Reggae singer Etana is gearing up for the release of her sophomore set, Free Expressions. The album is due on November 9 and it features production work from the Free Mind label, and Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor among others.

Free Expressions is the follow up to Etana’s debut album The Strong One which was released in June of 2008.

A photo shoot for Free Expressions was recently conducted in Kingston by photographer Marvin Bartley.

Blondie is back

Their cover of the John Holt & the Paragons’ original, The Tide is High, made them worldwide stars in 1981. Since then the Deborah Harry fronted group Blondie has followed up with a string of successful hit singles including Call Me, Atomic, Rapture and Heart of Glass.

Blondie split in 1982 after the release of its sixth album The Hunter, but reformed in 1997. In 1999 the group scored another chart topping single as Maria hit number one in the UK.

Now after selling more than 40 million records worldwide, Blondie is back and ready to release its new album Panic of Girls later this year.

This will be the group’s first album in more than seven years.

Greenlight on top in the UK

The British grime music collective, Roll Deep, has scored another chart topping single in the UK. The outfit’s fourth single Greenlight, has become its second number one UK chart topper.

Back in April, Roll Deep earned a number one single with Good Times.

Greenlight features fast rising British singer Tania Foster. The single is also number one on the UK R&B singles chart and number 18 in Ireland.

Founded in 2002, Roll Deep has to date released four albums, In at the Deep End, Rules and Regulations, Return of the Big Money Sound, and Street Anthems. The outfit’s fifth album is scheduled for an October release.

Katy Perry and Fantasia to battle for the top spot

After releasing their respective albums earlier this week, expect a neck and neck battle for the number one spot on the Billboard Top 200 Albums next week between Fantasia and Katy Perry.

Perry’s new disc Teenage Dream which contains the chart topping summer smash California Gurls, is tipped to sell between 170,000 to 200,000 copies in its opening week.

Fantasia’s third solo album Back to Me could sell anywhere between 120,000 to 140,000 copies.

Rapper Eminem is still sitting at the top of the album chart with Recovery, which sold an additional 116,000 copies over the past week. Recovery has given Eminem seven non consecutive weeks in the penthouse, the longest run for a male solo artiste since Usher’s album Confessions logged 9 weeks on top in 2004.

Australian band takes Europe by storm

We No Speak Americano by an Australian band called Yolanda Be Cool, has taken Europe by storm. The single has so far hit the number one spot in Germany, Australia, the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Holland, Sweden and Belgium.

The single is currently top ten in Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Norway.

Yolanda Be Cool comprises of Sylvester Martinez and Johnson Peterson. They collaborated with Australian producer DCUP to release We No Speak Americano” on the independent Australian label Sweat It Out.

We No Speak Americano samples a 1956 hit Tu vuò fà l’americano by Renato Carosone.

Prior to the hit, they had collaborated with DCUP when he remixed their hit Afro Nuts in 2009.

Did You Know

Did you know that Etana, whose real name is Shauna McKenzie, was once a member of a girl group called Gift? The group was about to be signed to Universal Music, when Etana left to embark on her solo career. And did you also know that Etana had dreams of becoming a registered nurse?

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