Quickies: Leftside makes Holland charts

With his Ghetto Gal Wine single still holding the top spot on the Jam Rock Radio show in Holland, dancehall recording artist/producer Craig Parks, more popularly known as Leftside, is celebrating yet another chart placement. This time, it is his Hold Me Tight music video which holds the number-three spot on the HYPE TV VTX charts, after being released almost two weeks ago.

Directed by Chris 'Icey Jace' Campbell of Icey Jace Film Factory, the video premiered on October 21 and then racked up over 10,000 views in less than a week.

Leftside, who describes Hold Me Tight as a special treat for the ladies, said the song has exceeded his initial expectations. "The energy behind this song right now is unbelievable. Not only is the song getting power play on local and international radio stations, but the video, which was amazingly put together, is fuelling the popularity of the track. I had a good feeling about it from day one, and right now we are stepping up our promotion to take the song to the next level," he said.

A production of Leftside's Keep Left Record Label, the video for Hold Me Tight, which features up-and-coming singer and his labelmate, Syon, on the hook, benefits from sassy editing and an overly suggestive storyline, plus cameos by on-set vixens Loni Jones and Chrissy.

2 billion for Bieber

Justin Bieber has become the first person in history to reach two billion hits on YouTube.

The Never Say Never hitmaker, who was discovered on the video-sharing site in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who later became his manager, hit the milestone by gaining 95 million views on his official Vevo YouTube channel in the past month. The 17-year-old teen heartthrob has surpassed Lady Gaga's record, after she was the first music artiste to reach one billion views on YouTube in October 2010.

Justin's official channel on the website was first created in September 2009, and enables his fans - who are known as 'Beliebers' - to watch an array of his songs, including tracks from his Christmas album Under The Mistletoe, which was released on Tuesday, November 1.

The Baby singer, whose songs Silent Night and All I Want For Christmas Is You are available to listen to on the site, has paid tribute to his army of supporters, which includes more than 13.9 million Twitter followers, by praising them on the social-networking webpage. He tweeted: "i love my fans and i love music. thank u 4 helping me share my dream with all of u. proud of this album. hope u like it. Under The Mistletoe."

Ele returns to Africa

After rocking thousands of fans in Zimbabwe earlier this year, dancehall's energy god, Elephant Man, will return to the African continent this December for two shows. The first will be in Uganda on December 2, and the other in Kigali, Rwanda, on December 3.

Ele. who continues to do well as a tour deejay, is booked to make his debut performance in Uganda at the Lugogo Cricket Oval before travelling to Rwanda to perform at the Expo Ground Gikodo.

Since the start of the year, the Solid Agency-represented artiste has travelled to a number of countries such as Panama, France, Italy, Austria, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.

Currently promoting a host of new singles, including Qweffa, Let's Go, Gyal We Love on the popular Overproof Riddim and the mega collab, Survivor, alongside longtime friend and dancehall gladiator Bounty Killer, with whom the official video was recently shot, Elephant Man continues to serve up high-energy feel-good music to his fans worldwide.

Duane Stephenson attends hunger conference

It was a humbling experience for reggae ambassador Duane Stephenson on Monday, October 24, when he attended the 10th Annual George McGovern Leadership Award Ceremony and Global Hunger Conference, held at the US State Department in Washington, DC.

Stephenson, who has been working on a number of projects spearheaded by the World Food Programme (WFP), attended the distinguished ceremony where long-serving humanitarians and multimillionaires Bill Gates and Howard Buffett were presented with awards for their leadership role in the development of a Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative, geared towards agricultural development for small-scale farmers across the world.

The ceremony, which was attended by 2010 winner, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran, is an annual event that honours individuals that make an impact in the fight again famine.

In addition, Stephenson was again in action last Sunday afternoon with tourmates The Wailers, performing at the XVI Pan American Games Closing Ceremony in Guadalajara, Mexico. The performance, which included the original song A Step For Mankind, as well as Bob Marley tracks Three Little Birds and One Love, was aired live across the US, South America and the Caribbean.

Speak Easy on next Friday

Previously postponed because of inclement weather, Speak Easy returns next Friday with yet another night of poetry, music and art at Hope Gardens, St Andrew.

Featured musicians, poets and artists include Censi Love (daughter of the legendary Bunny Wailer), Bryan Art, Blu Grass in the Sky, Sezi, Jason Worton, Tina Simone Mowatt and a special performance by the Order of the Drum Circle.

In addition, art will be on display and available for sale from persons and companies including Colin Porter, Jherane Patmore, and pop and fine artists Richard Natoo and Micheal Talbot. The jewellery on display will be provided by avant-garde design house, Reve Jewelry, and select pieces on loan from the Braemar Gallery collection.

Organiser of the event, Antoinette Campbell, managing director of Firefly Productions Ltd, said Speak Easy was born out of her love for the arts. "Speak Easy was our first production. It started in my parents' backyard, with contributions collected going to the St Luke's Soup Kitchen in Cross Roads. We have seen our numbers grow steadily, which has led to our venue changes. People hear 'live music' and there is some excitement, but when they hear 'poetry and/or art' it conjures up images of abstract narratives and high school classes and, quite frankly, a lot of fear for some people. But what I like to say is, come give it a try. It's only one night and the cost is minimal - only $500.

"I hold to to this belief - the artist is truth teller, a troubadour of shared histories and storytellers of an evolving culture - and Speak Easy is their home," Campbell said.

The live showcase begins at 9 p.m. and gates open at 7 p.m.

Kim agonised over marriage decision

Kim Kardashian "agonised" over her decision to end her marriage to Kris Humphries. The 31 year-old socialite filed for divorce from the basketball player on Monday after just 72 days of marriage, but is only believed to have made the final decision to split on Sunday night after a lot of tears over the weekend.

A source told TMZ.com: "She cried all weekend, deciding to file legal docs then changing her mind several times over."

While Kim - who divorced her first husband, music producer Damon Thomas, in 2004 - wasn't initially 100 per cent sure her marriage was over, she was said to be "shocked and angry" to learn Kris had hired a Hollywood publicist to cope with the expected fallout. She reportedly fumed: "He's not in fing Hollywood. He plays sports."

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star admitted she had hoped her marriage would last "forever", but the couple's short union had "not worked out as planned". She said in a statement: "After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don't work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best."

Kim has reportedly hired divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who has previously represented Britney Spears, Maria Shriver, Angelina Jolie and Ryan Reynolds, and will cite "irreconcilable differences" in her legal documents.

Jessica Simpson goes mummy

Jessica Simpson has confirmed she is pregnant.The 31-year-old singer has admitted via Twitter that claims she is expecting her first child, with NFL star Eric Johnson, are true. Uploading a picture of herself dressed up as an Egyptian mummy and cradling her baby bump, Jessica added: "It's true! I'm going to be a mummy!"

Jessica - who is engaged to marry Eric - has been keeping quiet about her pregnancy for some time, despite pictures revealing her to be expecting. It has been claimed the country singer is expecting a girl, after finding out the sex during a routine scan. A source said: "She's telling people it's like winning the lottery twice. Jessica really wanted to find out the baby's sex; she hates surprises. She and Eric are both so happy."

Jessica's mother Tina recently revealed she was keen to extend her family and give her two-year-old grandson Bronx (the offspring of daughter Ashlee Simpson and estranged husband Peter Wentz) a cousin. She said: "Obviously, I'm looking forward to having more grandkids. Bronx is the love of my life. I don't mind boys or girls, I'll take anything I get. I'm not picky!"

Mary J. Blige over self-hate

Mary J. Blige has overcome "hating" herself to promote a more positive message with her music.

The No More Drama singer went through a bad period in her younger life, which she expressed in her 1994 album, My Life, which she is now following up with a more optimistic second chapter to reward her fans for joining her on a journey to overcome their demons.

She told BBC Breakfast: "I was abused as a child and it caused me to go into substance abuse and I had no love for myself because of the guilt and shame that came with that. So maybe I just started into hating myself and not loving myself and it snowballed into this thing that was bigger than me. And four million of those people are my fans right now, so I think it's important to do a sequel to the My Life album, because we need to be reminded how far we've come because we were in such a dark, suicidal place where we really needed help and we have grown tremendously, understanding that we have to love ourselves."

Mary, whose new album is called My Life II ... The Journey Continues (Act 1), also warned the first step for anyone who's trying to turn their life around after hitting a negative patch is to start with themselves. She said: "I mean you know, to make a negative situation and turn it positive, it's what I did, it's what so many young women or men are going through right now. It's hard, but what can you do other than take the situation and turn it positive?"

She warned that, "You can't do it alone. It's spiritual. And that's what I did; I chose life over death, in spite of the hard times I was having. My wanting to get help when I said, 'no more drama' was a decision I made. I chose life, and when I chose life, people came to me with help."