Music
Press
Blue Star Entertainment International/Atlantic recording group Pretty Ricky has announced details of their eagerly anticipated second album. Dubbed “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL,” the collection arrives in stores coast-to-coast today, January 23rd.
“On The Hotline,” the first single/video from “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL,” is already blowing up at radio, ranked at #9 this week at Urban outlets. The song is also ranked in the top 10 at over 30 Rhythmic stations, where it sits at #12 nationwide. “On The Hotline” remains one of the most requested songs across the country.
Pretty Ricky – rappers Slick ‘Em, Baby Blue, and Spectacular, and singer Pleasure – kicked off the release of “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” yesterday with a performance on BET’s 106 & Park, where the “On The Hotline” companion video is already a #1 countdown smash. Later this week, the Florida-based foursome will make dual BET appearances, guesting on the January 27th installments of the network’s Hosted Saturday and Top 25 Countdown.
Pretty Ricky has also been highly visible on MTV, with “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” streaming on MTV.com’s “The Leak” for the past week. This afternoon, the group will celebrate the album’s arrival in stores with a visit to MTV’s Total Request Live, offering TRL viewers their first look at the “On The Hotline” video, followed by an appearance on Sucker Free on MTV. In addition, the clip was just added to MTV and is now in “Simmerin’” rotation at MTV Jams.
“On The Hotline” is quickly becoming a massive ringtone hit and currently sits at #5 according to Nielsen Ringscan’s Top 200 Mastertones chart. Pretty Ricky is also blowing up online, with over 350,000 friends registered on their MySpace page, as well as reaching the top 5 of MySpace’s Top Artists. At YouTube, the group’s just-launched “Pretty Ricky TV” – which features a variety of exclusive videos – has already hit the top of the site’s rankings as the month’s #1 Most Subscribed Channel, as well as reaching the top 10 of YouTube’s all-time Most Viewed Musicians pages.
Pretty Ricky will be featured on the March cover of Black Beat magazine, which hits newsstands February 13th.
Pretty Ricky will reveal tour plans for 2007 in the coming weeks. For now, the group’s travels include an appearance in Atlanta, where Pretty Ricky will help launch the opening of a new Wal-Mart in College Park, as well as visits to two U.S. Army bases – Georgia’s Fort Benning on January 27th, followed the next day with a trip to Texas’ Fort Hood. Pretty Ricky recently introduced fans to “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” with show-stealing performances on the “Scream Tour 5: Ruff & Ready, Young & Sexy” tour, the latest installment of the massively successful teen concert series. The BET-sponsored trek saw Pretty Ricky sharing arena stages across America with some of R&B and hip-hop’s hottest new stars, including Omarion, Ne-Yo, Mario, and Bad Boy’s own Yung Joc.
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Written and produced almost entirely by Pretty Ricky and the exclusive production team Music Royale Productions, “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” seems destined to surpass 2005’s blockbuster debut album, “BLUESTARS.” Cuts like “Push It,” “On the Rocks” and the super-sexy ballad “Love Like Honey” are guaranteed to become fan favorites, marking a huge leap forward while still bearing that signature Pretty Ricky sound.
The group exploded onto the Florida music scene in late 2004, when “Grind With Me” became the most requested song in the history of Miami radio station Power 96. Subsequently signed to Atlantic by Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, the group quickly exploded into a national sensation.
Under the tutelage of their father, Joe “Bluestar” Smith, Pretty Ricky has been performing throughout Florida and the southeast since 1997, earning acclaim for their unique charismatic style and sensational stage presence.
In 2002, Pretty Ricky hit radio success with their song “Flossin’,” which began buzzing on Power 96. The brothers continued grinding and hustling - writing songs, building relationships with fans, and performing every chance they get. During this time they opened for a wide array of heavyweights, including Lil Jon, Trick Daddy, Trina, Run DMC, and fellow Miami comrade Pitbull.
For more information, please visit the newly launched www.prettyricky.com and www.myspace.com/prettyricky.
- Press Release
“LATE NIGHT SPECIAL,” the new album from Blue Star Entertainment International/Atlantic recording group Pretty Ricky, has made a triumphant debut in the #1 spot on both the Billboard 200 and “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” charts. With total sales of over 132,000, the album’s explosive first week in stores gives the Florida-based foursome the biggest-selling chart debut of 2007 thus far.
“On The Hotline,” the first single/video from “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL,” leaps to #6 at Urban radio and to #8 at Rhythmic Top 40, where it enjoys the most increased airplay this week. In addition, the album’s second single, “Push It Baby,” is set to impact at multi-format outlets in February.
Pretty Ricky – rappers Slick ‘Em, Baby Blue, and Spectacular, and singer Pleasure – kicked off the release of “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” last week with a stellar performance on BET’s 106 & Park, where the “On The Hotline” companion video spent several days at #1 on the daily countdown. Now in “Heavy” rotation, the clip was BET’s most-played video of the week. What’s more, Pretty Ricky closed out the week with an additional pair of BET appearances, guesting on the January 27th installments of the network’s Hosted Saturday and Top 25 Countdown.
Pretty Ricky has also been highly visible on MTV, including a visit to MTV’s Total Request Live, where the “On The Hotline” video quickly entered the countdown’s top 10. The clip has just been added to the MTV playlist, while also blowing up in “Simmerin’” rotation at MTV Jams.
Pretty Ricky will also make their late night television debut February 20th when the group will perform “On The Hotline” and “Push It” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“On The Hotline” is a massive ringtone hit, currently standing at #5 on Nielsen Ringscan’s “Top 200 Mastertones” chart. Pretty Ricky is also hugely popular online, with nearly 400,000 friends registered on their MySpace page, placing them in the top 3 of MySpace’s “Top Artists.” At YouTube, the group’s recently launched “Pretty Ricky TV” – which features a variety of exclusive videos – has already hit the top of the site’s rankings as the month’s #1 Most Subscribed Channel, as well as reaching the top 10 of YouTube’s all-time Most Viewed Musicians pages.
Over at their own www.prettyricky.com, Pretty Ricky has just begun an exclusive sweepstakes where fans can win a trip for two to New York City to see the superstar quartet perform live in concert. Concert winners will also get to travel to the show in a limo, and meet the members of Pretty Ricky backstage.
Pretty Ricky will reveal tour plans for 2007 shortly. In late-2006, Pretty Ricky introduced fans to “LATE NIGHT SPECIAL” with show-stealing performances on the “Scream Tour 5: Ruff & Ready, Young & Sexy.” The BET-sponsored trek saw Pretty Ricky commanding arena stages across America with some of R&B and hip-hop’s hottest new stars, including Omarion, Ne-Yo, Mario, and Yung Joc.
In other news, Pretty Ricky will be featured on the March cover of Black Beat magazine, which hits newsstands on February 13th.
- Press Release
Chart-Topping Stars Pretty Ricky Promises to Perform in Every City that Gets Over 1,000 Fan Demands Using Eventful’s Demand Service
SAN DIEGO, CA (February 6, 2007) –Eventful.com, the leading global events web site, announced today that Bluestar Entertainment International / Atlantic superstars, Pretty Ricky, will route their 2007 tour based on where fans want them to go using the latest live performance phenomenon, Eventful Demand. The service is being used by thousands of performers including many of the most popular musicians and comedians. Eventful Demand empowers fans with the ability to influence where their favorite performers perform by creating grass-roots campaigns to ”Demand” their favorite performers come to their town. Performers are then able to reach out to their Demanders to notify them that they are coming to town and offer ticket and merchandise sales.
On tour to promote the group’s second album, Late Night Special – which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 - Pretty Ricky will be using the Eventful Demand service to let their fans compete for a stop on their tour. Once a city reaches 1,000 demands, Pretty Ricky will book the show. Fans anywhere and everywhere will be able to see the Florida-based foursome – with total weekly sales of over 132,000, the album's explosive first week in stores gave the chart-toppers the biggest-selling debut of 2007 thus far– live and in-person with just a simple click of a mouse.
“It is important that Pretty Ricky have accessibility to reach their fans,” said manager Stephen Brush. “Eventful makes it so much easier to hit markets that tend to get overlooked since you know where the people are that want to see your act. Pretty Ricky has always been accessible via internet, phone and in person to their fans and Eventful adds a great addition in the live performance field.”
Eventful created the Demand service as a viral tool to help connect fans and performers across the globe. With the click of a button, Eventful Demand is transforming the touring market by empowering fans to influence the tours of their favorite performers and by enabling performers to make the best decisions about where to tour.
“Pretty Ricky and Atlantic Records have embraced Eventful Demand as a way to engage and empower their fans to shape their tour,” said Eventful.com CEO Jordan Glazier. “We’re excited to help connect them with their fans and sell out shows around the world.”
Fans can log on to www.eventful.com/prettyricky, www.myspace.com/prettyricky, or www.prettyricky.com to Demand a performance from Pretty Ricky in their town.
- Press Release
Discography
ALBUMS
2005 - Bluestars
2007- Late Night Special
SINGLES
* Grind With Me
* Your Body
* Nothing But A Number
* On the Hotline
* Push It Baby
* Love Like Honey
Photos
Bio
From blue stars to true stars
Miami heat is nothing compared to Pretty Rickys scorching musical inferno. Not since the days of music legends like The Beatles, The Jackson 5 or more recently NSync has there been such a fevered pitch, creating hysteria and chaos when crowds glimpse brothers Spectacular, Pleasure, Slick Em, and Baby Blue. Through their frequent appearances in teen and music magazines, videos and on television combined with early participation on MySpace.com, Pretty Ricky quickly blossomed into a multi-faceted recording act whose style and imagery play a significant role in their development into superstars.
Pretty Ricky first exploded back in 1997, working the Miami music circuit with weekly jaw-dropping performances. Their father, Joseph Bluestar Smith, eventually had his boys getting Top 10 spins on regional radio, and in late 2004 Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman heard about the frenzy they were causing. Kallmans decision to sign Pretty Ricky was solidified the first night he saw them live, as he was nearly trampled by over 1,000 eager fans.
Over the course of just a few months, Pretty Ricky exploded. Their Atlantic debut, BLUE STARS, was one of the best selling albums of 2005 and spawned three hit singles, Grind With Me, Your Body, and Age Aint Nothing But a Number. The album quickly scored RIAA Gold status, and nearly broke the 1 million mark in just a year.
So, whats the plan for round 2? We didnt want to be in a position where the label would say, Give us four hot records, Baby Blue explains. We wanted to come up with an album full of singles...well never put fillers on our album. Pretty Ricky wanted to make a second splash in 2007 with an album just for the fans. They started online chats via prettyricky.com and even held a contest to help name the new album. Over 10,000 hopefuls submitted possible titles, but in the end, Pretty Ricky chose LATE NIGHT SPECIAL as their favorite.
Written and produced almost entirely by Pretty Ricky and the exclusive production team Music Royale Productions. LATE NIGHT SPECIAL makes its premier with the sensuous first single, On the Hotline. Its a sexy mid-tempo that captivates and tantalizes with an interpolation of Salt N Peppers classic Lets Talk About Sex, redefining what it means to talk about sex. Other cuts like the viral hit On the Rocks and the super sexy ballad Sticky and Slow will have fans singing along, while Soaking Wet and Up and Down We Go are signature Pretty Ricky hits with erotic yet gentle parodies that tickle listeners imagination.
Although Pretty Rickys first CD boasted big hits, LATE NIGHT SPECIAL seems destined to surpass their previous success. The growth and maturity of their lyrics, production, and vocals, coupled with Pretty Rickys innate ability to connect with virtually any market shows the diversity and expansion of these superstars. Forget everything else on the menuPRETTY RICKY is your one and only LATE NIGHT SPECIAL.
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