Words & Sounds, Post 28 (New Year's Edition)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (almost ;] )

To ring in the New Year, here are a few of my favorite songs that'll get me movin' into 2008!

+ Jill Scott - "Hate On Me (Remix f/ MC Lyte)"

+ Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z - "Crazy In Love"

+ Ashlee Simpson - "Boyfriend"

+ Maroon 5 - "Kiwi"

God bless!

Jill Scott: Live in Paris DVD - NEW DATE!

According to Circuit City, the long-awaited DVD of Jill Scott: Live in Paris will be released on February 5th, 2008!

The most exciting part is that there is also a Deluxe Edition CD and DVD combo called Words, Sights, and Sounds, Vol. 1!

Now, like its last release date, this may turn out not to be true, but we can always hope!

Great news? Oh Hell Yes!

To get ya'll ready for the release, here is the JOINT-EXCLUSIVE video of "The Fact Is (I Need You)"[Live in Paris]:

Words & Sounds, Post 27

Here is my current obsession "Love Song" sung by the talented Sara Bareilles:

Words & Sounds, Post 26 (Holiday Edition)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This post of Words & Sounds will feature three of my favorite Christmas songs:

+ Ashlee Simpson & Jessica Simpson - "Little Drummer Boy"

+ Bon Jovi - "Please Come Home For Christmas"

+ Mariah Carey - "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

... Dio ti benedica ...

Here's another great way to give back this holiday season: FreeRice!

To top it all of, here is the Joint-Exclusive Bailey's commercial featuring Jill Marie Jones for the Christmas season:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I wanted to wish ya'll a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Oh Hell Yes!

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, everyone!"

And, to celebrate in true Girlfriends fashion, here is a recipe for Joan's famous holiday cookies, pfeffernusse. 

If you make 'em, let me know how they come out... I always wondered what they taste like.

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To make a difference this holiday season (and every day), follow this link where all you have to do is Click To Give to several charities that benefit all. All it takes is one click each day...

Jill Marie Jones opens up about 'Girlfriends'

Thanks to a poster on the official CW Girlfriends lounge, here is an excerpt from a recent interview with Jill Marie Jones. 

Having played Toni Childs on the show for the first six seasons, Jill Marie Jones has not been part of the show for the last two years.

In her first interview that really addressed her Girlfriends departure, here's what she had to say:

As you are venturing off in the film world, do you believe your TV work has helped you or the opposite? Do you feel you may be typecast for parts?
JMJ: You know what, it has definitely helped me. No one would even know who I was if it weren’t for ‘Girlfriends’. There’s a lot of talented women and men in this town that have no representation and go after audition and audition and don’t get parts, so of course, being on television helped me. I owe all of that to Mara Brock Akil, UPN, and Paramount for giving me a shot and also giving someone a shot with nothing on her resume. I came very green and I just wanted to act. I just wanted to be an actress. I didn’t care about the pain, I didn’t care about money, I just wanted to work and they gave me that opportunity, so of course that is why. You second question was about being typecast, and I say no a lot, which is okay, but also I knew with my first season on ‘Girlfriends’, I had some credit stuff I needed to clear up. If this show doesn’t go pass the first season, I’m going to clean up my credit and that’s what I did. I positioned myself in a way where I can say no. I’m all about movie forward and not necessarily lateral move in terms of my career so I do say no a lot. I do get that, ‘Can we do that type of role?’ again and unless that turns me on in some sort of way, I won't do it.

When you’ve been on a show that is both dramatic and funny, and you’re working with comedians on the screen, do you think you have ‘funny bones’?
JMJ: No, not at all. I didn’t even know or think I was funny. When I studied, I studied dramatic acting. In acting class, I studied drama stuff and then I got ‘Girlfriends’. I didn’t know til ‘Girlfriends’ that I was funny, and I have to say that I feel like I was in a university of girlfriends with Tracy, Golden, Reggie, and Persia. Who I am today is a culmination of all my experience up to this point. I feel as if I learned so much from those people from Mara, the writers. I was literally in class when I was there. I was so green. ‘Girlfriends’ was my third audition. I booked my first. I booked my second. I booked my third. ‘Girlfriends’ was my third. I was learning throughout the whole process. If you look at seasons 1-6 when I was on, you can see the growth.

It’s been two seasons since you left the show, do you miss playing Toni Childs?
JMJ: Oh my God! I feel like I gave birth to her. Obviously, Mara created the character, but for six years that's all I had and her back-story and everything I worked on, I feel like I gave birth to her. I totally miss Toni. I love the fact that people still come up to me in the street and be like, ‘Toni Childs!’ It brings a smile to my face.

Would you consider coming back for a cameo or an episode?
JMJ: Anything’s possible. The life that I have right now is because of Mara Brock Akil, Kelsey Grammer, UPN, Paramount took a chance on a girl with talent or that they saw had talent that on my resume was blank. I don’t know how much you know about in this town, but that doesn’t happen all the time. So, everything I have at this moment and the life that I’m being able to live is because people gave me a chance.

With so much done in six seasons, do you think the character ran its course?
JMJ: No, I think if Toni came back and when I say no, I say it because there are brilliant writers on ‘Girlfriends’. There is so much more that you can do. For me and my career, my contract was up after six seasons and there’s a whole film world that I wanted to experience and that’s what I’ve been doing. I think if Toni came back to the show, there would be so much more to write and much more to bring. That’s a testament to how great Mara and the rest of the writers are.

So that was a very interesting and informative article, and it is nice to hear what Jill really had to say about her Girlfriends past... hopefully she'll be coming back for some sort of farewell!

[Source]

Ashlee Simpson names 3rd album!

Revealed exclusively to MTV, Ashlee Simpson has decided to name her album Bittersweet World. 

The interesting title comes from a song on the record and also from the state of our world today.

I cannot wait to hear more from Ashlee as the March release date approaches!

Ashlee Simpson "Outta My Head" Video Premiere

What did you think?

Jill Scott featuring MC Lyte "Hate On Me" Remix

Thanks to KrazeeKool over on the Hidden Beach Family Reunion, here is a great remix of "Hate On Me" by Jill Scott which features MC Lyte.

>"Hate On Me (Remix f/ MC Lyte)" - Jill Scott< 

Enjoy the goodness and please comment.

Jill Marie Jones in "The Perfect Christmas" OUT NOW

Sorry for the lateness, but Girlfriends alum Jill Maries Jones is in a new movie that just came out yesterday, December 12th, that stars Gabrielle Union and Queen Latifah. The movie also features a small role from Rachel True of good ole Half & Half.

Here's the trailer... go out and see it!

Pictures from Ashlee Simpson's video for "Outta My Head"

Thanks to MTV News, here are two new pictures from the set of the video for "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" from Ashlee Simpson.

The accompanying article is a great read and outlines the whole video, which sounds so cool and wacky. 

I can't wait to see the premiere of the video on Yahoo! Music on December 19!

Follow the link to read the article and let me know what you think...

Words & Sounds, Post 25

To celebrate my 25th post of Words & Sounds, I have 1 song from each of my five favorite artists for ya'll!

1. Jill Scott - "Epiphany"

2. Beyoncé - "Flaws And All"

3. Ashlee Simpson - "Surrender"

4. Shakira - "Objection (Tango)"

5. Missy Elliott - "Hot"

Enjoy the beats and please try to comment...

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I've also added some personal information about myself in the section "Get Me Bodied" towards the end of the right column, so check it out and get to know me a little better ;)

GREAT new article on 'Girlfriends'...

Thanks to a poster on the CW's official Lounge, here is a wonderful article about the longevity and success of Girlfriends. This article offers a lot of great information about the current season and offers some insight into the mind of series creator Mara Brock Akil.

Worth the full read, the article stated that Girlfriends Season 8 has 13 of its 22 episodes completed due to the writer's strike, which is more than I had originally heard, so that's a good thing. Fresh Girlfriends episodes will be following us into the new year! And what's even better is that the January 14th episode is directed by series star Tracee Ellis Ross!!

Read the article here, and let me know what you think.

Ashlee Simpson "Outta My Head" on iTunes!

Today marks the release of the new Ashlee Simpson single "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" on iTunes so go over and buy it!

The song has a fun 80s vibe to it and is produced by Timbaland!

Here's the link to her artist page: Ashlee Simpson on iTunes

And here's the link to the new single: "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)"

Woo Hoo!!! Enjoy

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Song Review:

I think the new sound of "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" is really fun and just makes you want to move around and shake it... It's a very silly song but Ashlee Simpson has not lost her sense of self; she still doesn't take any shit and, like most of her older songs, declares that "I am who I am and I can't be no one else." I just love that Ashlee can be strong, she can be tough, she can be vulnerable, and in this song, she can be silly and poignant at the same time. I am looking forward to the album!

'Girlfriends' S8.9 Review: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means to William"

Sorry for the delay, but here is the review for the ninth Girlfriends episode of Season 8 that aired two weeks ago called "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means to William".

This episode was good because it felt like old times again for the second week in a row which was really nice! The girls were up to their same old high jinks which made for a funny episode.

So, the issue at hand in this episode was that William was considering quitting the law firm because he is not being respected as much as he deserves. After weighing his options and talking to Monica, he decides that he is resigning his position as a lawyer. Meanwhile, Monica worries that he will not be able to provide for their new baby. With his mind set on quitting, William goes to work and realizes that his family means much more to him and that sacrifices must be made in order to succeed and be prosperous, so he stays with the firm and keeps his prestigious job.

Now with the funny: Joan gives Lynn an odd-shaped sculpture as a house-warming gift and instead of Lynn just saying she doesn't like it, she gives it to Maya who then gives it to Monica who then gives it right back to Joan telling her that no one likes the bizarre piece. Joan is offended and makes Lynn put it up in her house because that's what friends do.

While all this is going on, someone from the neighborhood asks Maya to write for the local newspaper and she decides to write a gossip column. This becomes a problem for some people when she calls them "ho-ish" and other such funny terms to keep her column poppin.

All in all, a good episode but not the best.... I am really looking forward to tonight's Christmas episode!

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Here's the preview for "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means to William" from my YouTube:

Be sure to catch an all-new episode of Girlfriends tonight on the CW at 9pm!

New feature on 'Girlfriends' website...

Hey ya'll, the CW added a new feature to the Girlfriends website which shows all the music featured in the current season's episodes. It's pretty cool and I like that the CW seems to have taken some interest in Girlfriends...

And what's even more interesting is that under the Season 8 episode "Snap Back" they list Erykah Badu's "Vibrate On" as part of a Girlfriends Sountrack! I have no idea what this means, but it would be SO cool is the show finally got an official soundtrack after 8 freakin years!

So, check it out for yourself and see if you can make some sense of it... and be sure to come back with your comments!

EXCLUSIVE: Beyoncé "Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Live)"

A new Oh Hell Yes! EXCLUSIVE is Beyoncé's performance from Movies Rock of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Live)"!

Enjoy the new B audio and be sure to comment.

Jill Scott nominated for 3 Grammy Awards!

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jill Scott on her three Grammy Award nominations!!

Here are the categories in which Jill was nominated:

Best R/B Album

THE REAL THING: WORDS AND SOUNDS VOL. 3

Best Female R/B Vocal Performance
“HATE ON ME”

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
“DAYDREAMIN” Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott

Wishing Jill all the best! Good luck girl!

Jill Scott announces The Real Thing Tour!

Visit this amazing website for more information on The Real Thing Tour of the incredibly talented Jill Scott, and be sure to buy your tickets to her show!

Also, her official website says that she will be coming to Madison Square Garden around New Year's which is HUGE so stay tuned for more info on that excitement.

I can't wait to be part of the Jill Scott experience once again when she comes to the NY/NJ/and Philly areas!

New Ashlee Simpson promo picture!

Here is a hot new promo picture for Ashlee Simpson's third album, due out in March 2008. With her single release for "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" on December 11th at iTunes, Geffen released this beautiful picture!

I really love the evolution of Ashlee's style, with her long messy hair and dark eyes. I also really love the cross that hangs low and it's very sexy that she has no shirt on underneath her jacket and suspenders :)

I am really looking forward to the full release of "Outta My Head" and of course the full album.

(I'm pretty sure I'm the first blog to have this picture up, so that's pretty exciting! Credit me and Geffen. Thanks)

Words & Sounds, Post 24

Here is a new single from Kelly Rowland entitled "Work" which I think is a really great song from Ms. Kelly.

Enjoy!

Words & Sounds, Post 23

I wanted to share with you all my favorite performance from The Beyonce Experience Live DVD, so here is "Flaws and All". I really love this song for its simplicity and message, and Beyonce totally killed on this performance.