Aaliyah Plans To Wrap Next Album By Summer


R&B singer/actress Aaliyah plans to huddle in the studio during the next few weeks with producer Timbaland, who helmed her "Try Again" (RealAudio excerpt) single, which is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

"The album's coming," Aaliyah told the MTV Radio Network backstage at the MTV Movie Awards. "I'm gonna finish it up hopefully by the end of the summer, so it can be released later this year, maybe like in December."

Timbaland will produce most of the still-untitled album, but Aaliyah said that Irv Gotti will produce at least one song. Gotti produced "Come Back in One Piece," Aaliyah's duet with DMX on the "Romeo Must Die" soundtrack.

She also expressed her desire to work with Wyclef Jean and D'Angelo. "We have a lot of new producers on our camp, so there will be a lot of new flavor, too," Aaliyah said.

Meanwhile, Variety reported that the singer/actress, who made her film debut in "Romeo Must Die," is being considered for the lead in a remake of the 1976 film "Sparkle."

"Sparkle," which starred Irene Cara and Philip Michael Thomas, told the story of a singing group formed by three sisters in Harlem, N.Y., in the 1960s. Singer Whitney Houston will serve as one of the co-producers of the new film, which will be handled by her BrownHouse Production Company.

The next single to be released from the "Romeo Must Die" soundtrack, which has sold more than 870,000 copies, according to SoundScan, will be "Come Back in One Piece" (RealAudio excerpt). A video for the track is already in rotation.

No comments: