Weekly Music News: The week of November 23 is shaping out to be a week fit for the battle of the divas as Rihanna, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Mary J. Blige are all scheduled to release albums. Rihanna's new single, Beyonce and Lady Gaga's video premiere date, Wyclef Jean's memoir, and Alicia Keys' new video round's out this week's music news.

Rihanna's new single "Russian Roulette" scheduled to premiere today

This has got to be a first. Music fans are going bonkers over her new album, then again Rihanna could release a line of socks and fans would go just as crazy. The official announcement was made last week that Rihanna's fourth studio album is scheduled to be released on Monday, November 23. The album that remains titled "Rated R" is said to see production from Kanye West, Tricky Stewart, The Dream (the mastermind behind Rihanna's hit "Umbrella"), Justin Timberlake and rapper Drake to name a few. According to a counter on the singer's website, her new single which is rumored to be "Russian Roulette" is scheduled to premiere today at 11:23 a.m.



Chris Brown set to go on fan appreciation tour

Speaking of Rihanna (maybe we weren't speaking of her, but in this day and age Rihanna and Chris Brown are like peanut butter and jelly you can't say one without the other) According to PlanetChrisBrown.com, Chris Brown is scheduled to head out on a tour strictly for the goal of showing appreciation to his fans. The "Forever" singer has been hard at work in jumpstarting his career since his conviction by working on his album Graffiti - that has a release date set for December - and working on his video for his official first single "I Can Transform Ya." The Joseph Khan directed music video for the lead single is scheduled to premiere sometime this week. Wouldn't it be interesting if Chris Brown's video premiered today, the same day as Rihanna's single? That would make for some great cooler talk.



Wyclef Jean set to release memoir

Performer Wyclef Jean will join a list of other artists that have released memoirs. The Haitian singer/rapper/songwriter is reportedly working on a memoir that will give an in depth look at his journey from living in a hut in Haiti to moving into projects in the states to moving into mansions. He will also open up about his group The Fugees. Hopefully he will discuss in detail the cause behind the groups disbandment, a fact that Hip-Hop and R&B fans are most interested in. Wyclef has teamed up with Rolling Stone's writer Anthony Bozza to help pen his story. Anthony Bozza has co-authored such books as Eminem's Whatever You Say I Am and Tommy Lee's Tommy Land.

Michael Jackson is selling out tickets even in death

Move over Elvis, Michael Jackson is the new deceased cash cow. Michael's legacy clearly has not subsided in the hearts of his fans. Just as his tickets for his 50-date gig at O2 Arena sold out within hours, tickets for Michael Jackson's This Is It film are selling like hot cakes. Theaters reportedly have to provide more screens to show the film due to an overwhelming demand for tickets. This Is It opens on October 27th, but tickets are already flying out the door and have become the top seller at two major online ticket outlets; but it doesn't stop there. On Saturday, October 24th there will be a global attempt to set a world record for the most people dancing simultaneously to Michael's "Thriller". There are 300 locations participating including various locations in Los Angeles. If you are in the Los Angeles area and want to participate, visit ThrillTheWorldLALive.com for more details.



Beyonce and Lady Gaga's video gets a date

Since the announcement went live that Beyonce and Lady Gaga are set to appear in a video together, fans have been anticipating the sight of seeing the Queens stand alongside one another in a video. A sneak peek of the video is said to premiere tomorrow and the full video has a set premiere date of November 11th, just in time for the release of Lady Gaga's album Fame Monster that has a scheduled release date of November 23. The video will be for Beyonce's "Video Phone" a song that appears on her album I Am…Sasha Fierce and will be directed by Hype Williams.

Video Premiere: Alicia Keys-Doesn't Mean Anything

Here is the new video from singer Alicia Keys for her song "Doesn't Mean Anything" that appears on her album The Element of Freedom due in stores December 1.




Story by Samantha Greaves

Starpulse contributing writer