Iyaz And Travie McCoy Search for "Pretty Girls"

Iyaz, the soulful singer from the British Virgin Islands who made a name for himself when his iPod was stuck on "Replay," has just released a new music video for his single "Pretty Girls," the official first single from Iyaz's forthcoming sophomore album, tentatively set to drop in late summer. Iyaz holds street auditions to find his perfect match 'cause he's trying 'to pick the right one' out of bunch of pretty girls!
The laid-back, R&B-tinged pop song with romance-themed Caribbean-pop verses is about all the "Pretty Girls" he sees, and it features a cameo from rapper/Gym Class Heroes front-man Travie McCoy, who raps about the kinds of girls that turn him on. Iyaz belts out over the JR Rotem-produced track. It's hard to tell whether the song is a celebration of beautiful women, or more of an arrogant declaration that Iyaz thinks he can have any girl he wants. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Life is tough for the chronically indecisive; whether you're vacillating between several equally appealing items on a lunch menu or weighing the relative pros and cons of kicking it in the front versus the back seat, it seems like the pressure's always on. Thus, it's hard not to feel sorry for Virgin Island-bred pop heavyweight Iyaz. when he laments that he's surrounded by so many 'Pretty Girls' that it's gonna take forever to pick the right one.
Shot in the sunny locale of Miami, the video sees 24-year-old crooner brings along rhymer McCoy in a quest to find ladies that catch their eye. The twosome brings along a lot of pretty faces indeed. While Iyazz grabs his camera for a graffiti-themed photo shoot, McCoy simply chills out with the babes in a summer breezy set. As for the inspiration behind the clip, Iyaz explains that he wanted to highlight the plethora of women he comes across during his travels. "There are pretty girls all over the world... To me they come in all shapes and sizes."

Auburn Debuts Her First Single For "La, La, La"

Auburn Williams, the Princess of Beluga Heights, officially premiered the video video for her debut single "La La La" on MySpace, which is currently featured on the homepage. Directed by innovative young talent Ethan Lader, the eye-catching clip was filmed in downtown Los Angeles and features music sensation Auburn's labelmate and R&B artist Iyaz. The Minneapolis-born cutie giving us a very pretty face to match to the catchy tune.
With her debut single "La La La," 21-year-old newcomer Auburn establishes herself as an exciting new talent on the pop music scene. The song is an irresistible slice of urban-pop ear candy that doubles as a sassy empowerment anthem as it dismisses an in-your-face suitor with its irresistible "la la la" refrain. "It's about how you're trying to have a good time and someone gets in your face and starts complaining," Auburn explained. "You have to put your fingers in your ears and say, 'la la la, I can't hear you!' The song has a lot of my personality in it. When I sang it, I felt the irritation. I was really saying 'Get out of my ear please!'"
The song samples the 2000 international hit, "Around the World (La La La La La)," by the German Europop band A Touch of Class. The track's playful vibe is just a taste of what this appealing young singer, songwriter, and rapper has in store for the debut album she's currently creating in the studio with multi-platinum songwriter and producer J.R. Rotem. "I think there needs to be meaning behind a song," Auburn says. "Sure there are times when you need to dance and have fun, but, to me, the best songs are those that have a message. If someone's going through something, whether it's a situation with a family member, or not having any money, or dealing with a break-up, an inspirational song can help them get through it."
Auburn was born in Minneapolis to a single mother. She began singing in church and listened to nothing but gospel music as a kid. Impressed by her singing and rapping, unique songwriting talent and relatable, girl-next-door personality, Rotem signed her as the first female artist to Beluga Heights. When the label inked its joint venture with Warner Bros. Savvy about using social networking and digital media to connect with music lovers, Auburn has attracted new fans steadily through her YouTube channel and MySpace page, where she posts self-made videos and candid footage of her journey making her debut album. "I'm excited to meet my fans," Auburn says, "because they're the ones who helped me get here. I'm looking forward to getting out there and learning even more. It'll be amazing to perform for all the people who've really supported me."

IYAZ Cranks Out Catchy Tunes With "So Big"

Beluga Heights' island-pop sensation IYAZ is back with the video for his newest single, "So Big," the third single taken from his debut LP "Replay." The JR Rotem produced new catchy little tune has the British Virgin Islands artist declaring his love for his girl. Watch as the dude showers his lady as only a Top 40 recording artist knows how.
The Caribbean singer and rapper makes lilting reggae-infused R&B melodies inspired by island shorties, wireless romance, and the anguish of unrequited love. This wouldn't be the first time IYAZ has crooned about love: His previous hit, "Solo," shows him struggling to make it on his own, sans girlfriend, whereas his 2009 hit "Replay" has the R&B singer failing to get a girl off his mind. Despite two successful singles, Virgin Islands-bred pop star IYAZ' freshman set still has yet to arrive. At this point, of course, there's only one thing to do: drop another single, one "So Big" that the album will take on a life of its own. Over bass beats and a mild keyboard melody, the single "So Big" should be another hit off his dance-driven debut album, "Replay," expected to drop later this year, possibly as late as December.
IYAZ was born into a musical family and grew up in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. IYAZ's rise to the top of the Billboard charts happened not to long after being discovered by reggae-fusion singer and rapper Sean Kingston on MySpace. With inventive re-imaginings of the reggae-splashed hook-heavy soul popularized by acts like Sean Paul and Sean Kingston in the early half of the 21st century's first decade, Virgin Island-born singer IYAZ swiftly built up a hearty cult following on MySpace. Kingston, in the process of forming his own Time Is Money label, stumbled upon IYAZ's site and snapped up the 23-year-old singer as the maiden signee of his new imprint. IYAZ's debut single, "Replay," which was co-written by Jason Derülo, an iPod name-checking musical stew adding splashes of classical and electronica to his usual island pop, soared on the charts and reached #1Top 40.
In an interview with HitQuarters, his producer J.R. Rotem described IYAZ's creative perfectionism: "Whereas others might work on several songs in one day, he might sit there and work on one song for days. The end result that he gets is usually an absolute gem, so heartfelt and genuine." IYAZ understands that struggle firsthand, because the music business has been challenging for his love life. Instead of cultivating a relationship, he's busy in the studio or touring. But when things get to be too much, IYAZ can always return to his other great love: motorcycles. He just hops on one of his dirt bikes and rides off into the Floridian sunset!

Iyaz Takes Us To His Home Island For "Solo"

R&B upstart Iyaz has already scored a chart-topping smash with the sunny, Caribbean-flecked flashback ditty "Replay;" now he seems poised to do the same with new single "Solo." The song's melody is sampled from Janet Jackson's 1993 single "Again" without directly sampling either the main hook or re-upping the lyrics directly. The official music video for "Solo" was shot in Tortola, British Virgin Islands and it features the singer strolling down the street during a sunny day with beautiful scenery from the beach captured along the way.
The new single "Solo" is the second single and produced by J. R. Rotem, off his upcoming album titled "My Life" which is due to arrive in the US stores on April 27. The new single "Solo" already has millions of hits on YouTube since it was posted on January 26, and is expected to be released in the UK on May 2. The track is aimed to follow up the album's lead single "Replay" which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100 and ruled the UK Singles chart for two weeks in a row.
Countless hooks in R&B and hip-hop are built, of course, on borrowing; you could say Iyaz is just aiming to compete a land of Jason Derulos and Jay-Zs. And maybe it feels unfair to call him out for not taking enough of the song to make it more than just naggingly familiar. When asked what he wants to achieve, Iyaz said, "I don't want the fame. Just put me in the studio and let me do me. Let me do what everybody fell in love with, which is make good quality music for people to listen to - feel good music."
Iyaz's publicity openly acknowledges the connection, but it still feels a little squirrelly, especially considering many of the 22-year-old singer's young fans probably aren't familiar with Jackson's nearly two-decade-old hit. Undoubtedly, the song will put some residuals cash in Janet's jumpsuit pocket, and also very likely save Iyaz from one-hit-wonderdom forever. So in the end, it mostly comes down to the listener.

Iyaz Tops UK Charts For Debut Single "Replay"

The 22-year-old singer-rapper Iyaz, otherwise known as Virgin Islands born Keidran Jones, who claims he writes tunes in the dark, went straight in at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his debut single "Replay" last week after selling more than 106,000 copies up to Saturday night, and has topped the UK singles chart and UK R&B Chart for the second week in a row, a healthy total for the opening part of the sales year.
Newcomer Iyaz has become increasingly popular because of his profile on MySpace which was discovered by singer Sean Kingston. "Replay" was produced by J.R. Rotem, who helmed most of Iyaz's reggae-infused, R&B heavy debut album, "My Life" (will be released in March 2010,) says he saw the star power in Iyaz from the start. "I was impressed with what he did with the writing and his vocals himself." The single was released in the UK on January 4, 2010 and charted No.1 on the UK Singles Chart on January 10, making it the first No.1 single of the new decade. Through the success of his first hit single, "Replay," the artist already feels like a star. Rotem was right -- Iyaz seems to have what it takes and the reception he's receiving these days when he performs is a testament to that.
Beaches are definitely the It Locale for music videos this week, but at least Iyaz, who has an excuse to frolic on the coast in the middle of winter. He's just released his bright, cheery sand-strewn video for the hit song by Warner Bros, in which he flips through photos all Minority Report-style while coincidentally sounding almost exactly like fellow tenor and label patron, Sean Kingston.
Nick Levine of Digital Spy Chart Blog gave the song a positive review stating: "'Replay' doesn't feature anything as quirky as Derulo's Imogen Heap sample or indeed anything new at all, but it is a surprisingly likeable slice of radio-friendly R&B. The lyrics are sweeter than the average Song 4 Shawty, the reggae-tinged beats bring a bit of Caribbean sunshine to the crisp British winter, and, well, the chorus certainly does its job. In fact, once heard, it's roughly as easy to remove from your brain..."