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Beyoncé knew that Ne-Yo was irreplaceable when it came to laying down tracks for her 2013 album release. So, that means that right now, the two stars are plotting out songs set to appear on her follow-up to 2011's 4.

But, a lot has changed since Queen B released that set of tunes. Most notably, she welcomed into the world her first child, daughter Blue Ivy. And while Ne-Yo and Beyoncé used to cook up sassy, kiss-off anthems back in the day, Ne-Yo doesn't expect the way they work together now to change much just because she's added mom to her resumé.

"To be honest with you, no. No, it's pretty much, she's had the exact same drive that she's always had," he told MTV News about hitting the studio with Beyoncé. "She's not a person that slacks off in the studio. I mean it's not like slave labor or nothing like that; she's not cracking the whip. But it's definitely 'Let's get the job done; let's get the best song possible produced or written out of this experience.' And it's the exact same thing now."

Considering that Beyoncé and hubby Jay-Z have been pictured in the studio together during sessions for this release, Ne-Yo's next statement should come as no surprise to the BeyHive. You see, Hova seems to be quite hands-on when it comes to this release.

"Can't say. I can't say what kind of vibe. I can't. I can't give it away," he said. "I've been sworn to secrecy. Man, you're trying to get me into trouble. Come on! Jay-Z is not a person you want mad at you! I got to be quiet!"

Fans won't have to wait much longer to hear something from Beyoncé. New music is expected to drop in the coming weeks, timed to her February 3 Super Bowl halftime show performance. Additionally, she will be the subject of an HBO documentary airing on February 16.

If you follow Beyoncé on Instagram (@BaddieBey), then you probably caught a tiny bit of life from her faux-fur chevron print slip-ons and "ratchet" earrings...

...but it is a hint at things to come in the future.

Thanks to the super sleuths over at ATRL, I think Bey may be hinting at something.

Earlier this year, Lady Gaga confirmed that she had written a song with Azealia Banks called "Ratchet," but hadn't found the right female vocalist to share the beat with. She also posted a picture of herself with earrings that said "Ratchet" in gold.

Are we finally getting the third Gagoncé installment? Is Beyoncé just trolling the shit out of us? Will Azealia Banks be on the song too?

This raises so many questions, but I don't think it's a coincidence Bey and Gaga plan on coming out around the same time. Plus, we had unofficial word that we'd be hearing from both of these artists before the year was over (from a producer that worked with Bey and another that worked with a Gaga.)

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that we can get "Ratchet" while the ball drops on New Years Eve!

Generally known for their dance floor pop and R&B anthems, Destiny's Child demonstrate their equally compelling command of contemporary torch songs and ballads throughout Love Songs. Love Songs is a new career-spanning collection of the most sensual and romantic recordings from the best-selling vocal group Destiny's Child.

Comprised of romantic gems recorded between 1997 and 2004, Love Songs includes "Forever Starts Today" and "I Try," a pair of previously unreleased Destiny's Child recordings from the late 1990's featuring Beyoncé Knowles on lead vocals backed by signature DC harmonies and production. Added treats for fans include "Can't Help Myself," an exquisite 1999 rarity formerly available as a promotion-only b-side, and Kelly Rowland's "Heaven," a key track from her 2002 solo album, Simply Deep.

Love Songs will be released on January 29, 2013. Check out the full tracklist below and pre-order it here.

1. Cater 2 U
2. Killing Time
3. Second Nature
4. Heaven
5. Now That She's Gone
6. Brown Eyes
7. If
8. Emotion
9. If You Leave - Featuring Next
10. T-Shirt
11. Temptation
12. Can't Help Myself
13. Forever Starts Today
14. I Try

3:03 mark

Beyonce and Usher have two of this year's most popular R&B/Hip Hop Songs according to Billboard.

The trusted publication released a Best of 2012 tally recently, showcasing this year's most popular and successful songs, albums and artists.

Beyonce tops the R&B/Hip Hop Songs Best of 2012 chart with "Love On Top." The song claimed no.1 on the chart for several weeks and was one of her best performing songs from the 2011 effort "4."

Usher follows at no.2 on the tally with "Climax." Also a chart-topping single, "Climax" led his album "Looking 4 Myself" and spent at least thirty-three weeks on the chart.

"Lotus Flower Bomb," "The Motto" and "Mercy" round out the top five, tracks from Wale (ft. Miguel), Drake (ft. Lil Wayne) and Kanye West (ft. Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz).

The year end "Best Of" chart is "ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS and sales data as compiled by Nielsen Soundscan" according to Billboard.

Miguel ("Adorn"), Trey Songz ("Heart Attack"), 2 Chainz ("No Lie"), Chris Brown ("Strip"), and Drake ("Make Me Proud") close out the top 10 respectively.

The King, T.I., held court with the Queen when he remixed Beyoncé’s “Dance for You” earlier this year. But he first he got approval from Bey herself. He called up Pharrell, who happened to be in the studio with the “Single Ladies” singer, and asked if she supported his idea to add a verse.

“That very night, I did it and got it back to them, and they gave me the nod of approval and I ran with it,” Tip told Rap-Up TV.

T.I. is aware that Bey has a new album on the way and he’s more than willing to help out. “She has full knowledge of the fact that if she needs me for anything that I am there at the drop of a hat,” he said.

.@beyonce will be featured in a new, global @pepsi commercial in 2013. The new advertisement will feature a single from her upcoming album.

— PepsiCo (@PepsiCo) grudzieñ 10, 2012

For its campaign with Beyoncé next year, Pepsi doesn’t just want to sign up the telegenic pop star for another TV commercial. It also wants to get into the Beyoncé business.

In an expansion of the recent marketing experiments that have brought PepsiCo ever closer to the music industry, the company has embarked on a hybrid project with Beyoncé that will include standard advertising like commercials as well as a multimillion-dollar fund to support the singer’s chosen creative projects.

“Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve,” Beyoncé said in a statement. “As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.”

The campaign will coincide with a blitz of promotion for her next album, which has no title or release date so far but is expected in 2013. Sometime after she performs at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 3 (also sponsored by Pepsi), Beyoncé will appear in a new TV ad — her fifth for the soft drink since 2002 — and her face will be on a limited-edition line of soda cans.

The less conventional aspects of the deal are meant as collaborative projects that indulge Beyoncé’s creative whims, and might well have no explicit connection to Pepsi products. They are still at the brainstorm stage, but could include live events, videos, “a cool photo shoot” or almost anything else, said Lee Anne Callahan-Longo, the general manager of Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s company.

For Pepsi, the goal is to enhance its reputation with consumers by acting as something of an artistic patron instead of simply paying for celebrity endorsements.

“Consumers are seeking a much greater authenticity in marketing from the brands they love,” said Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo’s global beverage group. “It’s caused a shift in the way we think about deals with artists, from a transactional deal to a mutually beneficial collaboration.”

Congratulations to Beyoncé on her GRAMMYŸ nomination! "Love on Top" was nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance. The 55th Annual GRAMMYŸ Awards air Sunday, February 10, at 8/7c on CBS.

Songwriter The-Dream, who has often worked with superstar Beyonce, revealed to Billboard that he expects the songstress to drop new music before she hits the Super Bowl Stage on February 3rd, 2013.

“She’s got her stuff going. She took the summer to start recording, and now she’s in a place where she’s ready to start gearing up to reveal her plan.[...] She’s already gearing up to get ready to put stuff out. I’m sure there will probably be a couple records you hear before the Super Bowl gets here.”

Beyoncé is nominated in Best Female category for the upcoming World Music Awards. Be sure to vote for her here!

@dopebyaccident: This is who I'm looking at right now! JayZ and Beyonce #blessed to be here

Beyoncé won in both categories she was nominated in for the 2012 Soul Train Awards! She won Best R&B/Soul Female Artist and Best Dance Performance for "Love On Top". Congratulations!

Lose My Breath
Sean Garrett: "It was an enormous time. I wound up doing nine songs on Destiny Fulfilled and 'Lose My Breath' was a record that was really exciting. At the time, me and Rodney Jerkins did that one together. There was so much magic going on in the studio. We probably recorded all the songs in about a month and every day it was a new song coming out. 'Lose My Breath' was towards the latter part of the album and that was an amazing song that we felt could not only be big on the radio but big with bands and marching bands. I was on a natural high after that."

Soldier
Sean Garrett: "I loved how Destiny's Child evolved and became this really incredible pop group but I wanted to introduce them to the hood from the perspective of having the world look at them in a different way. That was the whole dynamic of putting an album together and, of course, Beyonce is the head honcho. It was great working with her and a lot of the concepts that she and I would talk about before we would put it down.
"What was so beautiful about working with them on this album was they were willing to cut and record almost every track that we were actually coming up with. It was very cool. It was like a machine. I wrote "Soldier" on the way to the studio in a taxi. I said I got this hook that's nuts and I would come in and sing it to the girls and they would say, 'I like that.' What was great about that was they all liked guys from the streets. Each verse was a representation of the guy they were actually into."

As we make our way back from Astoria, Ocean tells me that he's got at least five projects in the works, among them a song he wrote for Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained; songs he's working on for Alicia Keys and Beyoncé; songs for his own third album; and a European tour, which he says he wants to model on Pink Floyd's The Wall tour. He's even thinking about maybe opening his own arcade (though later he'll post on Tumblr that this idea is "morphing").

Ed Sheeran has been named as one of the most in demand songwriters in the world and tipped to write songs for Rihanna, Beyonce and Justin Bieber by US star Taylor Swift.

Swift, who worked with Sheeran on her chart-topping 2012 album 'Red', revealed her belief that Sheeran could go on to become one of his generation's most successful and greatest songwriters.

Speaking to the Daily Star about Sheeran, who also wrote One Direction's current single 'Little Things', Swift said: "I think Ed is fast becoming the most in-demand songwriter in the world. It was a pleasure working with him. He has a real talent. Writing for One Direction has pretty much made him in demand from everybody."

She adds: "I know Justin Bieber loves his songs and I have heard Beyoncé and Rihanna want him to write for them as well. He's a talented performer, too, but in 20 years we could be looking back at him as one of the all-time great songwriters."

Congratulations to Beyoncé for taking home an American Music Award for Soul/R&B Music: Favorite Female Artist!

Beyoncé got one nomination for 2013 People's Choice Awards: Favorite R&B Artist. Be sure to vote for her here!

Great morning!!! So excited about the future!!Working on something special for @beyonce

— Sean Garrett (@iamseangarrett) listopad 11, 2012