Clearly two Ciaras are better than one. She’s opted to renamed her fifth studio album from One Woman Army to simply, Ciara. Perhaps a name change will do her long-awaited and much-delayed LP some good. Even though I liked the original name more than the self-titled route, I think a change of energy is exactly what is needed. After all, none of the promo singles for One Woman Army did much good.

Besides going back to basics with her album title, the 27-year-old R&B singer is reuniting with her long-time mentor and friend L.A. Reid. The Epic Records chairman is credited with discovering her and executively producing her debut, Goodies, back in 2004. Ciara also joined forces with previous collaborators Rodney Jerkins and Jasper Cameron for her new album. All in all, the momentum is starting to pay off. Her lead single “Body Party” written by her boyfriend Future is currently impacting on the R&B charts. Along with that track, her upcoming effort will feature nine other songs including two duets. One with American Idol judge Nicki Minaj and with her boyfriend.

Do you think Ciara is in store for a comeback in 2013? Do you like her new album title and artwork. It’s definitely sleek. It almost looks like a butterfly. I wonder if that was intentional to show she’s about to blossom. Sound off below.

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Have you noticed lately that male pop artists have suited up on their album covers? From Justin Timberlake to NKOTB, everyone is dressing to the nines as of late. Perhaps a Men’s Warehouse conspiracy? LOL. Jumping on the bandwagon are 98 Degrees for their comeback album, 2.0. The foursome look pretty slick in their formal attire complemented with a halo-like effect. In their defense, they are going on tour with NKOTB and God forbid they look sloppy next to them. What do you think of the artwork? A little too safe or perfectly in line with their image?

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Speaking of 98 Degrees’ Package Tour mates, NKOTB appeared on The View today. Joey, Danny, Jonathan, Jordan and Danny performed their infectious comeback hit, “Remix (I Like The).” While it wasn’t the same without watching Artemis Pebdani interacting with the boys, it was a great showing. Performing such an up-tempo track live can be tricky and the Boston boys pulled it off. They had the audience and Whoopi Goldberg in a giddy mood. Check out their performance below.

watch NKOTB on The View after the jump

It’s abundantly clear that Rihanna is allergic to bras or any other form of clothing cover her breasts. Once again, the 24-year-old is posing naked for her music’s artwork. A tactic she used for her latest album’s cover Unapologetic. She also recently posed nearly-nude for the cover of GQ’s Men of the Year issue. To quote one of her earlier albums, RiRi is a Good Girl, Gone Bad.

To be perfectly honest, the sex sells approach seems to be working. For the first time in six previous tries, Rihanna scored her first No. 1 album. She moved 238,000 copies of Unapologetic in its first week of release. The singer also sits atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with “Diamonds“. Life is certainly pretty nice for Rihanna despite being holed up in a hotel room for a couple days after catching a flu during her recent 777 tour.

The superstar unveiled the cover art for “Pour It Up” on her Instagram yesterday. The single will be second official release off Unapologetic. Given that the track is an ode to pole dancing life, the cover with her covering her lady lumps with her arms and holding a dollar bill seems appropriate. As an aside, you’d think Ri would pose with a Benjamin or Hamilton instead of a $1 Washington. If you haven’t heard “Pour It Up” yet, check it out below.

listen to the track after the jump

I am DYING to listen to No Doubt’s new album “Push and Shove.” I already can’t get enough of the lead-off single, “Settle Down” so I can’t imagine hating the rest of the album. The reggae-infused track has definitely been a great addition to my summer playlists and soundtracks. I am hoping that the reggae fest continues throughout the course of the albums’ entire track listing.

Yesterday, the group debuted the album artwork for the upcoming release and I absolutely love it. Shot and designed by mural artist El Mac, all four members were photographed and then arted up for the four-pane picture. I love the intricacy and maze-like texture in their faces. Definitely makes for a memorable cover.

“His technique and ability is just mind blowing! The idea of him working with us on this record is classic,” said Gwen Stefani of artist El Mac. High praise indeed. In coordination with the release of the cover, the band also released episode five of their webisodes which have been chronicling the band’s journey back into the spotlight. Check out the behind-the-scenes clip of the creation of the cover below.

Check out the creative process behind the cover after the jump.

Much to the delight of her fans (ahem…Donovan), the original “Idol” Kelly Clarkson has released the official album artwork for her upcoming album, “Stronger” and she looks absolutely stunning. She went with “Stronger” as the title of the album “mainly because the entire album is very much about empowerment and just strength overall and I love singing songs like that,” said Kelly Clarkson.

The album is set for release this fall on October 24th. Her first single, “Mr. Know It All“, debuted last week and is currently in the top 40 of USA TODAY’s AC and Hot AC charts. I absolutely love the song. It’s written by Ester Dean, Brian Kennedy and Brett James, and was previously described by some people as a fusion of Bruno Mars and P!nk. I can totally see that and it definitely makes me really excited about the rest of the album. If this song, and some of the other track leaks are any indication, the album is going to sound incredible and be very empowering, as her music always is.

Listen to “Mr. Know It All” after the jump…

Last night, Lady Gaga closed off her 200 show run of her Monster Ball Tour ending it all off with her newest sensation, Judas. The video was just released and is one of my favorite Lady Gaga videos of all time and I’m more into this song than I ever was with Born This Way.

But you know Lady Gaga, she can’t stay still and at 1PM PST, the world will be able to buy ANOTHER new Lady Gaga song on iTunes. The track is called The Edge of Glory and Gaga took to her official Facebook page to release the album artwork and the news to her Little Monsters. With no word or leak of this song ever being mentioned, I cannot wait to hear what it’s going to sound like. Are you excited to hear some more new Gaga?

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YES YES YES! The anticipation for this album couldn’t be higher. After Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 did not disappoint, I am sure that Pt. 3 will be amaze balls. Today, Robyn released on her website an official release of the artwork for the album as well as the official track list. I wrote a post a bit ago with some details about the album saying that Pt. 3 would contain songs from both Pt. 1 and 2 as well as some new material.

This is all confirmed now!

Check out the tracklist after the jump…