Designers & Their Musical Muses Pose For W

In case you couldn't tell by the covers, W magazine's July issue is all about music and of course, fashion.

To play up their theme du mois, the mag rounded up some name designers and asked them to dish on their musical muses, some of which are kinda surprising.

Here are some HIGHlights from the spread:

Gucci creative director Frida Giannini on Florence Welch:
"I was captivated by her eccentric style and her willingness to dare. She embodies the cinematic allure and seductive power that is its essence."

Burberry's Christoper Bailey on George Craig:
"For me, George embodies the modern British look."

Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa on Esperanza Spalding:
"I admire her passion and confidence— she is truly a free spirit."

Our Dear Karl Lagerfeld on Janelle Monae:
"We liked each other from the first second on. Not just because of our style, but also the name: Janelle rhymes with Chanel, no?”

Donatella Versace on M.I.A:
"Her music and style seemed so fresh and innovative. She is a total artist."

also :

Diplo & Alexander Wang

Yoko Ono & Proenza Schouler

Kanye West & the Rodarte sisters

Janelle Monae is to be Featured in "Women Who Rock" Exhibit!

Congratulations to Janelle Monae on her inclusion in the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum! The first ever "Women Who Rock" exhibit will open to the public on Friday, May 3rd.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will open a ground-breaking and provocative new exhibit that will illustrate the important roles women have played in rock and roll, from its inception through today. Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power will highlight the flashpoints, the firsts, the best, the celebrated and sometimes lesser-known women who moved rock and roll music and American culture forward. The exhibit is sponsored by PNC and Time Warner Cable. Women Who Rock will open to the public on Friday, May 13, 2011.

Janelle will be featured in the Ladies First: the 90's and the New Millenium section of the exhibit. Check out the official excerpt below. Highlighted artists will include Bikini Kill, Meg White, Taylor Swift, Queen Latifah, Janelle Monae, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga.

Read more about it here.

Janelle Monae - Character Approved Honoree

Janelle Monae is the recipient of the Music honor in this year’s Character Approved Awards from USA Network. These awards honor the people who are changing the face of American culture by influencing our opinions, style and views of the world creativity in their respective fields.

Her songs—and her distinctive style—have garnered a Grammy nomination. In 2010, Monáe released the brilliant and imaginative The ArchAndroid (Suites II & III), which was lauded as one of the best albums of the year by the industry and fans alike. It broke into the Billboard Top 20 and earned her two more Grammy nods.

Janelle Monae discusses how she took her music to another level:

Janelle Monae and Bruno Mars - "Hooligans In Wondaland" Tour

Janelle Monae and Bruno Mars joined together last Sunday at the Grammys for a very successful performance. It basically showed us a teaser of what we can expect to see at their upcoming "Hooligans In Wondaland" tour.

The name of the co-headlining tour "Hooligans in Wondaland" was pulled from both artists. The 'Hooligans' comes from his debut album title Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and the 'Wonderland' is part of Monae's song title, "Wondaland Arts Society."

Brit Award winner Plan B and Mayer Hawthorne will be joining them on the tour. The tour will launch on May 4th at New York's Roseland Ballroom and will end at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix on June 15th.

Tickets for the co-headlining tour go on sale February 26th.

Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae tour dates:

5/4, New York, NY (Roseland Ballroom)*

5/7, Boston, MA (Agganis Arena) *

5/8, Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Ctr.) *

5/10, Atlanta, GA (Fox Theatre) *

5/11, Miami Beach, FL (Fillmore Miami Beach) *

5/17, Grand Prarie, TX (Verizon Theatre at Grand Prarie) *

5/18, Houston, TX (Reliant Arena) *

5/20, Montgomery, AL (Jubliee CityFest) *

5/22, Windsor, ON (Caesars Windsor) *

5/24, Milwaukee, WI (Eagles Ballroom) *

5/25, St. Paul, MN (Roy Wilkins Auditorium) *

5/27, Chicago, IL (Aragon Ballroom) *

5/28, Kansas City, MO (Uptown Theatre) **

5/29, Broomfield, CO (1st Bank Center) **

5/30, Oren, UT (McKay Events Center) **

6/2, Seattle, WA (WAMU Theater @ Qwest Field) **

6/3, Vancouver, BC (Rogers Arena) **

6/4, Portland, OR (Roseland Theatre) **

6/7, Reno, NV (Grand Sierra Resort & Casino) **

6/8, San Francisco, CA (Bill Graham Civic Auditiorium) **

6/10, Coachella, CA (Spotlight 29 Casino) **

6/11, Del Mar, CA (San Diego County Fair) **

6/12, Universal City, CA (Gibson Amphitheatre) **

6/15, Phoenix, AZ (Comerica Theatre) **

* w/ Plan B

** w/ Mayer Hawthorne & the Country

Cee-Lo Green's New Video - Bodies

Cee-Lo Green just premiered his new video for "Bodies". In this mini-movie clip he starts off by saying "My name is not important, and I'm often asked, what do I do for a living? I answer, I do what I want. Spontaneity is the spice of life and I've indulged quite a bit, but I'm not above the law and I'm certainly not lawless. But when it comes to ladies...I have a license, to kill."

In this video, Cee-Lo portrays a cold blooded serial killer who targets beautiful women and collects his victims' heels as a prize. By the end of the clip, he does however meet his match, Janelle Monae. Check it out below and share your thoughts on this VERY different video.

Besides Janelle Monai, the mini-movie mystery stars Kerry Washington, Karl Lagerfeld and was directed by Mikael Colombu.

The Best of the 2011 Grammys

I've put together a list of videos of the performances I enjoyed the most during tonight's Grammy Awards. These include the tribute to Aretha Franklin, Esperanza Spalding, Barbra Streisand, Mick Jagger and Raphael Saadiq, Bruno Mars, B.o.B, Janelle Monae, Lady Antebellum, and Cee-Lo Green and the Muppets (without Gwyneth Paltrow, can't remember her actually).

The best surprise of the night was Esperanza Spalding's win in the Best New Artist category. I was rooting for her so much, couldn't be happier for her! What an artist!

Mick Jagger and Raphael Saadiq were a great duo on stage, they really worked it! Would be nice to see them again collaborating on something else.

I was also thrilled to see Lady Antebellum win so many awards, they play so well together. Great vocals, great songs, and great music.

The Pre-GRAMMY Telecast was also great, lots of very talented artists were rewarded. Among these include Mavis Staples and Herbie Hancock. Mavis Staples also performed with Cyndi Lauper, Maria Muldaur, and Betty Wright during the Pre-GRAMMY Telecast. Super funky Trombone Shorty was also phenomenal, make sure to check him out!

Janelle Monae - Honored by Essence Magazine

Janelle Monae was honored at the "Black Women in Music" event hosted by Essence Magazine on Wednesday in Los Angeles. P. Diddy, who signed Monae to his Bad Boy Records label in 2008 is hugely proud of her achievements. 

"It was a great time for me and her 'cause I was at a time of evolving, at a time of another level of maturity where I wasn't such a control freak." Says P.Diddy, he continued and said: "It was time for me to recognize that other people maybe had ideas that I didn't understand and I would still be able to support it and play my position."

Big Boi, who was an early supporter of Janelle Monae was also present at this special event. Monae thanked both P. Diddy and Big Boi for giving a girl from Kansas a shot. She also said "I'm thankful. I'm highly gratified. This was a surprise for me. For Essence to want to recognize me at such an early stage in my career and give me the award. I'm just thankful. I don't have that many adjectives to describe how I feel."

Prince and Misty Copeland were also present during the event. Misty Copeland was recently added to the Essence Magazine's top 40 Boundary-Breaking Black Women in Entertainment. Monae performed during the event, after which she received a standing ovation from P. Diddy and Prince.

Besides the Essence Magazine award, Janelle Monae is nominated for two Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Urban/Alternative Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid Official Album Cover

Janelle Monae has revealed the official album cover of “The ArchAndroid”, where she looks like a futuristic Cleopatra meets Princess Lea. It looks very cool, and like “Tightrope”, we’re sure the rest of the album will be just as dope! Although, it seems that “Tightrope” is missing from the official track listing (see below).

In case you’ve missed it, here’s the trailer of the album:

Official track listing:

1. Overture Ii
2. Dance or Die - (featuring Saul Williams)
3. Faster
4. Locked Inside
5. Sir Greendown
6. Neon Gumbo
7. Oh, Maker
8. Come Alive
9. Mushrooms & Roses
10. Overture Iii
11. Neon Valley Street
12. Make the Bus - (featuring Of Montreal)
13. Wondaland
14. 57821 - (featuring Deep Cotton)
15. Say You'll Go
16. Ba Bop Bye Ya

Janelle Monae Releases “The ArchAndroid” Trailer

Janelle Monae is set to release her much anticipated album “The ArchAndroid” on May 18th. Janelle and her Wonderland crew have prepared an amazing trailer to promote the album. It includes an interesting twist at the end, so check it out and share your thoughts about it.

The “Tightrope” singer also appeared on Honey magazine this week and revealed the following about her new album: “I like to think of my music as very trans-formative. If you listen to the album from the beginning to the end, you will be transformed. It’s an album that deals with self-realization as well. You start to realize things about yourself you didn’t know. One big emotional picture for the mind.”

What are her plans with “The ArchAndroid”: We are shooting a video for every song on the album, The ArchAndroid. We are creating a very strong narrative. We have a graphic novel coming out at the time of the release. This is a very special project. I’m very excited about the future and I have no idea what is in store.

Janelle Monae Releases New Video - Tightrope

Janelle Monae has released the music video for her new single “Tightrope”, the video has a retro, funky vibe which shows Janelle dancing away from one scene to another. The horns sound great, and there also is a James Brown-like vibe to Miss. Monae’s “Tightrope” single.

Janelle Monae originally moved to New York for a career on Broadway, but changed her plans rapidly after meeting with Big Boi. After meeting with him, she returned to music and created “Tightrope”.

Janelle Monae is currently on tour and can be seen at the following venues:

4.6/Atlanta, GA/Smith's Olde Bar

4.8/New York, NY/Highline Ballroom

4.9/New York, NY/Joe's Pub

4.10/New York, NY/Joe's Pub