Solange Knowles wed video director Alan Ferguson on November 16 in New Orleans, LA. As to be expected from the performer, who’s been known to march to her own beat, the aesthetics were unique, refined, and stunningly beautiful.

Knowles and Ferguson arrived at the ceremony on white bicycles and the bride wore a jumpsuit by Stephane Rolland. For the ceremony, Solange wore a gown by Humberto Leon for Kenzo, which made her look like royalty. Her wedding party included a troupe of ladies dressed in white, including her superstar sister Beyonce and rising star (and TFC fave) Janelle Monae.

According to Vogue.com, the singer walked down the aisle to Donny Hathaway’s, “I Love the Lord, He Heard My Cry.” See more photos at Vogue.com

“Zakee collaborates with fellow Philadelphia vocalist, Res, for the latest single on his sophomore LP,Rise of the Rebels: Assimilations, due out this spring. A sweet ode to a lover, ‘But You’ draws the listener in with a catchy hook that you’re bound to find yourself singing to your boo. First up is Res’s sultry voice on the verse,showcasing a more demure vocal than the soul rock fans are used to hearing from the songstress. Zakee’s familiar raspy drawl floats over a soft bed of stripped down guitar melodies,and their harmony results in a genre-defying, mood-setting lullaby…a lullaby for sexy time.

Zakee notes, ‘I’m a Pisces, so I’m emo by nature. “But You” definitely channels my sensitive side, and I hope it will strike a chord with anyone who has someone special in their life. It’s also really dope to work with Res, because we’ve been friends for years.'”

Prince is one of those artists: the kind that has a long list of hits, but still manages to surprise us often with an oldie from his sizable catalog that still feels as fresh and fun as the day it was pressed. “When You Were Mine” played in the background of the makeover montage, as Prince gives New Girl lead, , some pointers how to dress and how to open up to love. It was the best part of the segment.

Prince fans who tuned in were kept waiting for the whole episode to get what they came for: THE MUSIC. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived show for the icon, as the episode only had time for a short Prince-Jess duet. In any case, the song, which is reportedly called “Don’t You Wanna Fall in Love” is a fun one that makes you wanna dance.

Many people know Etta James for her the hit cover she did of Glenn Miller’s “At Last” in 1960. The woman, however, has a catalogue and a talent that’s much broader that that one song and today we pay tribute to her with the following playlist. It includes my favorite Etta James song “Tell Mama” & an amazing cover of Guns-n-Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” from her 2011 release, Dreams.

James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, and attributed her previous comments about Beyoncé Knowles to “drug induced dementia”.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal and she died on January 20, 2012, just five days before her 74th birthday, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.

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photo: vibevixen.com

There’s a lot of talk going around right now about the so-called tragic death of Amy Winehouse. My apologies in advance, on the off chance anyone who knew & loved her (the person, not the persona) might read this, but this death is not a tragedy.

Moments like this seem to give people license to indulge in melodrama and self-righteous indignation when none is really necessary… or helpful. Blogger Edward Champion writes:

Now Amy Winehouse is dead. She was only 27.

Right now, aside from considering a future in which there will be no new Amy Winehouse songs, in which we will not see an artist who got through to people evolve, I’m wondering how many of these online cracks contributed to Winehouse’s inability to get the help she clearly needed. You could argue that it was ultimately Winehouse’s choice to live the way that she did. On the other hand, I’m wondering why some of the thoughtless scumbags I’ve quoted above — especially the ones who didn’t have the guts to use their real names — felt an overwhelming need to do their bit to take down a first-rate talent who got through to people almost solely on the basis for how she lived.

What Champion seems to miss is that adulation and praise of Amy’s musical talents fed the singer’s self-destructive fire just as much, if not more than, the insensitive potshots at her lifestyle. Fans commonly express disappointment that they’ll get no new tunes from the shooting star and often say things like, “amy was good for hurting, sad souls.”

Well she didn’t stir the inner emo in all of us by being a happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine folks. She did so by herself crawling into the sadness and hurt of her own soul and laying it bare to world. Even at her best, she brought forth her art through much turmoil and substance abuse. It was never her sobriety that fueled her placement on the music charts, nor on tabloid covers.

This is why I say that her having “only” 27 years on this plane was not a tragedy. Not all incarnations are meant to last 80+ years and consist of picket fences and Tupperware. A couple decades and some change was all she needed to leave a legacy that will last for generations. And for that, I congratulate Amy Winehouse on a life well-lived. Rest In Peace.

photos: Universal Ugly, Ghosts in the Snow