#MusicMonday- Flashback to 2004.

   

Not to say that I don’t get excited to listen to music today, but it’s definitely not the same. Remember back when music was the soundtrack to your middle school/high school life? Yeah, so do I.

2004 was a great year in music if I do say so myself. Last week on Twitter I kept seeing people tweet about Usher’s Confessions album, then it donned on me that some of my favorite songs/albums will be 10 years old this year!! I can’t believe I’m getting old its been so long! To put things more in perspective for you, it’s been 10 years since the Janet/Justin Superbowl wardrobe malfunction, since the last episode of Friends, since The Notebook was in theaters, since Britney married K. Fed, since Tina Fey gave us the greatest quotable movie ever; Mean Girls and since Lindsay Lohan released her album “Speak”….Wow.

Thanks to this lovely list on Buzzfeed I’ve taken my top 5 favs and listed them below (in no order, btw). Check it out if you’re feeling nostalgic.

1. Usher- Confessions

Literally every song is everything I never knew I needed to hear. I don’t think there’s one song on that album I’ve skipped! And I understand that music is different now but I need Usher to put this team of people back together and whip up another album. Not sure if album success that big can happen more than once in an artist’s career but I’m rooting for Usher!



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2. Gwen Stefani- Love.Angel.Music.Baby

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Feature Friday: Maggie Ziemann.

                       

• Brea: Tell me about yourself

Maggie: I am a junior at Illinois State University majoring in Public Relations. I was born and raised in Chicago. I am a coffee addict and not afraid to admit it. You can always find me on my iPhone checking social media sites and staying up-to-date on the latest news!

• B: What do you like most about PR?

M: I like how there are so many directions in public relations. I love that it requires you to write, network, use social media, be creative and work with others. I love to write and I love social media, so being able to combine those two into a profession is what really attracted me.

• B: You recently rebranded your blog from PR Girl Maggie to imPRess PR, what was that process like? Did you learn anything new about branding?

M: I decided to create a brand that wasn’t so much about myself, but more about everyone I’m reaching out to. The process wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be because I had the help of Kayla Hollatz, founder of exPRessions PR! She really helped me with the visual aspect of my blog and after conversing with her, it helped point me in the direction of where I wanted to go.

The idea of rebranding had been a thought of mine since November of 2013 but I just didn’t have the time to commit to it yet. Using Weebly also made the process painless. Weebly gives you so many options to switch your look and idea without wiping out all your content, which was a plus! I also couldn’t have done it without the support of my Twitter followers spreading the word of my rebrand and following imPRess PR’s Twitter account!

• B: As Director of Relations at your university’s chapter of PRSSA, what are some benefits of joining the organization?

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Feature Friday: Aurian Shervington.

                

• Brea: Tell me about yourself

Aurian: Ha, the dreaded interview question! Just kidding.Well, my name is Aurian (pronounced Ah-ree-on) but everyone calls me Auri. I’m in my last semester of graduate school at the University of South Florida majoring in Sport and Entertainment Management. It’s a dual degree program (MBA and MS) and I’m proud to be in the inaugural class! I actually graduated from USF with a BA in Political Science, random I know.

I work as the Event Marketing Resident at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and I love PR and Marketing. I also like food. Actually I love food. And music. And laughing. And food.

• B: If you could go back to undergrad what would you do differently?

A: My initial thought was “Change my major!” but in all honesty, I wouldn’t change anything. I learned so much about myself in undergrad; I feel so blessed and grateful to have had the experience. I learned to take care of myself, be comfortable with who I am and to do what truly makes me happy. I know it sounds corny and a bit cliché but I seriously, and unknowingly, found myself.

I also found out that my lifelong mission to be an attorney was no longer my dream. I initially wanted to venture into Sports Law but quickly realized that I needed to work with people and create ideas. After taking on a few internships in sports marketing and entertainment PR, I figured out what worked for me.

• B: What area of PR are you most interested in and why?

A: I’m definitely interested in entertainment PR. My first experience in entertainment PR was at my internship for a boutique entertainment and sports group in Tampa. I was the Publicity Coordinator for a rookie NFL player and learned so much about patience and how to draft my first press release. Working in event marketing has been amazing and I’ve been able to watch various players like the publicist, agent, tour manager and media reps in action. I love being in the thick of things and compiling strategies for clients. It’s also a great challenge to pitch shows and artists to fit with the appropriate media outlet. Learning what works and what doesn’t work for each individual artist and show is exciting.

• B: Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! How has your MBA program helped you prepare for post grad life?

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#MusicMonday- The Grammy's

Last night, the who's who of music gathered together to celebrate the epicness that was 2013! All with hopes of taking home one of those gold sippy cups grand awards.
This post could go in a number of different directions, from the fashions of last night to the fact that it was an extremely long show; but for now, I'll just write about the performances.
There were a ton of performances at The Grammy's and a few that weren't so memorable, but we won't get in to that.
Catch a few of my favs below:

• Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons- I'd say this performance is easily one of the best from last night. It's also a modern day Linkin Park/Jay-Z collab from a decade ago (my goodness I'm old).

• The Carter's- Pretty sure everyone was looking forward to this performance, but if you weren't then you obviously don't love yourself. Jay and Bey opened the awards show letting America know they're a little drunk in love. (SN: I really do love how in love they are. I think last night was the most PDA I've seen from them at an awards show.)

• Katy Perry and Juicy J- Although some people think Katy's set was something out of a middle school play production, I thought all the props went with the theme of her song "Dark Horse". And it looks like she's been hanging out with Rih too long. Did ya'll peep her dropping and shaking it on the witch's broom pole in the background? Hmm hmm I see you, Katy.

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#MusicMonday: Drake & Beyonce.

I originally planned to do a “Fav singles of 2013” list today but after I heard a Bey and D’Angelo mashup and got a double dose of Drake’s new songs, I had a new plan.

If you know me you know I LOVE GOOD MUSIC, so let’s get into it.

Back in September of this year, Mr. Soft Ghetto released his third album Nothing Was the Same. A track called Trophies that he previewed in a video trailer for his new album, didn’t quite make it on the album. But alas my pretties, Drake has finally given you what you’ve been waiting for.

And In case you missed it, in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday he released a remix to Soulja Boy’s song “We Made It” (SN: Where the devil has that child been??)While the song is pretty hot, the delivery reminds me three much of Migos ‘Versace’. WOMP!

Check out both tracks below and let me know which one is your fav.






Now prepare your ears for greatness.

Ya’ll know I love Queen Bey, right? If you remember shortly after releasing her fifth album she previewed it on iTunes radio and discussed each song. On Rocket she said, “Rocket is one of the (more) sensual songs, it reminds me of the vibe I got when I first heard D’Angelo’s Untitled.” Well Mashup King, JAYBeatz must have taken that comment and ran with it because he did what he does best and created a mashup with both songs. Talk about an eargasm!!! Just press play and tell me it how much it makes you want to smoke a cigarette after.



(photo credit: E Online)

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#ICYMI: Another 'Yonce Weekend.

Last week the Creole Princess released her fifth studio album and seriously had the whole world losing their edges from excitement! If you were on any form of social media then your timelines, dashboards and newsfeeds were filled with Bey ALL WEEKEND. Welp, Mrs. Carter’s is back again this weekend with more ‘Yonce fun!

Following her concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Friday, Queen Bey held a private album release party at the best adult Chuck E. Cheese place around: Dave & Buster’s. From the looks of her Instagram it seems like she had a ton of fun. Congrats, girl!



Sometime last week, Target announced that they will not carry Bey’s self titled album in their stores. That is when I believe her team started plotting, honey. Those folks at BeyHive HQ are geniuses I swear, because they decided to put her album in select Starbucks locations in the U.S. Where are many Starbucks coffehouses located you asked? That’s right, inside Target stores!!!! (*Trina laugh* Bye Felicia!)


She then went to a Walmart in Massachusetts and gifted $50 gift cards to everyone in the store!! Listen to her announcement to those lucky Walmart shoppers below.


And that my friends wasn’t even the last of it. During Saturday Night Live, a commercial for her new album aired, but instead of ending with “buy on iTunes” it ended with “available at Walmart”. LMBO!!! That is some of the best shade throwing I’ve seen in a while! I seriously love her team and everything they’re doing.

On a serious note though,Target needs to stop being Bitter Betty’s by refusing to stock albums because they

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Year of the Bey.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, on Friday Dec.13 Beyonce released her long awaited fifth studio album, simply titled ‘Beyonce’. It’s described as a visual album and includes 14 songs and 17 videos.

What’s so amazing about this release is that she was able to keep it a secret!! There was no promotion for the album at all!!! No interviews, no sneak peek album cover, no cryptic Twitter/Instagram messages, NOTHING! Even the people involved with the album or videos didn’t say anything. For this reason, and more, is why I believe Beyonce is having the best year EVER!



In January, Beyonce sang the national anthem at President Obama’s second inauguration and after 234567 years, we were blessed with new music from Destiny’s Child.The trio released an album titled Love Songs that featured some DC3 classics but also featured a new song— “Nuclear”.

In February, Bey shut the Super Bowl down with her half time performance which resulted in a power outage. It’s like she literally gathered all of the energy from that building and used it to perform a phenomenal halftime show. I’m not mad at you, girl! That same night, she announced that she would be going on world tour— The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The next week “Love on Top”, from her fourth studio album, won her a well deserved Grammy. By Feb. 16, she was sitting down with Auntie Oprah for an interview that shed light on her life and the many hats  crowns she wears daily. Following that interview, her documentary Life is But a Dream aired on HBO.

By April, she began her world tour and was also featured in H&M’s 2013 Summer Collection ads.The

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