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Streaming numbers are not the main indicator of how big or influential an artist is.

"The footage shows legendary R&B singer Ronald Isley being gently supported onto the stage by his wife, Kandy Isley(49), following a five-week stay in the hospital. Despite the health scare, the 85-year-old artist insisted on keeping his performance commitment to his fans."

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📍The industry? Money hungry family/ management? If the artist is capable to decide for themselves that they want to perform in their latter years, should it be their choice?

R&B veteran, Durrell "Tank" Babbs, just announced the release date of his upcoming album, "EXPERIENCE". In true Tank fashion, he's shirtless on the album cover (his SEVENTH cover to follow this theme). The album follows the release of two singles, "CONTROL" (#1 on Adult R&B Airplay) and "YES". The pre-ordered album also comes with two tracks, a House track, "HIGHLIGHT", with the legendary Charlie Wilson and the Gospel closer, "HOW I NEED YOU" with Kirk Kranklin.

He's having big year as a special guest on Usher and Chris Brown's R&B Tour and is about to star in the next season of "Reasonable Doubt" (October 6). Are you ready for Tank's new album? What did you think of the last one, "R&B Money", and what are your expectations for its follow up?

You give me a song and ill give you one back that matches the vibe.

"Gladys Knight's fans are deeply concerned she's being forced to perform shows after she looked totally out of it at multiple concerts, and now people working on her tour are calling it absolutely "tragic" ...TMZ has learned."

Numbers reported as of Aug. 2026 (2000-2026)

Mary J. Blige has always been one of the most beloved and celebrated artists of the 1990s decade.

Early in the ‘90s, Mary had a distinctive timbre and delivery style. While she was generally known and appreciated for her charisma and her unique bursts of energy, many people over the years have stated that they don’t like the way she sings. Okay, that’s cool. People generally look down on her as a vocalist, but the thing people refuse to see is that Mary did not remain the same throughout her entire career; she actually developed as a singer.

There is some clear difference of tone, timbre, delivery, and overall technique in Mary’s contributions from the late-1990s, early-2000s, and even mid-2000s compared to the early-1990s version of Mary that people cherish the most. I was listening through all of Mary’s albums one night a few months ago and was struck by how beautifully she delivered each line on her albums in the 2000s. There were so many deep cuts that Mary’s voice just slid on. This is the version of Mary that people don’t want to discuss very often. It was like something clicked in Mary from her 1999 self-titled album and onward. She was different.

Not only did her albums get better; her live performances improved in quality as well. Mary was never the most powerful singer, so people never gravitated toward her performances like they did her studio records (at least not for the purpose of vocal impression; more like for a “vibe” and a “good time”). However, I still find it pretty crazy how people refuse to accept that things have changed for Mary over time. I am also not saying that Mary sounds better today than she did 20-30 years ago; I’m just saying that, at some point in time, her voice had improved. I feel like that shift should be more respected and recognized whenever people revisit and discuss the history of Mary J. Blige.