It was nice to see a lighter, fun side of the usually serious Tavis Smiley on “Dancing with the Stars,” especially the first week. He is not a good dancer and therefore could only go so far. Still, it was surprising that he was eliminated in week two.
Smiley attributed his early dismissal, and not having time to completely master his dances, to a tight schedule, including a book tour. But that reality being what it was, he should never have agreed to compete on the widely viewed show. And he sure didn’t help his cause when he lost his temper during rehearsal.
Also, when late-night TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel predicted that he would be the first to be eliminated, Smiley took it way too seriously, getting downright mad during an “Access Hollywood” interview with Detroit’s own Shaun Robinson.
JENNIFER HUDSON’S third album has been released, titled “JHUD.” It features the type of ballad sizzlers she is known for, but also lighter material and songs tailored for the dance floor. (And a ceertain amount of “PG-13” language.) You may have heard the first single, the mid-tempo “Walk it Out.”
Speaking of new releases, Nov. 24 is the date when Mary J. Blige’s “The London Sessions” will become available. She sure has come a long way from her early “ghetto-esque” days of the early 1990s.
Give supermodel Tyson Beckford five demerit points and a bottle of ego-control pills. When asked if other men should be envious of him he said, “Yeah, they should be. I look in the mirror and say, ‘I’d be jealous of me.’”
Okay, maybe to an extent he was not being serious, but even so…
JAREKUS SINGLETON, singer, guitarist and songwriter, has been around for several years but count me in among those who are just hearing about him. It’s good to know that someone who is Black and on the young side (he’s 30) is helping to keep the blues tradition alive.
Singleton’s new “I Rufuse to Lose” album is outstanding and very creative — blues with a rock edge.
Don’t expect another rap album from André 3000 anytime soon, if ever. The 39-year-old from the duo OutKast explained, “I’m bored with what I can do in rap. I’m always a fan. I listen to it all. I just don’t know what else I can do with it. I honestly wish that I could make a (hot) album.
“I’ve always known that there comes a time when you’re just not as hip. It happens to everybody and it has nothing to do with talent. When you get out on stage and you’re doing songs you wrote when you were 17, it’s not the same.”
SMOKEY ROBINSON speaks candidly about the darkest period of his life — 1984 to 1986 — when he was hooked on cocaine and often got high with Marvin Gaye. He says he kicked the habit cold turkey at a church service and never relapsed.
Life coach Ayanla Vanzant says she is fed up with all the “vile, vicious and dangerous” words to be found in social media, including cyberbullying, and is working on attempting to do something about it.
If you are a fan of Barbra Streisand, the iconic songstress and actress who never does anything that is not classy, if not exquisite, be sure to pick up her new mega-selling album, “Streisand Partners.” She sings memorable duets with, among others, Babyface, John Legend, Billy Joel, Michael Bublé, her son Jason Gould (he’s great), Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Lionel Richie, who said he had been “waiting 40 years for this call.”
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that Smokey Robinson actually wrote “Shop Around” for Barrett Strong, who had a major hit at the time with “Money (That’s What I Want),” and later became a massively successful songwriter in partnership with Norman Whitfield. But when Berry Gordy Jr. heard the song, he said he wanted the Miracles to record it.
MEMORIES: “Reaching for the Sky” (Peabo Bryson), “Maybe” (the Three Degrees), “If You Want Me to Stay” (Sly & the Family Stone), “Bye Bye Baby” (Mary Wells), “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (the Platters), “Jump Start” (Natalie Cole), “I Can’t Stand the Rain” (Ann Peebles).
BLESSINGS to Greg Mathis, Adam Hollier, Ingrid Hatcher, Anthony Neely, Montez Miller, Clifton Akai-Tuggle, Rico Lewis and Saunteel Jenkins.
WORDS OF THE WEEK, from advice columnist Carolyn Hax: “People are who they are, no matter how badly you might want them to be someone else. The more you remember this reality, the better any outcome will be.”
Let the music play!
Steve Holsey can be reached at Svh517@aol.com and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.
