Maxwell, Jill Scott Plan Joint Tour!

Maxwell has a had an incredible year last year and he is making sure 2010 is no different. Along for the ride is Jill Scott who is not only joining Maxwell on a tour; she is releasing a new album and will be star in the 'Why Did I Get Married 2' in theaters April 2. Read below for more info on the tour as well as stories on Ester Dean's starstruck behavior and Beyonce's alter ego change.

Grammy-winning singers Maxwell and Jill Scott will embark on an arena tour starting in Cleveland on May 21. Announced today (Feb. 26), the tour will bring the neo-soul artists to 20 cities including New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Washington DC, with more dates to be announced through June.

Maxwell, fresh from the Grammys with the trophies for Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for his album "BLACKsummers'night" and single "Pretty Wings," respectively) is hitting the road for the first time since his fall 2008 tour with rapper Common. Jill Scott, meanwhile, had been busy with her acting career; She played the lead role of detective Precious Ramotswe in the first season of the BBC/HBO miniseries "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Her new album "The Light Of The Sun" is expected to be released this summer.

Date and venue information for the LiveNation / Haymon Events tour will be released shortly. Currently, the tour is scheduled to stop in Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York.

Ester Dean Starstruck By Mary J. Blige!

The colorful Oklahoma-native, who's penned hits for everyone from the Pussycat Dolls (“Whatcha Think About That”) and Ciara (“Never Ever”) to Keyshia Cole (“Make me Over”) and Chris Brown (“I Love You”), is currently finishing up her own debut release with platinum producer Polow Da Don.

“If I’m not working... I feel like I’m a bum [laughs],” Dean muses of her hectic time in the studio. “Right now everyone’s talking about a song I wrote for Rihanna called 'Rude Boy,' which was a fun experience to be involved in. I love the fact that artists respect my hard work and talent.” Still, that doesn’t mean Dean doesn’t get starstruck from time to time. “I’m not intimidated [by anyone], but when I get next to Mary J. Blige she makes me emotional,” says Dean, who wrote several songs for the veteran vocalist’s latest album Stronger With Each Tear, including the single “I Am." “I remember going to a party and Akon took me over to her to say hi to Mary. And she’s like, 'Dean!' I’m at this party with all of these celebrities and Mary has her arms open for me? I’m like, 'Wow, shut the fuck up'! Mary is telling me to sit at the table with her and I’m like 'I’m good' because something about her just seems so big. It’s scary.”
Dean’s untitled debut release is tentatively set to drop this summer.

Beyonce Kills Sasha Fierce Alias!

Beyoncé is killing the game again, but this time it's herself — or at least her alter ego.

"Sasha Fierce is done. I killed her," B said in a recent interview with Allure magazine.

What Beyoncé Might Be Like At Home
Of course, the singer created her alter ego Sasha Fierce in an effort to separate her own shy personality from her stage persona and give herself the courage to be free and sexy while performing. Beyoncé even went so far as to name-check the alter ego on her last album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce. The LP was split into two physical CDs and two genres. The I Am ... side held pop songs like "If I Were a Boy" while Sasha Fierce boasted urban chic like "Video Phone," B's first duet with Lady Gaga.

Now the singer says that she's comfortable enough with herself to be all of those things without an alias.

"I don't need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I've grown and now I'm able to merge the two," she explained.

In fact, the singer/songwriter/actress admitted that she's currently taking a career break after the conclusion of her world tour in Trinidad this month, adding she'd like "to paint and cook and to do Broadway shows and museums. And learn just to be at home and just watch television."

Though Mrs. Carter is eyeing a vacation, she's still got two new videos on the way — one with pop powerhouse Lady Gaga for "Video Phone" and one for Alicia Keys' "Put It in a Love Song," so we won't miss her for long.

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