'm still Mr. 'Beautiful Girls.' Nothing is gonna change. I just wanna go for a different sound."

• Sean Kingston

Common's <i>Finding Forever</i>
Photo: Universal Music Group

Jimmy Hoffa, head of the Teamsters Union, went missing 32 years ago Tuesday (July 31). So, in the spirit of the anniversary, here are the artists you should be keeping an eye on this week:

The Big Five:

Common's Finding Forever
For his seventh studio effort, the smooth Chicago MC partnered with the expected (Kanye West), the unexpected (Lily Allen), the ubiquitous (Will.I.Am), the hard-to-find (D'Angelo) — and even the recently passed (J Dilla). Showing even more variety, Com proves he is like no other by sampling 2Pac, Gil Scott-Heron and Mountain all over the course of one track: "The People." Other tunes include "Black Maybe," "Break My Heart" and the album-closing "Forever Begins" (shouldn't that be the first track?).

Korn's Untitled
The last album the band owes Virgin Records is littered with 13 songs, including "Innocent Bystander," "Hushabye" and "B---h We Got a Problem" — which, surprisingly, didn't get the album-title honor as well. But if you're the type of Korn fan who always wants seconds, make sure you gobble up the deluxe edition — it's packed with a fold-out poster, postcards and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes clips and photos. Plus, if you're in need of an extra shirt after seeing the band play at the Family Values Tour, there's a tee that buyers of the deluxe edition can redeem online too.

Various artists' Kidz Bop 12
This franchise has nothing on the Now series — roughly half the installments from the latter, including the recent 25th volume, have debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart. But Kidz Bop has held its own, with its chapters often earning gold certification. This one's got Avril Lavigne ("Girlfriend"), Kelly Clarkson ("Never Again"), Maroon 5 ("Makes Me Wonder"), Daughtry ("It's Not Over" and "Home") and more.

The Starting Line's Direction
After an album on Drive-Thru and another on Geffen, the Pennsylvania pop-punk band is switching gears again with its first effort for Virgin. While frontman Kenny Vasoli has said he looked to Bob Dylan and James Brown for inspiration (cough, cough), modern-rock production pro Howard Benson took the gang under his wing for the effort, which includes "Way With Words," "Something Left to Give" and "Somebody's Gonna Miss Us."

Keith Murray's Rap-Murr-Phobia (Fear of Real Hip-Hop)
Convoluted album title aside, the vet is back in a big way this week — his fifth studio LP (and first in four years) was executive produced by Erick Sermon and features Tyrese and Junior (on the first single, "Nobody Do It Better"); plus Method Man, Redman, his Def Squad troupe and more. It could be his most beautifullest album yet.

Four Mo':

Mandisa's True Beauty
Little more than a year after getting the boot from "American Idol," the former finalist is getting love from the Christian-music market with her first album. The set includes a rendition of gospel group Mary Mary's "Shackles (Praise You)" — Mandisa covered it on "Idol" too — as well as another gospel track, "Only the World," but True Beauty is generally being considered an R&B release.

Sean Kingston's Sean Kingston
With 50 Cent and Rihanna collaborator J.R. Rotem producing every track on this effort, you might mistake it for a rap or R&B album — but front to back, this is a pure reggae release. Hear the 17-year-old Kingston — and nephew of reggae hero Buju Banton — chilling out on "That Ain't Right," "Got No Shorty" and "Take You There."

Placebo's Extended Play '07
Chalk this one up to smart marketing: Knowing full well that many of the young fans on the Projekt Revolution tour probably aren't familiar with the 10-year-old band, Virgin has lumped together five of the group's classic songs in the form of a new introductory EP. But the fans get appeased too — rounding out the disc are three unreleased live recordings.

DevilDriver's The Last Kind Words
Dez Fafara and his band of groove metallers just hopped onto this year's Ozzfest — perfect timing to promote their third release for Roadrunner. In case "Head on the Heartache (Let Them Rot)," "Monsters of the Deep" and "Horn of Betrayal" aren't heavy enough for you, Last Kind Words copies sold at Hot Topic have an extra track — "Damning the Heavens" — while a live rendition of "Grinf---ed" comes with iTunes orders.

Song Title of the Week:

"For Evan's Sake" from Weedeater's God Luck and Good Speed

Album Cover of the Week:

Shivaree's Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs

Other Notables:

1990s' Cookies
After Glasgow rocker John McKeown burned out on his other projects the Yummy Fur — which boasted members who went on to join Franz Ferdinand, by the way — and the Girls and the Mars Hotel, he channeled his energy into this new squad. For their debut set, the former Strokes and Babyshambles tour partners came up with "See You at the Lights," "Pollokshields" and "You're Supposed to Be My Friend."

Alan Vega's Station
The man better known as one-half of seminal experimental-punk duo Suicide tracked his 10th studio LP in New York from 2004-2006, playing all the instruments and recording the whole shebang on his own. Tracks on the politically charged album include "Warrior, Fight Fa Ya Life," "13 Crosses, 16 Blazin' Skulls" and "Freedom's Smashed."

Entombed's Serpent Saints
And in case that's not enough impious music for you in one week, look no further than these Swedish metallers and their first album in four years. Indisputably uplifting songs include "The Dead, the Dying and the Dying to Be Dead," "Warfare Plague Famine Death" and "The Kingdom Coma."

New Releases:

· 1990s - Cookies (Rough Trade)
· A Shoreline Dream - Coastal (EP; Latenight Weeknight)
· Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold (Caroline)
· Luka Bloom - Tribe (Cooking Vinyl)
· Budos Band - The Budos Band II (Daptone)
· Tammy Cochran - Where I Am (Shanachie)
· Common - Finding Forever (Universal) [Buy Now]
Read: "Kanye West, Lily Allen Finding Something In Common"
· Crionics - Neu Throne (enhanced; Candlelight)
· Dave Davies - Fractured Mindz (Koch)
· DevilDriver - The Last Kind Words (Roadrunner)
· Duo Dynamic - Unrest for Peace (River Bend)
· Ellegarden - Eleven Fire Crackers (Nettwerk)
· Entombed - Serpent Saints (Candlelight)
· Five Finger Death Punch - Way of the Fist (Firm)
· Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding - It's Now or Never (Rykodisc)
· Charlie Hunter Trio - Mistico (Fantasy)
· Jeff Kashiwa - Play (Native Language)
· Kia Shine - Due Season (Universal) [Buy Now]
· Sean Kingston - Sean Kingston (Epic) [Buy Now]
Read: "Sean Kingston Is Glad He Got Dissed By Dr. Dre, Swizz Beatz On MySpace"
· Korn - Untitled (deluxe edition with bonus DVD also available; Virgin) [Buy Now]
Read: "Korn Are Cracking Up Over Eighth LP's 'Gothic Feel,' Munky Says"
· Mandisa - True Beauty (Sparrow)
· Keith Murray - Rap-Murr-Phobia (Fear of Real Hip-Hop) (Koch) [Buy Now]
· Naked Eyes - Fumbling With the Covers (Oglio)
· Chase Pagan - Oh, Musica! (Militia Group)
· Polly Paulusma - Fingers & Thumbs (One Little Indian)
· The Phantom Family Halo - The Legend of Black Six (Cold Sweat)
· Powerspace - The Kicks of Passion (Atlantic)
· Josh Rouse - Country Mouse, City House (Nettwerk)
· Shivaree - Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs (Zöe/Rounder)
· Soulive - No Place Like Soul (Stax)
· The Starting Line - Direction (Virgin)
· Tokyo Rose - The Promise in Compromise (Sidecho)
· Alan Vega - Station (deluxe edition; Mute)
· Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed (Southern Lord)
· Whitechapel - Somatic Defilement (Candlelight)
· Yo-Yo Ma - New Impossibilities (Sony Classics)
· Various artists - Kidz Bop 12 (Razor & Tie)
· Various artists - "Arctic Tale" soundtrack (Bulletproof)
· Various artists - "Hot Rod" soundtrack (Legacy)
· Various artists - "The Bourne Ultimatum" soundtrack (Decca)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material: · 40 Below Summer - Rain (Crash)
· Bizzy Bone - The Best of Bizzy Bone (Real Talk)
· Deep Purple - Come Taste the Band; Made in Europe; and Stormbringer (Friday)
· Dr. Hook - Greatest Hooks (Capitol/EMI)
· Ella Fitzgerald - Love Letters From Ella (Concord)
· Jimmy Eat World - Clarity and Static Prevails (Capitol/EMI)
· Bob Marley and the Wailers - Roots, Rock, Remixed (Quango/Fontana)
· Placebo - Extended Play '07 (Virgin)
· Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas (RCA)
· Raspberries - Live on Sunday Strip (deluxe version comes with bonus CD and DVD; Rykodisc)
· Johnny Rivers and His L.A. Boogie Band - Last Boogie in Pars: The Complete Concert (Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1967 (five-CD box set; Hip-O Select)
· Various artists - Down Home Saturday Night (Smithsonian Folkways)
· Various artists - Old Town School of Folk Music Song Book, Vol. 2 and 3 (two CDs; Old Town School)

Music DVDs:

· David Bowie - "Glass Spider" (limited-edition set with two CDs; Virgin/EMI)
· The Lovin' Spoonful - "Do You Believe in Magic: The Music of John Sebastian & the Lovin' Spoonful" (Standing Room Only)
· Ratt - "Videos From the Cellar: The Atlantic Years" (Rhino)
· Various artists - "Los Zafiros - Music From the Edge of Time" (Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - "Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops" (Universal)

Coming Attractions:

August 7:
· Constantine Maroulis - Constantine (6th Place)
Read: " 'American Idol' Vets Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis Can't Stop Rockin' "
· Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)
· UGK - Underground Kingz (two CDs; Jive) [Preorder]
Read: "Ex-Con Pimp C Juiced For UGK Album, Says He Has Lessons To Teach"

August 14:
· Blaqk Audio - Cexcells (Interscope)
Read: "AFI Members Have Another Fire Inside: Side Project Blaqk Audio"
· Wayne Wonder - Foreva (VP)
· Various artists - "High School Musical 2" soundtrack (Disney)
Read: " 'High School Musical' Stars Dish On Sequel's Showstoppers, Love Triangles"

August 21:
· As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us (Metal Blade) [Preorder]
· Cartel - Cartel (Epic) [Preorder]
Read: "Pop-Punks Cartel Show Off Grandma's Digs, Borrow Benz For 'Cribs' "
· Talib Kweli - Ear Drum (Reprise) [Preorder]
Read: "Stung By Criticism Of Last LP, Talib Kweli Promises No Sting Samples This Time"
· New Pornographers - Challengers (Matador)
· Swizz Beatz - One Man Band Man (enhanced; Motown) [Preorder]
Read: "Beyonce Hitmaker Swizz Beatz Defies Radio Rules With Two-Minute Single"

• Common
• Korn
• The Starting Line
• Placebo
• Keith Murray

Sean Kingston
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Sean Kingston might have a hit on his hands with the doo-wop- and reggae-flavored track "Beautiful Girls," but if you ask the upstart 17-year-old, honing his style turned out to be just as elusive as chasing the ladies he sings about in his song.

"It took a lot of developing, man," he told MTV News last week. "If you hear some of my old stuff, you'll start laughing, seriously. I came from rapping about the typical stuff, to jewelry, to rims, and you know, all the typical stuff. I was very confused. I wanted to do Jamaican at one time, just all Jamaica. But over the time and over the years, I saw myself as an artist and figured what I wanted to do. This is what I wanted to do, this is me, and this is my sound. And this is unique.

"Music just has always been a part of me, period," he added. "My grandfather, he's a big producer, Jack Ruby, he did a lot of stuff for Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Buju Banton and all these big dudes. And I feel like he inspired me when I [would] go to Jamaica and I'd just go in the studio with him and we'll just vibe out and see how he created music in the culture, in Jamaica."

(Watch Sean Kingston talk about his unique sound.)

Now Kingston has partnered with his own producer, J.R. Rotem, for his self-titled debut, due Tuesday (see "Meet Super-Producer J.R. Rotem: The Man Game Calls 'The White Dr. Dre' "). Rotem is best known for his work with Rihanna ("S.O.S.") and 50 Cent ("Best Friend"). DJ Nasty, the Runners, Cool & Dre and DJ Felli Fel are some of the other names that worked with Kingston on his album, but Rotem produced the bulk of the project, including the second single, "Me Love."

As it turns out, Rotem and Kingston initially met through MySpace, and then the producer signed the young artist to be the lead act on his Beluga Heights label after their bicoastal chats (Los Angeles to Miami) resulted in Kingston visiting Rotem's California studio.

Kingston said he also reached out to Dr. Dre, Swizz Beatz and Polow Da Don through MySpace to no avail, but he's happy now that Rotem was the only one who actually responded.

Kingston hopes that he and Rotem can develop their chemistry like some other top duos that fans may be familiar with.

"We really wanted to keep [the album] mostly J.R.," he explained. " 'Cause we have this chemistry that's crazy. Very ridiculous. He comes up with beats in, like, 25 minutes, and then when I come in, I come with the whole Jamaican-slash-Miami vibe, when I come up with hooks in 10 minutes. So the vibe is always there. We always coming up with something that's very different, out of the box and very unique. So our sound is definitely different together. So I figured I wanted to do the 50 Cent/ Dre thing, or the Eminem/ Dr.Dre thing, where my producer I'm signed to does most of the album. So I let him do most of the album and it turned out good. I think we got a lot of big records."

• Sean Kingston

MTV.com Exclusive: Sean Kingston

• Sean Kingston

Chris Brown, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, More At 2008 BET Awards

• Rihanna
• Alicia Keys
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Flo Rida
• DJ Khaled

Kids' Choice Awards In L.A.

• Usher
• Rihanna
• Ashlee Simpson
• Fallout Boy
• Akon

Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Nick Cannon
• Lil Jon

MTV.com Exclusive: Sean Kingston

• Sean Kingston

Backstage Pass Week: Photo Highlights

• Hurricane Chris
• Sean Kingston
• Kat DeLuna

TRL Guestbook

• Beyoncé
• Justin Timberlake
• Christina Aguilera
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Nelly Furtado