In the midst of premiering the new music video for his song “New Slaves” at 66 venues around the world, mayhem rocked all three Houston, Texas locations this week.

According to the Houston Chronicle, police shut down the Rothko Chapel screening before it even got started. Then, the Central Library location experienced “technical difficulties” while the Bush Memorial venue was a “no show.”

“Despite an upbeat, respectful crowd, they pulled several cars onto the grass, flashed lights and sirens and demanded everyone leave or be arrested for trespassing. Folks slowly dispersed when it was clear this wasn’t part of the show,” writes the Chronicle.

“New Slaves” is the lead single from West’s forthcoming studio album, Yeezus, which will arrive in stores on June 18th. Take a listen to “New Slaves” here.

Set to premiere on Monday, May 27th, the song follows up to “Fine China,” the lead single from Chris’ forthcoming studio album, X. To date, “Fine China” has peaked at numbers 10 and 34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot 100 charts, respectively. X will be Chris’ third album in three years and is slated for release on July 16th.

The music video for “They Don’t Know” was shot earlier this month in Los Angeles, California.

Check out Chris Brown’s single artwork for his new song, “They Don’t Know (feat. Aaliyah)”:

Mariah opened her live set with the ’90s classic, “Always Be My Baby,” before shimmering into one of the best songs of the last decade, “We Belong Together.” Meanwhile, Mariah shared with us that she was experiencing some wardrobe issues with her custom Versace gown, turning her back to the camera to reveal a busted zipper.

After performing lovely renditions of these two songs, things took a disastrous turn with Miguel joined her onstage to perform their new collaboration, “#Beautiful.” Oh, and as Miguel made his way to the stage, Mariah exclaims, “Oh sh%^!” on live television. That was hilarious.

I have so many questions about this performance. Those whistle notes that Mariah attempted near the end of the performance? NO! I may have never laughed so hard in my life. I love me some Mariah but this performance was definitely not the business. Those screeches sent me over the edge.

In other news, “#Beautiful” climbs to No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its second week and has also sold more than 211,000 copies.

Watch the performances of “We Belong Together” and “#Beautiful” below. (I apologize for the video quality.)

“#Beautiful”

“We Belong Together”

I cannot count how many times I have heard the line, “Beyoncé will never be as successful as [insert another female pop star’s name here].” As Madonna would say, this statement is rather … “reductive.” Frankly, being a pop star is only a small fraction of the large force Beyoncé is.

Regarding her success as a solo artist, Beyoncé has garnered five number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and had all four of her studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Even with a small catalogue, Beyoncé has built a solid legacy as an entertainer and performer, earning respect within the industry that many of her contemporaries have not yet acquired.

This diva’s success secret is obvious: not being a hit-chaser. Instead of shelling out albums every year and tossing singles into the wind, she maintains a balance with a variety of business ventures and takes her time to ensure perfection with everything she does. I mean, how else could you build an empire estimated at $350 million?

Beyoncé’s most recent album, 4, opened atop the Billboard 200 with 310,000 copies sold its first week — her lowest debut to date. Still, the album has now moved approximately 3 million units worldwide since its June 2011 release, despite the inconsistent promotion Beyoncé did due to being pregnant with Blue Ivy. Admittedly, I must say that it’s been harder for Beyoncé to score hit singles than it is for other artists. Her last top ten single as the main artist, “Sweet Dreams,” was released in 2009 while her appearance on Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” pushed her as high as No. 3 the following year. From 4, her highest-charting singles were “Best Thing I Never Had” and “Love on Top,” peaking at numbers 16 and 20, respectively.

However, I look at the bigger picture. Beyoncé’s had a pretty busy past few years including launching businesses, changing up her management and having a baby, all while trying not to miss beat. If Beyoncé really wanted to be at number one, she would simply tailor her sound to fit the current trends rather than experiment with sounds and push her artistry to new limits. Furthermore, Beyoncé is at a place in her career where she has to learn how to cater to the wide range of ages of her audience while staying true to herself, which can be very difficult. Her album 4 was not the most radio-friendly and its promotion was disastrous, but Beyoncé came out on top, with all things considered. She isn’t the most commercially successful artist ever but she is much more than hit singles and record sales.

Since firing her father Mathew Knowles as her manager back in 2011, Beyoncé has signed a $50 million endorsement deal with PepsiCo in which she has full creative control over their collaborations, nabbed the Super Bowl XLVII halftime slot, premiered her autobiographical documentary, Life is but a Dream, on HBO to record viewership, landed a role in the animated film, Epic, and has kicked off the sold out, 55-date The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Did I mention that she manages herself?

As far as her philanthropic efforts, Beyoncé recently joined forces with Gucci, Salma Hayek and Frida Giannini to co-found the Chime for Change charity organization that focuses on women and girls’ empowerment. Beyoncé also partnered with Goodwill for the BeyGood campaign, during which she collects goods for charity at select venues on The Mrs. Carter Show.

And then you have her fashion empire, film career, and the many different companies she heads. I could go on …

Simply put, Beyoncé is a grown woman and she can do whatever she wants.

ABC reveals on Thursday, “Highlights from next month’s Sound of Change Live concert in London, promoting improved education, health and justice for women and girls around the world, will be televised by NBC as a two-hour special.”

Headlined by Beyoncé, the concert will take place at London’s Twickenham Stadium on June 1st, featuring additional performances by Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Florence + the Machine, Iggy Azalea, and John Legend.

Madonna, James Franco and Salma Hayek are among presenters for the evening.

Be sure to tune in to The Women’s Concert for Change: Live from London on Sunday, June 2nd at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBC.

The pop songstress, with her new album Demi, debuts at number three on the Billboard 200 with 110,000 copies sold in its first week. This figure is Lovato’s largest opening number to date. Her previous album Unbroken, released in 2011, opened at No. 4 with 96,000 units.

Demi was preceded by the lead single, “Heart Attack,” which has peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100 since being released in February and has also been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Meanwhile, Lovato has selected her song “Made in the USA” as the second official single although her album promotion has been put on a temporary hold due to her returning to The X Factor to judge for a second season.

Listen to Demi Lovato’s “Made in the USA” below:

Born This Way spawned four top ten singles including the album’s chart-topping title track. The fifth and final single of the era, “Marry the Night,” peaked at No. 29 on the tally.

While the Born This Way era seemed a bit short-lived, it was certainly a commercial success. In support of the project, Gaga embarked on the Born This Way Ball international tour. Overall, the tour performed well but came to a screeching halt by the time it made its way to North America.

With more than twenty dates left, Gaga was forced to cancel the remaining tour dates due to sustaining a hip injury that required surgery. With the dates of the tour that were successfully completed, Gaga grossed more than $160 million.

Meanwhile, Gaga has been relatively quiet since the tour cancelation. In addition to recovering, the singer has been putting the finishing touches on her forthcoming album, Artpop, which we expect to be released later this fall.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the album’s lead single, “Born This Way”:

As the album becomes available for pre-order, we now get to see its official tracklisting in full.

Talk a Good Game is antedated by the singles “Kisses Down Low” and “Dirty Laundry.” The lead single, “Kisses,” has peaked at number 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart while the latter song was just released today, May 22nd.

The new X Factor judge reached out to a few big names for appearances on her forthcoming album, including Pusha T, The-Dream, and former Destiny’s Child bandmates, Beyoncé and Michelle Williams.

Check out the tracklisting for Talk a Good Game below:

Standard

1. Freak
2. Kisses Down Low
3. Gone
4. Talk a Good Game (feat. Kevin Cossum)
5. Down on Love
6. Dirty Laundry
7. You Changed (feat. Beyoncé & Michelle)
8. I Remember
9. Red Wine
10. This is Love
11. Street Life (feat. Pusha T)
12. Stand in Front of Me

Deluxe
13. Sky Walker
14. Put Your Name on It
15. #1

Both songs will appear on Ciara’s forthcoming self-titled album, due on July 5th.

In all honesty, we could have done without this song at the moment. While I like the energy and quick flow of the song, I don’t really like Nicki’s contributions. Meanwhile, as I said above, “Body Party” is beginning to do very well on the charts so Ciara should focus on promoting that single for now.

Take a listen to Ciara and Nicki Minaj’s “I’m Out”:

In the video clip, you can catch a glimpse of the colorful rapper in a recording studio, walking the blue carpet before the awards ceremony and rehearsing for the performance with celebrity choreographer Laurieann Gibson.

There are also appearances by Lil Wayne himself, Justin Bieber, and the legendary Madonna.

Watch Nicki Minaj – The Road to Billboard: