Video: Chris Brown Makes Televised Stage Return With “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti” Performance

R&B/pop star Chris Brown did his part in helping bring in donations for earthquake-ravaged Haiti by performing during BET’s SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti concert held tonight (February 5) in Miami, Florida.

The appearance is Chris’ first televised performance since his highly publicized assault on former girlfriend, pop princess Rihanna, and the legal mess that followed nearly a year ago.

Performing his single Crawl and one of his biggest hits, With You, Chris seemed cool and collected.  He easily gave the performance of the night, showing off his incredible dance moves.

BET’s SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti telethon featured other performances from Robin Thicke, Monica, Wyclef, Justin Bieber and more.

Justin Bieber Performs Mini Concert For The Early Show In Miami

Justin Bieber - Wireimage

Lummus Park in Miami Beach was swarming with teen girls this morning, as they squealed and screamed in anticipation of seeing teen heartthrob Justin Bieber perform a mini concert that would air on the CBS Early Show.

They got everything they wanted and more from the 15-year-old sensation. He performed his hits “One Time,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “Never Let You Go,”  “Love Me” and “Baby.” He even invited one girl on stage and made her day by serenading her and giving her roses.

Take a look at the video below, and flip through the photos to swoon more.

Justin Bieber – Early Show Concert

Live Shots: Keri Hilson Performs With Timbaland At Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam In Miami

Keri Hilson - Wireimage

Did you catch the Pepsi’s Super Bowl Fan Jam that aired on VH1 last night? Justin Bieber gave an, erm, interesting performance of “Baby,” and Rihanna debuted her next smash “Rude Boy” for the fans who turned out in Miami.

Timbaland also performed and was joined by a digital Justin Timberlake and flesh-and-bone JoJo, but what you didn’t get to see due to editing was Keri Hilson rock with the super-producer. (Insert ‘whomp whomp whomp’ sound here.)

Miss Keri Baby looked hot as she heated up the stage in what she describes as a “super-short, Pepsi-inspired, hoodie-dress.”

Live Shots: Black Eyed Peas Kick Off The E.N.D. World Tour In Atlanta

Black Eyed Peas - Wireimage

The Black Eyed Peas kicked off their long-awaited The E.N.D. world tour last night at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA with hometown boy Ludacris supporting. The tour is in support of their massively successful album of the same name, which picked up a boatload of awards for the group this past Sunday at the Grammys.

BEP took fans into the future with eye-catching costumes, dazzling lights, high flying stunts, and their signature brand of hip-hop laced pop tunes.

Rihanna Performs Mini Concert For Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam

Grammy award winning megastar, Rihanna, proved just why she was the night’s big headliner at Pepsi’s Super Bowl Fan Jam Concert tonight (February 4) in Miami when she stormed the stage with numerous hits. Blazing through epic pop tunes like Wait You Turn, Disturbia and the moody Russian Roulette, she delighted the crowd who sat through opening performances from Timbaland and Justin Bieber.

Rihanna was later joined by rapper Young Jeezy for their top 10 hit Hard. After the performance, Rih performed her newest single, the feisty Rude Boy. Viewers at home were insanely unlucky as VH1’s broadcast of the concert cut the performance short. Lame! From the bit that was aired, it was definitely one of the strongest performances of the night!

Disturbia

Video: Justin Bieber Performs “Baby” On Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam Concert

Miami was definitely the place to be tonight as dozens of stars ascended on the city in anticipation of this weekend’s Super Bowl event. But before the big game, Pepsi put on its annual Fan Jam Concert to celebrate.

Before the night’s big headliner, Rihanna, came out, newcomer and teen sensation Justin Bieber warmed up the crowd. Part of his set included his newest single, Baby.

A clearly inexperienced Justin took the stage sans Ludacris but still managed to make the crowd cheer wildly.

Baby is taken from the re-release of Justin’s debut album, My World 2.0.

Kelly Clarkson Lashes Out At Taylor Swift’s Label CEO In Defense Of American Idol Singers

Kelly Clarkson - Wireimage

Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta came out swinging at critics who bashed the label’s princess Taylor Swift for her shaky Grammy performance, but he might have made things worse for the country-pop singer.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Borchetta defended Swift as a star who might not be a technical singer, but should be hailed for her artistry. “This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note,” he said. “This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”

His statement hit an extremely sour note with American Idol’s inaugural winner, Kelly Clarkson. She took to her blog to write a scathing response, in which she says Borchetta is “throwing blame.”

“I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor,” she wrote, “so you might see why it’s upsetting to read you attacking American Idol  for producing simply vocalists that hit ‘the high notes’… We not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the ‘right’ notes as well.”

Clarkson suggested to Borchetta he take a page from her crew’s book when she has a rough performance and “simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won’t go according to plan or work out.”

Clarkson’s sentiments were shared by fellow Idol singer David Cook, who tweeted to Kelly saying, “Kudos, @kelly_clarkson.  Love it.”

Video: Chris Brown Joins Drake On Stage For Sexy Remix Of “A Night Off” In Virginia

Pop and R&B’s former golden boy, Chris Brown, and Hip-Hop’s most-buzzed-about newcomer, Drake, joined forces Wednesday evening (February 3) at Virginia Commonwealth University’s homecoming concert in Richmond, Virginia.

Headlining the event, Drake proved he can share more than the resurrection cover of Vibe Magazine, as he brought Virginia’s native-son to the stage for a remix of So Far Gone’s “A Night Off.”

Following Drake’s original take on the song, Breezy took the temperature up a couple more notches, adding his own seductive verse to the sensual track.  “Jump in the shower, be soaking wet.  I’mma give you something I know you won’t forget…”  Much to the delight of excited fans, grown and sexy, here Mr. Brown comes!  And judging by the amplified screams and shouts at the appearance of his special guest, Drake’s fans seemed all too pleased with the cameo.

Check out the clip to watch the duo, particularly Mr. Brown, as he prepares listeners for the mature, lyrical road he’s traveling leading up to his Valentine’s Day mixtape release of In My Zone.

Record Label CEO Defends Taylor Swift’s Grammy Performance Against “Over The Top” Criticism

Taylor Swift - Wireimage

Taylor Swift’s shaky performance at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards is being defended by the CEO of her record label home, Big Machine Records.

“She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to [her fans], and they speak directly back to her,” Scott Borchetta said in an interview with the Associated Press. “This is not `American Idol.’ This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”

Swift has been slammed by critics and fans alike for her Grammy-night medley, that included an off-key duet with the legendary Stevie Nicks. Borchetta feels the criticism has become “over the top” and is just “that classic thing that critics do of building something up and then wanting to tear it down.”

He also blamed a technical issue on Swift’s rocky performance. “We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn’t able to hear everything in the mix,” he said. “Unfortunately, on one of the biggest stages, we did have a technical issue. She couldn’t hear herself like she had in rehearsal.”

There was no shortage of backlash against the 20-year-old country star, who won Album of the Year, right here at Neon Limelight. “You realize how weak of a singer Taylor Swift is when put side by side with Stevie,” one commenter wrote. “If you thought her singing was good, maybe you need to remove the earplugs,” another harsh comment read.

Other comments didn’t bash just this one performance, but trashed Swift as a live performer based on past performances as well. Commenter Anthony noted: “Taylor’s been doing this for four years now and still has yet to improve her singing…she sounds just as bad as she always has.” A fan by the name “TaylorFan” writes: “I love Taylor Swift, but she cannot sing live… The studio productions of her songs are wonderful and fun. The live performances are always lacking in basic pitch and tonal qualities.”

Borchetta disagrees, and thinks anyone who doubts Taylor’s abilities should see her on tour. “You’re welcome to come out as my guest to a Taylor Swift show and experience the whole thing, because it’s amazing. You can see her in her element. There’s a reason tickets are selling like they are.”

American Idol Audition Round-Up Shows Return Of Jessica Furney, One To Watch In Didi Benami

Jessica Furney - FOX

American Idol season 9 aired one last audition episode last night (February 3) before the big, dramatic Hollywood week begins next Tuesday with new judge Ellen DeGeneres finally making her debut.

The auditions weren’t set in any particular city. What the episode did was allow producers to give audiences a longer look at people they feel we might be seeing a lot of next week.

There was definitely some talent to be seen, but like most of the season so far, many weren’t nearly as good as they were being hyped up to be. Two singers, though, were more than worthy of their screen time.

20-year-old Jessica Furney returned for her shot this season after being cut in Hollywood last year. Jessica, who we absolutely adored and called “a real contender” last season,  dropped her middle name (last year she went by Jessica Paige Furney), dropped a few pounds, and dropped the frumpy look in hopes of standing out more this time around. She also wisely chose Leona Lewis‘ “Footprints In The Sand,” a song co-written by Simon Cowell, to perform.

Jess is even better this year. Even Randy says she “definitely improved.” Hopefully she’ll make it past Hollywood and into the Top 24 this season.

22-year-old Hollywood native Didi Benami decided to audition in memory of her best friend Rebecca who passed away almost four years ago. Her soulful and emotional rendition of “Hey Jude” was the highlight of the night, though the judges weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as they should have been — or at least as they were for much lesser singers. She gets all yeses across the board, but Simon’s emphasizes his “yes” has a small y.

Not one of my favorites, but sure to go places this season is 16-year-old Aaron Kelly, who some are hastily calling “the next David Archuleta.” Kelly was able to give a ‘way better than the original’ version of Miley Cyrus‘ “The Climb,” but anyone with the vocal range of a grapefruit could do better than Miley. Come back to me with that comparison after Kelly tackles the depths of John Lennon masterfully.

Until next week!