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Yesterday evening, I was given the amazing opportunity to preview Prince‘s two new albums, LOTUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND, along with the debut album, Elixir, by his new protégé Bria Valente. I was invited to hear all three albums in full ahead of their release online at LOTUSFLOW3R.com and exclusively at Target stores next Tuesday. As you might imagine, I was very excited and anxious to get to hear the new stuff from Prince:

I posted tweet updates on my Twitter profile for every song on every album just to give y’all a taste. Overall, I really liked Bria Valente‘s album … her songs reminded me a lot of Prince‘s work with Nona Gaye in the late 90′s. Altho Prince‘s religious conversion has hindered his ability to get too sexy with his collaborators, you can still hear the soul of Prince‘s best work from the 80′s across all three albums. His guitar work is still in top form, these albums will sound amazing when performed live. Personally, if I had to pick a fave, I think MPLSoUND is my fave — there are a lot of funky tracks on that disc. I cannot wait for all y’all to hear the tracks for yourselves. Click HERE to read the tweet updates that I posted yesterday of my initial thoughts on the music. As some of you may know, Prince will be performing for 3 nights in a row on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week. My very good friend and fellow Prince fan Daniel has invited me to attend the Thursday taping with him. Additionally, I will be attending Prince‘s 3 concerts in a row (at the Nokia Theatre, the Conga Room and Club Nokia) this coming Saturday night here in LA. I’m so excited :) I missed out on the ticket sales on Sunday (cuz I was preoccupied with travel) but I managed to get tix to all three shows on eBay. The tix were a bit more expensive than face value but having seen Prince in concert before, I know he is totally worth the money.

I have to give a big shout-out to my boy Zack from Michigan who I got to meet at SxSW this past weekend:

He works with the Javelins back home in Detroit and it was my pleasure to meet him :)

Tonight, David and I have a pretty cool thing to go to … but I don’t want to talk about it until it actually happens. Tho, I will prolly be updating my Twitter all night long ;)

Target has announced that they have teamed up with Prince to be the exclusive retailer of his new albums LOTUSFLOW3R and MPLSOUND as well as the debut album, Elixir, by his new musical protégé Bria Valente. In fact, Target will sell all 3 albums together for the low, low prince of $11.98:

Prince has found an outlet for his latest collection of songs, recorded without a major label, by partnering with Target for a three-disc set, the retail chain said on Monday. The album will be available at Target stores March 29. The collection has two original studio albums called “LOTUSFLOW3R” and “MPLSOUND” and a third disc titled “Elixer” by his latest protege, the singer Bria Valente. The three-disc set from Prince, which will sell for $11.98 at Target, is the latest instance of a recording artist partnering with a major retailer to release an album. Anglo-Australian rock band AC/DC released their chart-topping album “Black Ice” in October exclusively through Wal-Mart stores and rock icon Bruce Springsteen gave the retailer exclusive rights to release an anthology of his greatest hits in January. Prince in recent months sought to showcase his latest recordings as he worked without a major label, as he premiered songs for a Los Angeles radio station and on the Internet. Prince has previously tried out alternative ways to distribute his music. Copies of his 2007 CD “Planet Earth” were delivered with British newspaper The Mail on Sunday. Prince, whose hits include “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry,” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and he has won six Grammy Awards.

Now this is a great deal. I had a feeling that Prince would be working out an exclusive deal with a retailer but I guessed it would be Amazon.com. I LOVE that he’s chosen to work with Target — my fave store ever. I really didn’t anticipate that all three albums would be bundled together and for such a low price! Altho he gave away his previous album, Planet Earth, for free in the UK I am not at all bummed he is not doing the same thing here. Three albums for $12 is a pretty good deal. Woot!! I can’t wait to pick up this new bundle of Prince music at my friendly neighborhood Target store come March 29.

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Clive Davis, famed music mogul, was honored at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards Salute To Icons tribute event which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last night and managed to bring out some of the biggest names in music to honor and party with him. Surrounded by his peers and his discoveries, Davis was sittin’ pretty as the night unfolded. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals last night:

A stunning-looking and strong-sounding Whitney Houston made a triumphant return to the stage at a pre-Grammy party honoring her mentor, music mogul Clive Davis. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” Houston, looking glamorous in a skintight leopard dress, sang early Sunday morning as she belted a line from one of her classic hits, “I’m Every Woman.” But more than a lyric, it summarized to the crowd of A-list superstars and top industry execs that the superstar — whose drug use and erratic behavior had caused a shocking fall from grace just a few years ago — was back in top form … Houston’s mini-concert put an exclamation point on a night that included a rousing performance by Kelly Clarkson, an unlikely but magical duet between Jennifer Hudson and Barry Manilow and a rambling monologue by Kanye West. “I have to bow in the presence of greats right now,” West said as he looked out into the crowd, which at one point included Sir Paul McCartney, Prince, Diddy, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Quincy Jones, and other luminaries. “I’m just humbled by your greatness, and also Clive,” West told the audience. Davis, the music mogul who founded labels, signed greats ranging from Houston to Bruce Springsteen to Janis Joplin, and resuscitated the careers of veterans like Rod Stewart and Carlos Santana, was honored by the Recording Academy as an industry icon on Saturday, hours before Sunday’s Grammys. For nearly three decades, Davis’ pre-Grammy party and concert had become one of the industry’s most coveted invites; this year, the Recording Academy took the event over and honored Davis instead. But while Davis got an award, he still held court like it was his own party, acting as the evening’s host as he introduced performers like Stewart, the Kings of Leon and Leona Lewis. Diddy got the often staid crowd on their feet with a moving rendition of his tribute to the slain Notorious B.I.G., “I’ll Be Missing You,” with Biggie’s widow, singer Faith Evans, and a gospel choir. Clarkson got one of the evening’s biggest ovations with her performance of her new single, “My Life Would Suck Without You” and the Joplin gem “Piece of My Heart.” But Hudson was perhaps the night’s biggest star — until Houston hit the stage. Starting with the Super Bowl last Sunday, Hudson has been raising her profile after spending months in seclusion following the slayings of her mother, brother and nephew last October. A smiling Houston performed her hit “Spotlight,” which earned her one of her four Grammy nominations, and got a standing ovation from the crowd. But she raised the bar with a pairing with Barry Manilow, injecting one of his signature songs, “Weekend in New England,” with a lacking ingredient — soul. Afterward, the Oscar-winner joined the audience (and friend Fantasia), stood in the front and danced and sang as Houston performed. Houston started off with “I Will Always Love You,” but didn’t hit the high, sustaining notes that made the song such a dramatic, stirring hit. Instead, she kept her voice at medium power, deciding to croon rather than soar. But as she got into hits like “It’s Not Right, But It’s O.K.,” her voice appeared to get stronger — and louder, and while she never replicated the vocal gymnastics of some of her past work, delivered a mesmerizing performance nonetheless. The 45-year-old, one of the best-selling artists of all time and among the greatest singers, hasn’t made an album since 2002. Then she was was sinking due to drug use and a tumultuous personal life — a far cry from the princess image she cultivated since her debut in the 1980s. But the singer is expected to release an album sometime this year, and unlike other reported returns, this comeback seems to be the real deal. “She was on it, she was happy — she’s back,” said Foxx. “Everybody else watch out.”

This Grammy Awards Salute to Icons affair sounded like a night to remember. I cannot even fathom what it must be like to be in presence of so much talent all in one room. The fact that even Kanye West was humbled, well, that should tell you something. After the jump, check out a bunch of photos that range from the performance stage to the interaction in the audience …

Last week we learned that Prince announced his plan to release three new albums of music this year, two from him and one from his newest protégé Bria Valentine, as soon as he secured a distribution deal to sell physical copies of his albums. Prince launched MPLSound.com to preview select tracks (Crimson and Clover, 4ever, Colonized Mind, Wall of Berlin, (There’ll Never Be) Another Like Me and Here Eye Come) that are said to be forthcoming on these new albums but has since taken down that site and lieu of a new site at LOTUSFLOW3R.com:

This new site promises that fans will be able to LISTEN to new tracks by Prince and special guests, WATCH videos and exclusive content and BUY music, concert tickets and more. Right now, there are only 3 songs streaming on the site (Crimson and Clover, (There’ll Never Be) Another Like Me, and Here Eye Come) and no other options … no watching, no buying — yet. The site also reads January 2009 An entirely new galaxy awaits … so I suspect that there’ll be some big changes in the coming weeks. This is very exciting news for Prince fans. This new online experience may be a great way for Prince to release as much music as he likes, whenever he likes … and I can’t wait. I’ve been able to preview all of the music he’s teased us with thus far and I want to hear more. Stay tuned … it shouldn’t be long now.

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Prince, who recently previewed a few new tracks on LA radio Indie 103.1 and who launched a new website at mplsound.com, announced to the LA Times that he is planning to release 3 new albums in the coming year as soon as he secures a distribution deal to sell physical copies of the albums. Two of the discs are solo Prince albums (tentatively titled MPLSOUND and LOTUSFLOW3R) and a disc for his latest musical protégé Bria Valente (her disc is tentatively titled Elixir) who he was seen with recently at an LA Lakers basketball game:

If you head over to mlpsound.com right now you can hear a new song titled Here Eye Come that features Bria on vocals (tho it’s unclear if the song is hers or one of the tracks on Prince‘s upcoming solo discs) and features photos of her in the video that is streaming on the site:

Prince was eager to show off his new stuff to the LA Times … he also seemed eager to clear up that report from The New Yorker that painted him in a very anti-gay light:

Tuesday morning, I received the Golden Ticket of journalistic invitations: a summons to Prince’s mansion, high atop Mulholland Drive, to hear the new music he’ll be releasing sometime after the holidays. At 8 p.m. that evening, I drove my dirty Mazda past the fountain in his courtyard, parked by the limo in the back, and entered his manse. The man himself greeted me in a candelit study, where he was laboring over a laptop with his Web designers, Anthony Malzone and Scott Addison Clay. The next five hours took me from that room to a car Prince referred to as “Miles Davis,” where we listened to one set of songs; into a back room furnished with a round bed, faux-fur carpeting and a plexiglass Rhodes piano, where he played cuts by his new protege, the comely Bria Valente; and into that white limo, where the entirety of “Lotus Flower,” the album previewed earlier this month on Indie 103.1, boomed through the speakers as we drove through Hollywood.

Prince will release not one, but three albums in the new year. He’s in final negotiations with “a major retailer” to distribute the music in physical form, and a highly interactive website will also provide an opportunity to buy. He’s not working with a record label. “The gatekeepers have to change,” he said several times throughout the evening.

He’s found his way back to the sound of “When Doves Cry.” The first disc, tentatively titled “MPLSOUND,” is an electro-flavored solo effort recorded at Paisley Park Studios. Prince experimented with Pro Tools and “new ways of recording” on these trippy, experimental pop songs. One features a Q-Tip rap; another calls a “Funky Congregation” to worship and may become a live set piece.

He’s ready to revive the Quiet Storm. “We got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album,” he said, introducing Valente’s new album, “Elixir.” The tracks are chill, with Valente’s buttery voice melding with beats by Morris Hayes and Prince’s guitar lines. Some are explicitly sexual. “This music is nasty, but it’s not dirty,” Prince said, explaining how sensual music fits in with his much-discussed faith — he’s a Jehovah’s Witness. “There’s no profanity. It isn’t promoting promiscuity. She’s singing about her lover, who could be her partner for life.”

He did not vote for Proposition 8. In fact, he didn’t vote at all. “I didn’t vote for Obama either,” he explained. “Jehovah’s Witnesses haven’t voted for their whole inception.” The controversy over a recent New Yorker “Talk of the Town” item, which Prince feels implied he supported the gay-marriage ban, has upset him. It’s the first thing he wanted to discuss when the Web geeks had gone and we were alone. “I have friends that are gay and we study the Bible together,” he said. He added that two sides fighting “only benefit the third person” who instigated the fight.

Click HERE to read the rest of Ann Powers‘s article and learn about Prince‘s love for his guitar. Firstly, let me say how happy I am to hear Prince deny the anti-gay stance that was attributed to him by The New Yorker last month. Honestly, I hold The New Yorker with the utmost regard and respect and do not believe the mag would make up stuff as damaging as what they wrote about Prince‘s alleged comments on homosexuality. That said, I’m willing to take his new comments at face value and move on. The man is an amazing artist, I’ve been a fan for decades … I am very excited to learn that new music is on the way. I had a feeling that he and Bria were closer than some assumed … Prince just doesn’t take any ol’ person with him to see the Lakers. Of this new material, I’ve only been able to hear Here Eye Come … and I like it. I’m sure the rest of the music will be just as good, if not better. I hope the discs will be released sooner than later … I could really go for a nice big new dose of Prince right about now.

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