Spring is in the air... Finally : ) For those of you who live on the east coast can I get an amen (AMMMMEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN!!!).

No more snow banks for me, hehe! What is happening in the world of Jully... What isn't happening is the question. I know I have loyal readers who are probably a little cheesed that your girl hasn't checked in for almost two weeks. I'm not a routine "Blogger" and really only write when my spirit tells me to. No I'm not on some "Ghost Whisperer' type stuff : ) I'm just in tune with my inner voice... Okay enough about that I'm boring myself.

So is it me or are there pregnant women EVERYWHERE??? My Esthetician Mary things that my Maternal clock is ticking real loud as I seem to be noticing baby bumps EVERYWHERE... No Babies anytime soon for me, I got THANGS TO TAKE CARE OF. As a Matter of fact just yesterday my Mom TOLD my boyfriend that he has to get all that stuff poppin in her words "Not Before three years"... and then proceeds to tell my "You still my little baby". That's so funny to me that my Mom and I have such an open relationship. She use to tear my bootay up when I was little (I was a bit of a hand full and Mom is OLD SCHOOL!). We don't actually talk about sex BUT we talk about issues pertaining to sex... Especially when it comes to my 19 year old Niece and 20 year old Nephew. I've had to step in and have those "Talks" so Mom doesn't have a heart attack. Lord knows what parenthood is gonna be like by the time I'm a Mother... The kids have WAY more access to the Madness then we did courtesy of the good ole www.

A HUGE congratulations to my Girl Rakiya Diggs who got proposed to last weekend!!!!! Yep, her man Andre Bowman did the damn thang : ) My older Niece Marcia is about to have her baby this weekend. a few women on the Canadian Idol Team are having Babies, Another friend of Mine In LA is having her baby Shower This weekend... My GOD what are they putting in the water : ) Just kidding, babies are total blessings no matter the circumstance as only god brings life. Sadly there are more women who cannot conceive then those who can so ladies when you are complaining about how tired you are, or stretch marks, or the weight you wanna lose, just remember there are women who would LOVE to trade places with you who have been trying and trying to get pregnant. Okay that's my "Oprah" Moment... What else is happening.

My Record REVIVAL is still doing well and is so available for you all to pick up and pay it forward. Looks like were gonna drop another single soon, YAY! Or at least were are shooting another video. Email me and let me know what song you think should be the next single dearjullyblack@gmail.com. I love every song on my record so it really wouldn't matter to me. : )

Well, it's almost time to get ready to start my day. I'm spending the week in Atlanta relaxing before my rehearsals start for my tour. My Eldest sister and Brother will be flying in to see my play at DANFORTH MUSIC HALL In toronto. Oddly enough it will be the first time they'll see me play with my band... Long but beautiful story... I'm thinking of inviting my father also... EmmmHmmm chile, It's a love thang baby : )

Off to get ready to start my day. Sleep is the cousin of death so Get yo Ass up!

Big Smooches,

JB

Hey Fam,

Man I'm feeling so much better now that I got to spend some time with my Mom. I'm such a Mama's Girl : ) She cooked Curry Goat , Rice & Peas and String Beans today...Emmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Then she Baked a Pound Cake and Broke out the Vanilla Ice Cream!!! NOT A GOOD LOOK WHEN YOU'RE TRAINING FOR A MAGAZINE COVER SHOOT... BUT I'm a huge advocate of "If you're gonna eat it then earn it so I'm not worried. I train SUPER HARD during the week. My Niece and I chilled watching "Girlicious" (Don't ask me why) and ate our treats then fell asleep on the couch. Of course our Dog Tymbo had to join us. He's so cute. Mom gets so jealous when Tymbo cuddles with me. It's cute though. Tymbo will always know me as his "Mom" even though he doesn't live with me and I only see him once a week if I'm lucky. But he keeps Mom SUPER young. She walks him and has someone there with her all the time. Mom looks young BUT she's bout to be 72 years old. My getting older is the main reason why I would want to be a Mom in the next 3 years or so. I want my Child or Children to have lots of time with Grandma. Okay... Enough about that : )

Even though before that I was PISSED when I got pulled over by the Po-Po... I'm fighting this one fo' sho'!

My Boyfriend called and simply said "Are you gonna let him steal your joy" and I instantly felt better : ) I know how Girly am I right now. Who cares, I'm embracing all this happiness, drinking it up and sharing it with whomever wants to listen. The only problem with being in love is I have to relive past issues (Yeah broken hearts and stuff...) in order to write a well rounded record. I can't have all my songs be total Cotton Candy... Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Even though my baby REVIVAL is only 6 months old, I'm feeling the need to start writing again. I actually started writing down song titles that I hope will jump start the writing. I'm a clutch writer so we'll see if this so called strategy works : )

Well I'm ready to have a wonderful week. Remember you gotta name it then Claim it! THIS WEEK WILL BE FILLED WITH MORE BLESSINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND COMPARE.

Off to bed so I can hit the ole Treadmill nice and early. I may go to Moksha Yoga also. That was the best part of the Juno Swag Bag... To me... A one year FREE Membership to Moksha Yoga! My Athletic self needs a good stretch. Plus it's HOT Yoga so you sweat out the toxins etc. I've been training for so long that I welcome the opportunity to flip it up so I don't get bored.

Okay I'm really off to bed.

Oh yeah, I guess you heard I'm the newest cast member on Canadian Idol... I'M THE THE MUSICAL MAVEN BABY!
It's simply defined as "A person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert".
My expertise is knowing how to be the BEST Jully Black I can be and so I welcome the opportunity to encourage the competitors to be the best "Them" that they can be. Period. I wish I had someone to mentor me when I first decided to become professional singer/songwriter but then again had I not taken the long road I wouldn't be able to pay it forward now... So it all works out no matter what : )

Okay For real this time, Good Night.


Smooches,

JB

So your girl Won the 2008 Juno Award for RnB/Soul Recording of the year!!!! No more "Jully Lucci".

All day Saturday (The night my award was presented) I had MAJOR butterflies. When they announced my Category I damn near had a heart attack. My Manager Sandy was worried about me and made me take a sip of water and I was practically hyperventilating... I didn't think I would be so shook up but in hindsight think it was my ego and pride that had me afraid to once again be let down... I decided that no matter what happened on both nights, the performance was the biggest trophy I could ask for. So I win...The walk to the podium felt at least 10 minutes long...I get up there and said what poured outta my heart. Period. I was beating myself up for forgetting some names but finally after two days of thought I had to just let it go. Everyone who knows me well enough knows that I wouldn't intentionally forget them. My god, this year marks TEN years since I released my first solo single so I think you all understand that I just drew a blank in trying to hurry. Please accept my dearest apologies if you were one of the people I forgot to mention.

From Fan Fare to the Gala, to the actual Award Show to the Etalk Lounge to the Various After Parties I had more fun then I've ever had in my life. So with that came the ultimate LOW today... It's crazy. I'm not trying to come across as a suck or anything I just realized that it's time to dream a new dream and being that I live so much in the now, I find it hard to bask in my weekend glory days later. That was a mouth full... The best part of this past weekend was making my Mom SUPER proud and proving that Jane & Finch can be positively represented no matter what the news may say. Etalks Monday night Juno Show had be bawling ALL DAY. To think that I am loved that much is unbelievable. I can't thank Jordan Schwartz, Morley Nirenberg and my entire etalk fam enough for all of their love and support of me and my music. They took the time to record my Mother and family sending me love and support even though they could not attend and I just lost it. Everything I do is for them. My niece and nephew are the children of my Sister Sharon who passed away and to see them all grown up telling me that they are proud of me confirms that I set a good example for them. I couldn't get into some of the trouble my friends got into when I was growing up as I had the responsibility to lead by example for my niece and nephew. My Mother raised them as well as all of my siblings and NEVER complained. And we NEVER went without. Writing this brings me to tears as I'm just so happy that my Mother is around to see her last child and her grand-children grow up and do well. My Mother will be 72 years old next month so it's extra special for me to have her actively take part in things that are happening in my life. She raised me in Jane & Finch and it was her Good Ole General Motors Job that Guaranteed that we wouldn't have to go without. I still have so much I need to do for her and will. As long as there is life there is time-Jully Black.


So here I am at 2am watching the Etalk repeat as I didn't realize that the Announcement was being made today that I am the newest member of the Idol Cast. Another HUGE milestone. To me I am just a vessel that has been chosen to provide a sense of hope and to inspire others to dream big. Especially inner city youth. With that responsibility comes a bit of self inflicted pressure. I will admit that I finally don't feel that I'm chasing a dream anymore... Now I just name it, do the work, then claim it.

I claim tomorrow to be a happy day full of positive energy, love, light and great news...

I better go to bed. I lost my voice after a weekend of talking over loud music. It's almost back, thank god. That's a scary feeling..

Oh, how awesome was Russell Peters as a host! We've known each other for many, many years so it was quite a historic moment in Canadian Television to have a brown man and a Black Woman Close the Biggest show of the year! That's what being apart of the solution is all about. Forget harping on the problems. That will only make life pass you by. The solution is where it's at!

BIg Smooches,

JB

Hey Fam,,

your girl is having a BLAST in Calgary (I came out early to do two speeches. One for the Cantos Music Foundation and the other for Ernerst Morrow Middle school in support of MusiCan). Both went EXTREMELY well. I'm always so humbled with the response I get when I do these presentations. I guess it's time to admit that my popularity has risen and is still rising quite a bit : )
Yeah I'm in denial I guess. Not in a bad way though. I just feel like the same girl that I've always been. I have the same friends from my past (well the ones that are secure with who they are) plus a gang of other normal things. I think thats what keeps me grounded... Oh, shout outs to the Calgary Metro for making me there cover girl today! It's so funny but amazing to see my face in a gang of boxes all over the city. The headline read, "J'UNO JULLY". Cute!

If you're ever in Calgary you gotta check out this amazing yoga studio called "Bodhi Yoga Tree" http://www.bodhitreeyoga.ca/ OH MY GOODNESS what an AWESOME place! Saidah and I took a 60 minute class yesterday and just fell in love with Allies class. We went back today and did the 90 Minute Hot Yoga Class. Oh yesterdays was hot also. TALK ABOUT SWEAT OF MORE THEN YOUR BROW : )

The Junos are gonna be so on and popping thing year. First of all the hotel arts is DA BOMB! My entire team will be here tomorrow including my boo ( Yes I have a new boo people!). I'm so grateful that my record company Universal Music Canada and My Management Pandyamonium Artist management (Sandy Pandya and Michael Gorman) worked together to make this weekend be a total dream come true for me before even winning my awards... Yes I said Awards people, your girl is trying to use the power of positive thinking to bring home the trophies : )

I'm playing with an eleven piece band (Andre, Rakiya, Andrew, YoungPete, Trent, Vince, Rj, Saidah, Dshon, Miku and ME!) ... My glam squad will be here (Shauna, Ryan and Papa). My childhood friend and Choreographer Luther Brown will be here (we've been friends since grade three!). My Monitor Guy and new friend Matt "Sully" will be here. Word is my good friend Erika Savage will be flying in from LA. My Good Friend and Publisher Vivian Barclay will be here... PLUS my Etalk fam is in da house! The party is a bout to be so on and poppin! It pays to keep talented friends in your life as we never feel like were working cause we have so much fun!

I've been training hardcore over the past few weeks so I'm ready to rock the red carpet BIG TIME. Bottom line is I'm choosing to JUST HAVE FUN...PERIOD! I'm in the perfect mindset where things just don't bother me anymore. Especially things that are totally out of my control.

Well, I'm about to head up to my room and have an early night. I may as well make use of the extra two hours I gained coming from Toronto to Calgary.

I'll try to check in as much I can. Keep sending those positive vibrations my way. I can feel them : )

Big Smooches,

Jully B.