Maxwell 2009 in Photos Slideshow

J A N U A R Y – M A R C H  | We twiddled our thumbs and squeezed our big toes wondering, is it gonna be this year…will the album be released this year? Yup, seems so. Also, SMILE (Alchemist featuring Maxwell & Twista) was leaked on the internet (January 2009).

A P R I L | The jump-off month when the music lovers got to really get involved. BLACKsummers’night press conference was held in New York City. Maxwell appeared on 106 and Park to promote the release of PRETTY WINGS and premiere the music video. Fans across the world sighed in unison, “Finally he is back and there is more to come.” (April 2009)

M A Y | Maxwell appeared on the Tavis Smiley Show (PBS) speaking about his long absence. (May 2009)

J U N E | The artist graced several magazine covers including UPTOWN, JET, BILLBOARD and so on. BAD HABITS single was released. Maxwell performed Pretty Wings in dedication to the memory of Michael Jackson. And the SUMMER ’09 tour began. (June 2009)

J U L Y | A golden month! Maxwell performed at the 2009 Essence Music Festival. BLACKsummers’night CD was released including a DVD (5DaysofBLACK). Maxwell appeared on 106 and park again as well as appearing on several different popular (The Early Show, Good Morning America, David Lettman) network television programs in the U.S. He also performed several free concerts, one of which was sponsored by iHeartRadio. (July 2009)

A U G U S T | Maxwell appeared on the cover of EQ magazine. Bad Habits video premiered online. BLACKsummers’night certified gold. (August 2009)

S E P T E M B E R | Free concert in Boston was held (House of Blues) and snippets of the performance were aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live. theBLACKsummers’night arena tour jumped off in Toronto, Canada. Maxwell appeared on the Ellen Show. (September 2009)

O C T O B E R | theBLACKsummers’night arena tour continued in the U.S. and debuted in Europe. FISTFUL of TEARS, to benefit breast cancer awareness. (October 2009)

N O V E M B E R | theBLACKsummers’night arena tour concludes in London. Maxwell appeared on the CNN All-Star Tribute. (November 2009)

D E C E M B E R | Maxwell receives 6 Grammy nominations and performs during televised nominations, does a benefit concert for Grammy Museum, appears on the Today Show (via Kathie Lee and Hoda segment) and Jay Leno Show. (December 2009)

Make sure you are following The Latest Maxwell News on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. For your “all things Maxwell” updates.

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Photo credits: All content Copyright itself respectful owner. Sultry in Seattle (Copyright KJ © 2009), Atlantic City, NJ (Copyright Cin © 2009), Toronto, Canada (Copyright Sanjay Gandhi © 2009), Los Angeles, CA (Copyright Mikala © 2009), Grammy Museum Concert (Copyright © Becky Sapp/Wire Image 2009), London, UK (Copyright Romain Kedochim Photography © 2009), Paris, France (Copyright Apsara Images © 2009), Birmingham, UK (Copyright Sabeen Mansoor © 2009), all other images found via internet searches, screenstills, and scans.

#25
BLACKsummers’night | Maxwell
Title The first album in eight years from this neo-soul pioneer would have made our list based on the ethereal beauty of lead single “Pretty Wings” alone. Yet BLACKsummers’night—the first installment in a planned trilogy that the singer says will take him through 2011—actually worked wonders from beginning to end. And not just in the bedroom, either: Maxwell’s knack for studio-rat texture and beat-fiend grooves has never been sharper than it is throughout these nine songs. As for the bedroom, well, the guy routinely pulled off a version of pillow talk that would make a lesser man blush. Like on the album’s opener “Bad Habits,” where he sings, “I want you to prove it to me in the nude” and it sounded like he was doing you a solid.

Source: MySpaceMusic

The year of 2009 is coming to a close in just 2 more weeks. And as those of you who follow The Latest Maxwell News know, this has been an incredible year for the artist Maxwell. The relaunching of the second half of his music career, tons of concert dates with a very talented band, loads of award nominations, more specifically 6 Grammy nominations at one time, you name it. All of those things were amazing in themselves but there were a few occurrences over this past year that were standouts for LMN. Check them out below, not in any specific order.

(1) 6 Grammy Nominations
A great achievement for an artist who took off nearly 10 years. The artist has always been nominated for Grammy’s having previously garnered 6 over the first half of his career. But to receive 6 at one time and be amongst the top recording of artists of the year is a feat within itself. Of course, the talent (singing, songwriting, engineering, etc.) got the artist a long way but the interest by those who adore the music, also played a significant role in the nominations. Not only is this an achievement for the artist and those involved with making the music but also, those who support the music.

(2) August 05, 2009
The world wide web premiere of the BAD HABITS video featuring Kerry Washington via Steve Harvey’s website. This event actually crashed the popular comedian and morning show disc jockey’s website! The premiering of this video also serves as one of the biggest days for The Latest Maxwell News website.

(3) The Lady in My Life performance
December 03, 2009, Maxwell’s performance during the Grammy Nominations Concert “Live” aired. Maxwell gave a pretty great performance putting his own personal spin (a la back rubs and toe-nail painting) on the beloved song by the king of pop, Michael Jackson. But what stands out the most for LMN, was Keyon Harrold (trumpet), Suanders Sermons (trombone), Kenneth Whalum III (saxophone) and LaTina Webb on background. The background paid a great compliment to the song and serves as a treat when listening to it.  |  [Maxwell - The Lady in My Life.mp3 (audio) download]

(4) Trending Topic on Twitter
June 28, 2009, the same day, Maxwell’s performance of PRETTY WINGS on the BET Awards aired. The artist “maxwell” also was a trending topic on Twitter. If you are on twitter, you know there has to be a massive amount of people speaking about the same thing for it to hit the trending topic. The 28th of June marked the first time this occurred, 3 times for good luck. Though LMN did not catch this, it is said “maxwell” trended a second time on the 3rd of December. Hint: If Maxwell is nationally ‘onthetube’ in the coming years, make sure you let twitter know by doing variations of the following #maxwell, Maxwell, MAXWELL, etc. Just a suggestion…

(5) Maxwell interviews with David Nathan (soulmusic.com) & Gary Spence (Soulchoonz.com)
These 2 interviews are a couple of great ones that many of those who frequent LMN enjoyed. You get to see a bit of a different side to the artist. Both interviews seem to come from a very honest and genuine place. In the David Nathan interview, Maxwell speaks about his musical knowledge which is quite refreshing. And in the Gary Spence interview, Maxwell reveals a little more about himself growing up.

(6) Top 25 MAXWELL series making Maxwell’s official website
In mid-October, Maxwell’s official website (musze.com) linked to The Latest Maxwell News [warm smile] image. Again, special thank you to those who run the website for doing that. Top 25 Maxwell series is something that was created on LMN in the year of 2009, which means that it solely belonged to LMN. It took hard work to put each segment together based on facts about Maxwell to gain recognition is a wonderful achievement. Thank you to the Jenn and ‘Meesha for helping to construct Top 25 MAXWELL: Reasons Why He Should Win ANY Award.

(7) April 28, 2009
This was a busy day for Maxwell and those who support his music. It seems that news about the release of Pretty Wings, as well as the BLACKsummers’night press conference and more, just exploded all over the internet. The date serves as the kicking off of the return of Maxwell.

(8) Help Somebody page on The Latest Maxwell News
This page features and will feature many charities and organizations that Maxwell will mentions over the next few years. There are several really great ones on the site now. Make sure you check them out and if you feel the need to give then please do so. To date, the remix of this song featuring rapper Nas is not available for purchase but it can be heard on the internet.

(9) Comments on the website
It is a pure joy to read the comments on this website. It helps tremendously in knowing where everyone’s thoughts, feelings, concert experiences, and so on concerning the artist and sometimes, the man. Definitely continue to stop by and leave a comment.

This has been a tremendously wonderful year for MAXWELL in music. After being away for almost a decade, he came back with a bang and everyone took notice. Below are several Billboard listings of their picks for 2009 Year-End and Best of 2000′s charts. Congrats to the artist, his band members and those involved with making the music.

BEST OF 2009:

______

BEST OF THE 2000s:

______
Sources: Billboard, Music Fascination

PRETTY WINGS

Whether the lists are focusing on R&B songs, love songs or just songs in general, one thing is for sure, Pretty Wings is a song to remember not only for the close of 2009 but for the ending of the 200s. Below are a few lists Pretty Wings has graced, along with the Pretty Wings music video.

3 ) -”Pretty Wings” by Maxwell
I love, love, love this one. You can’t go wrong with Maxwell’s sexy, soulful, soothing voice. It’s the classic if you love someone set them free. He sets her free so she can fly. He also reveals that he wasn’t the greatest man to her singing he should’ve given her better nights and days. “Let love set you free to flap your pretty wings and fly” by Christina Porcelli Top 10 Love Songs of 2009 | Associated Content

8 ) -Maxwell: ‘Pretty Wings’
This top R&B song from 2009 is about how Maxwell’s last relationship ended; he left so he could be free to find someone new to love. The song was a hit, peaking No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs chart and earning a 2010 Grammy nomination for Song of the Year by Boonsri Dickinson Top R&B Songs of 2009 | AOL Radio

3 )- “Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
A luscious, bittersweet ballad that was the perfect re-entry for Maxwell after an eight-year layoff by Nekesa Mumbi Moody | Associated Press

Sources: Billboard, Maxwell (vevo), Associated Press, AOL Radio, Associated Content

Walk in AIDS Patients’ Shoes
By Maxwell, Special to CNN
December 1, 2009 8:15 a.m. EST

Editor’s note: On his current tour, R&B singer Maxwell is highlighting the impact of antiretroviral medication in fighting HIV-AIDS.

(CNN) — Among the many blessings I’ve encountered in several years in the music business is the ability to use my voice to raise awareness for issues and to help others.

My greatest joy is in expressing compassion for others. It’s so important to take time away from your own circumstances and try to walk in someone else’s shoes or see the world through someone else’s eyes.

As part of CNN’s Heroes event last week, I got to see some of the most supreme examples of this from around the world. Tuesday is World AIDS Day, and I encourage all of us to put ourselves in the shoes of those battling this disease and especially consider some of the parts of our global community that are hardest hit.

Consider this: in many countries in Africa, AIDS is the leading cause of death. This is a preventable, treatable disease, but still of the 33 million people living with this disease globally, 22 million are in Africa, and it continues to kill 3,800 people a day on that continent. But the more important thing we should consider is that this is not hopeless. There is something that can be done, and there is a way to do it.

Read More

As I stated last year, becoming aware through educating ourselves of what the disease is, represents the first step we must all take in fighting against the epidemic. True. But, we must also educate each other of what the disease is; We owe it to ourselves and to our fellow brothers and sisters to lend a helping hand. No good deed is too small. You never know who’s life you might be saving by educating and spreading knowledge.

“…Our voices can make a difference.”
Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

Learn how you can help – worldaidsday.org (statistics) | worldaidscampaign.org | joinred.com | unaids.org | aids.gov | nat.org

Via twitter, MAXWELL hinted to #RED surprises. Check out his official website.

Chandra Edwards
Long Wu
Heidi Becker
Ryan Ginnetty
Laura Fernandes

Congrats to them! If you entered the contest and didn’t win, there is always next time for contests on The Latest Maxwell News.

Source: @_MAXWELL_ on twitter

Source: PBS.org

Update: If you missed MAXWELL’s interview on Tavis Smiley check it out at Honeysoul.com or click here

NOTE: TV Alert has been replaced with OnTheTube. OnTheTube will serve as notice of any upcoming television appearances and will also house any video footage of that program.