In celebration of the new year and a new decade, Bleu Magazine “transitions” for a broader audience and proudly announces that award winning Singer/Songwriter/Producer Ryan Leslie graces the Winter 2010 cover of BLEU Magazine. “We have watched Ryan Leslie over the past couple of years “transition” into this mature, successful, and fashion forward confident man, so it was not only a perfect fit as his sophomore album is titled “Transition”, but it was a must for Ryan to cover the new issue of Bleu, says De’Von Christopher, Publisher of Bleu Magazine.”

Check out the finished product, which was shot in Harlem’s Orange Street Lounge after the jump.

Credits:
Photographer – Ashley Walker
Grooming – AJ Crimson
Styled by – Roger McKenzie & Atiba Newson

This winter issue features an exclusive sit-down interview with American Idol winner Fantasia and Bleu’s Entertainment Editor, Ray Cunningham sits down with Grammy nominated songstress Melanie Fiona to discuss her debut album “The Bridge.” Bleu Magazine also got an exclusive interview with Mariah Carey, now that is major.

This cover hits newsstands on January 20th.

Celebrity blogger, B. Scott and Precious star Gabby Sibide were some of the notable guests that were in the building as well.  Pics below.

10.The Dream—

Yes, The Dream definitely made the list. ‘Cause as you know (or if you don’t know) he was the writer behind a lot of music that we’ve heard in the past decade (including B2K’s entire album released in 2001). It wasn’t until 2007 when people started realizing The Dream for his writing credit in Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. For the past 5 years, The Dream has written and produced songs for artists like Plies, Mary J. Blige, Young Joc, Mariah Carey, and that’s only to name a few. He has also released 2 albums of his own. The Dream married twice, to Nivea in 2004 who he later divorced, and a couple of months ago he married Christina Millian and they are expecting a baby soon.

9.

T-Pain—

The man that brought back the vocoder to music in the 2000’s. We aren’t sure if we are happy about this or not, but we do know that T-Pain has dropped some serious club banger in the past few years that had us going crazy in the clubs. It wasn’t until 2005 that T-Pain was recognized for his hits like, “I’m Sprung” and “I’m in Luv with A Stripper”. Since 2005 T-Pain has released 2 albums that have had unforgettable hits on them, and he plans on releasing a new album early 2010. We look forward to it.

8.

6.

Mariah Carey—

Mariah Carey’s been out and successful for as long as I can remember, but this past decade has definitely been one of her best. In 2005 she released Emancipation of MiMi which we feel was her strongest album that was released in the past decade (we’re going to skip Glitter [2001] and act like that never existed). The 2000’s was the breakthrough for Mariah where she expressed herself as an independent and free individual. It’s also the decade where she experienced true love and surprisingly married Nick Cannon in 2008. Let’s not forget her breakthrough performance in the movie Precious (2009).

7.

Jamie Foxx—-

Most of us grew up on the Jamie Foxx Show in the 90’s and were completely blown away when we heard him sing the hook of Twista’s “Slow Jam”. (Well if you weren’t shocked, we sure were.) Actor turned singer, Jamie Foxx has definitely had success in the music biz releasing tracks like, “Unpredictable” and “Blame It (on the Alcohol)” and on the hook of songs like Kanye’s “Goldigger” and Plies “Please excuse my hands”. Let’s not forget his phenomenal performance in both “Ray” and “The Soloist.” Not to mention his the various amount of awards he’s won, from Soul Train Awards, to MTV and BET awards…need we go on? Keep it up, Jamie!

6.

Rihanna—

So, honestly, nobody really cared when the shy looking little girl came out with the weird sounding voice singing Pon De Replay (or at least I didn’t care). But with the helps of Jay-Z and a good Stylist, Rihanna became a recognized (and beautiful) artist in 2007 with the release of her 3rd album “Good Girl Gone Bad.” Rihanna quickly became a sex symbol and was labeled People Magazine’s top Ten Best Dressed Stars of 2008 and ranked #8 in Maxim’s 100 list of hot celebs. With Jay-Z having her back full heartedly, good writers, and great stylists, we expect to see a whole of lot of Rihanna for the next few years.

5.

Kanye West—

Way before the release of his first album in 2004—The College Dropout—West was producing hits for artist like Jay-Z, Beanie Segal, Common, and local Chicago rappers. It was when Jay-Z finally signed West that he was recognized as a talented rapper and producer. Most of you are already aware of the amount of hits Kanye has released in the past 6 years, he’s started his own label (GOOD Music), he’s ranked #8 in the top 50 producers in Hip Hop (about.com), won various awards, has released 4 top chart hitting albums, and has had one of the most talked about tours (Glow In The Dark Tour). Kanye West has had his good moments—-and bad/controversial moments. Although he says he’s taking a short break for now, we still expect to see yet another breakthrough from this genius (Yes, we called Kanye a genius) within the next couple of years.

4.

50 Cent—

50 Cent tried his best to come out in the late 90’s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that Curtis Jackson got his big break after meeting Eminem and Dr. Dre and signing a 1 million dollar record deal. In early 2003, 50 Cent released, “Get Rich Or Die Trying” which had tracks that had us all bopping our heads, and had everyone young and old saying “Go Shawty, it’s ya Birthday…” The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts after only 4 days. Since then, 50 has released 3 successful albums The Massacre, Curtis, and Before I self Destruct. Although his record sales have decreased over the decade, 50 is still a rap mogul and entrepreneur—plus he’s huge overseas. 50 is a rapper turned successful actor, starring in movies like “Get Rich or Die Trying” and making guest appearances on popular shows like “Entourage.” He is also head of Thisis50.com, a community blog that gets over millions of views a day.

3.

3.

Lil Wayne—-

The name says enough. Lil Wayne. Whether you are black, Caucasian, Chinese, Indian—-I mean you are going to know who Lil Wayne is and I bet each and everyone knows at least one of his hooks by heart. Lil Wayne was of course recognized as the youngest member in Cash Money in the late 90’s, but he began releasing mixtapes that blew up in the early 2000’s and pretty much made him head of Cash Money. With the success of his mixtapes, fans were so eager for an album to drop; thus, “Tha Carter” and its two subsequent albums Tha Carter II(2005) and Tha Carter III (2008) dropped and record sales proved that Lil Wayne is probably one of the best rappers alive today. There is not an R&B or Rap artist that doesn’t have Lil Wayne blessing at least one of their tracks. We know Lil Wayne isn’t stopping anytime soon.

2.

Beyonce—

What would have the past decade been like WITHOUT Beyonce? It wasn’t until 2003 that she released her debut solo album “Dangerously In Love” and her popularity soared. Since, she’s released 2 very successful solo albums, has had four world wide tours, and has starred in and produced/directed her own movies, started her own clothing line, and married Jay-Z in 2008. Need we go on? Basically Beyonce has ran the past decade, and we look forward to what she’s going to serve her fans for the next decade to come.

1.

Jay-Z.. Need we say more? In the 90’s Jay-Z was on the come up as one of New York’s most recognized MC’s, but this past decade he has proved that he’s not only one of the best rappers alive, but is now the richest rap mogul (according to Forbes). Within the past decade, Jay-Z has ventured off into other businesses such as owning Rocawear, part owner of the Brooklyn Nets, and in the past year he started a new record label Roc4Life. In the past decade Jay-Z has released 7 albums (The Dynasty, The Blueprint, The Blueprint II, The Black Album, Kingdom Come, American Gangster, The Blueprint III) and has received countless awards, and is now known as the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneur in America. He is also the current holder for the record of most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 and has 4 number ones on the Billboard 100.
If we continue to go on about Jay-Z’s success in the past decade, we are going to take up this entire page. So this is why Jay-Z gets number one for being the artist who had the past decade on lock.
As Carson Daily recently said, “Jay-Z IS New York”.

Okay so the traditional New Years Eve Ball that we’ve been seeing annually for the past—well our whole lives–gets a new look. According to WZZM13.com :

The first has to do with the ball itself. The 300 Waterford crystal triangles have been shaped into a new design. Organizers of the celebration say the crystals will be in an interlocking ribbon pattern, woven into a Celtic knot.It’s all to highlight the theme for 2010: “Let There Be Courage.”

Whatever you decide to  do on New Year’s Eve--whether it’s stand outside in the freezing cold in the Big Apple, or party at M2 with Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon, or simply stay home with close friends and family–be sure to be thankful for surviving through 2009 (it’s definitely been a tough year–economically!) and let’s look forward to a positive 2010!

NewYearsEve.com says that Gaga is set to scoop about $300,000 for her upcoming performance ringing in 2010 at the Fontainebleau hotspot. Tables at Gaga’s show are selling for as much as $25,000 each. ATF Staff members are getting the best seat in the house!—our couch right at home!

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon’s bash at New York’s M2 has nearly sold out, selling more than $500,000 in ticket sales.
Christina Aguilera’s big night at Tao in Las Vegas has topped $250,000 in sales, while 50 Cent, Eva Longoria Parker and the Black Eyed Peas are also hosting bashes in Sin City.

Whatever you decide to do on New Years Eve, ATF Readers, just be safe

We just spotted these photos over at our blogging buddy, Necole Bitchie’s site, and she made an interesting point. She says:

…The Rihanna’s and Beyonce’s of the world are always criticized when wearing something a bit racy (or next to nothing), however the Lady Gaga’s of the world are admired for pushing the envelope. Aren’t they all pushing the same envelope?

Double standard much?

Definitely a good point, but some may say the difference between Gaga and artists like Beyonce & Rihanna is that Gaga isn’t necessarily selling sex all of the time, and she’s not considered a “sex symbol”. While she may not wear a lot of clothes, she’s also not afraid to look “weird” and crazy on a regular basis as well.

In a recent interview with Elle Magazine, she made it a point to say…

My album covers are not sexual at all, which was an issue at my record label. I fought for months, and I cried at meetings. They didn’t think the photos were commercial enough…The last thing a young woman needs is another picture of a sexy pop star writhing in sand, covered in grease, touching herself.

*Shrugs*

Double standard or not, Gaga is killin’ it!

Sidebar: She was was also voted as MTV’s “Woman of the Year!”

Check out more FAB photos from the shoot below:

This is the third single off the album, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel. The video is pretty boring and not special/original. The song is so heart-felt and dramatic, you would expect the same for the video. But all you get is Mariah Carey walking around a beach crying and trying to be cute.