Time for my annual BET Awards review! I actually worked half the night to get it ready for the morning, but have a lot more to do before I leave for CANADA in a few days!

Of course, the night kicked off with the Pre-Show, which everyone always has playing in the background as they finish up some last minute things before the actual show starts. However, I actually watched mostly due to Adrienne Bailon who co-shosted with Shad Moss (formerly known as Bow Wow), Keshia Chante, and Lloyd Boston. As a blogger trying to get to the next level, I always like to watch people interview others, and their dynamics back and forth, and I thought Adrienne did a great job. Which is why I'll be watching The Real this fall!

Pharrell opened the show with "Come Get It Bae," but no Miley Cyrus folks! He then brought Missy Elliott who mixed "Pass That Dutch," with the song. It was great to see her pop up, and I'm hoping she comes back with more music soon. I, for one, was very glad that Pharrell didn't perform "Happy!" I really like the song, and give him his credit for killing it, but it's gone on long enough.


Chris Rock then came out with energy, cracking jokes! Everyone wants to make the Kevin Hart/Chris Rock comparison, but I say just let him be great and do his thing. And he did a great job! I can think of quite a few hosts that were lackluster in taking on the show, so Chris definitely did well.

Gabrielle Union and Regina Hall presented the award of Best New Artist to August Alsina. Personally, I would have rather seen Ariana Grande or Mack Wilds win, but whatever. His attitude really turns me off from his music, personally. I couldn't even take him seriously up there crying, not because I wouldn't give it to him crying for receiving a BET award (that's a big deal to many artists), but because it seemed fake to me. However, congrats to him, I guess. Lil Wayne then performed "Krazy," off his upcoming album, Carter V, as well as "Believe Me." I don't really listen to him much, but it was a pretty good performance.

Nick Cannon and Zendaya presented the award for Best Gospel Artist to Tamela Mann, who is an incredible gospel artist and seems like such a nice person! Eva Marcille and Terrence J presented the award for Best Actress to Lupita N'yongo for her role in 12 Years a Slave! John Legend performed "You and I (Nobody in the World)," which is so calming and beautiful, and then brought out Jhene Aiko who performed her hit, "The Worst," to an acoustic sound. This girl has had such a MAJOR come up over the recent years. She seemed nervous, but I truly believe her lyrics are what sets her apart from some of her other female counterparts in the game. Because I remember listening to her music when I was 11, 12, I can respect where she is now in her career!

Mike Tyson and Gary Owens presented the award to Best Male Hip Hop Artist to Drake, who Tyga came out to do his first for Chris Brown's "Loyal," with a special drum solo from Travis Barker. Chris did a little dancing, but he still has his jail/stress weight on him, so it wasn't the same. I like the weight on him some, but he needs to lean up a little to be able to get back to where he was. It was good to see him back, though! Chris, to me, is and always will be a talented artist, so I hope he does better with himself in the future.
wasn't there, but kudos to him. Weezy and

Chris Rock did a great segment, going out to a monster truck rally and asking white people questions about BET and the artists featured. It was definitely the funniest moment of the night!  Common presented one of the newest Music Matters artists, Gabi Wilson, who plays five instruments, and came out playing electric guitar and piano. So talented, and she's only 17! My only issue with BET and these artists is that I feel like they should give these artists their chance to really shine, not just featuring them for 30 seconds and cutting them off! I would rather see a few of them at maybe even the pre-show than some other artists! That would give them a chance to really showcase their music and skills! Just a though.

Usher then came out with a short medley with some of his great hits, and then went off into "Good Kisser," which is my song! It was one of the greatest performances of the night to me! He had so much energy, and the throwbacks like "You Don't Have To Call," "Confessions," and "U Remind Me," brought me back my childhood. So much fun!

Kerry Washington presenting the Video of the Year award, when Kevin Hart came out interrupting comedically with his character Oliver Pope! The Video of the Year was presented to Pharrell for "Happy," of course, but shout out to Beyoncé to being nominated twice in the same category for "Partition" and "Drunk in Love!" Kevin Durant and Serena Williams also won the Subway Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year.

Jennifer Hudson came out looking great performing "Walk It Out." The song hasn't caught on to me yet, but she looked great! She also performed a new song, "It's Your World," which was really fun and actually better than "Walk It Out," so it was great to see. DeSean Jackson and Boris Kudjoe, as well as Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge presented the award for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist to Pharrell! We also got a glimpse into the upcoming film Beyond The Lights, starring Nate Parker and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, which tells the story of a troubled singer who finds love and herself in the process. It looks like it'll be a great story!

Back to Chris Rock's shenanigans and jokes. He decides, to top Ellen at the Oscars passing out pizza, that it would be great to give out Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles! It was funny (though some found it stereotypical). Nicki Minaj then came out on a stopped motorcycle performing a bit of her first verse of "Chiraq," and then going into "Pills and Potions," with American Idol's Burnell Taylor. I love the song, but that Alice in Wonderland theme? Not so much. The video itself for the song is kind of weird too, so I guess it was only to be expected. The mushrooms and that Easter bunny was distracting, though.

Keyshia Cole presented the next Music Matters artist, Adrian Marcel, who will be touring with Keyshia this summer. Again, another great artist cut off too soon. Larenz Tate also shined the light on Denzel Thomas of Philadelphia and Chicago's Tim Cane, who have both made a huge impact in their cities with their individual initiatives. Always great to see that. Then August Alsina hit the stage performing "Kissin' On My Tattoos," and "I Luv This S**t" with an aerial silk acrobatic performer behind him. Trey Songz even came out and sang his part on the remix, I guess officially squashing that stupid beef between them, and then Chris Brown came back out too! Though I'm not a fan of August really, I will give it to him that he's a good singer, and I might even buy a few of his songs later. It was good to see all of them come together. Trey then went into his own set, performing "Nana."

Pharrell then presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to the honorary for the night, Lionel Richie for his solo work and work with the Commodores, selling over 100 million albums in his career. John Legend performed "Hello" and "Still." Ledisi then came out performing "Brick House," with a lot of energy and fun! Yolanda Adams also sang "Jesus Is Love," which was INCREDIBLE! Lionel accepted his award, giving some inspirational words to upcoming artists and to all of of us really, saying, "Soul is a feeling, not a color. Talent is a God-given gift, and not a category. And 'out of the box' is that magical place where true talent goes to live and thrive and breathe." After accepting his award, Lionel came out and performed himself, singing "Easy Like Sunday Morning," and "All Night Long," giving a great performance!

T.I. came out with Iggy Izalea performing "No Mediocre," and then Iggy went into "Fancy." I was just madChadrick Boseman then came out, giving the award to Best Group to Young Money (which was a mess, but I won't go there), and giving a first glance into Get On Up, the official biopic for James Brown! Shad Moss, Keshia Chante, and the Instastar winner, Rodney, presented the BET Viewers Choice Award to August Alsina for "I Luv This S**t," which I believe was somebody cheating personally. I can give credit where it's due, but there is NO WAY that, even if it did beat Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love," that it beat Pharrell's "Happy." Somebody rigged that some kind of way.
that Iggy's mike wasn't turned up, and made it seem like she was lip syncing.

BET then came out with a great surprise, doing a 90s flashback, reunited some great groups. Troop came out to perform "All I Do Is Think of You," Color Me Badd with "Sex You Up," and Silk with "Freak U!" It was fun!

In a special move, we reflected on how this summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The CEO of BET, Ms. Debra Lee, gave the Humanitarian Award to our ancestors for their labor and persistence, giving the physical award to Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist and widow of Medgar Evers. As she accepted the award and spoke, I had a powerful reflection. Just yesterday, my sister and I went down to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (I've been, but she had never gone). We talked about the strength it took those people involved in the movement to fight for the rights we have today, and how we have to honor their legacy by being all that we can with dignity and grace. Many of us get that, but a good part of us don't. Phylicia Rashad gave an excellence speech, honoring Dr. Maya Angelou and Ruby Dee who we recently lost, as well as Bobby Womack and others in the past year that have passed on. Tyrese was going into a rendition of "If You Think You're Lonely Now," but  it was cut off.

Robin Thicke then came back with his song, "Forever Love," yet another desperate attempt to get Paula Patton back. Now, I don't know what actions he's doing behind the scenes to save his marriage, but it seems to me all of these public appearances and songs aren't going to cut it! He needs to actually PROVE that he's changing and can be the man that Paula wants. I'm sure she's used to him singing his heart out, and maybe that worked once upon a time (I would swoon too if a man sang to me!). But now, it's getting old.

Floyd Mayweather then presented the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist to Nicki Minaj. NOW, I knew that Nicki was probably going to win, but it was nice to see Iggy Azalea nominated and know that she could've won, too. Then Nicki gets up on the stage, being overly dramatic, talking about how she writes her own music (throwing shade at maybe Iggy or some other rappers), and how won the award five years in a row. But let's be real Nicki. Literally for five years, I've been saying how you have been GIVEN this award EVERY. YEAR. The nominees every year have always been people no where close on her level, and no competition at all. That's like someone running uncontested in a race, and saying "Oh, look what I did!" I respect you as an artist, but humble yourself a little bit.

The night ended with a pre-recorded performance of "Partition" from Beyoncé with a special verse from Jay-Z from the On The Run tour! I literally got into a debate about it with my aunt. Point blank, BET did that for ratings and to keep people watching throughout the night. How do I know? Because half my timeline was so excited for it, and then was disappointed when they saw that it was a pre-recorded performance. I don't know how you DIDN'T know it would be pre-recorded. Bey and Jay JUST had a performance Saturday night in Cincinnati. Did you really think that they were flying to L.A. just to fly back out for the next performance?! Sure, BET could've done things differently, but that was THE NETWORK'S choice. And Bey and Jay STILL got paid. For a tape. I'm just saying.

Anyway, I had a good time watching, and an even better time interacting with people on Twitter, and looking at all the crazy memes! The show had its wack moments, but overall was pretty good! It's still my goal to be there one day, interviewing and working behind the scenes! I found out that a girl that used to go to my church was there working, and it motivated me all the more. During my vacation, I plan to refocus and figure out a plan to get to where I want to be. Always grateful for my progress, and now I'm ready to take it to another level!

Sound off on your opinions on the awards below!

Images via BET / Rap Up / Pop Crush / Getty
The Challenge: Free Agents finale was a tough one! Picking up from last week, Zach is still being
pulled by the current, but a rescue kayak finally reaches him and pulls him to safety! He and Devyn finally get back into the swing of it, trying to make up time on their kayak. Meanwhile, Laurel and Bananas keep on keeping on, completing the stage in 40 minutes. Nany and Johnny make it in about 45 minutes, while Devyn and Zach get there in about an hour.

Stage two is a 10K run and then the players have a puzzle to solve. The teams for this heat are Johnny and Laurel, Zach and Nany, and Devyn and Bananas. The run is the most grueling part, which takes a lot of people's energy, but everyone eventually makes it to the puzzle. The puzzles, which are made from old trees with city names printed on them, have to be stacked so that the cities are stacked from southern most to northern most. There is a 30 minute time limit. It's funny because most of them don't even know where half of these cities are! However, Devyn and Johnny figure out the best way to put the puzzle together is by putting the physical tree together. The time runs out for everyone except them, but it still doesn't give them much of a lead since they were the last to get there.


Stage three is a trail hike, and there will be a staggered start, with everyone starting 15 minutes apart. The teams are Zach and Laurel, Nany and Bananas, and Johnny and Devyn. They have to climb a freaking mountain, so they need harnesses to make it. The entire climb....is a mess. Devyn, of course, wears out easily. Nany starts freaking out when she sees a tarantula. Zach's whole body starts cramping up, and he wants to quit. Laurel tries to get him up, but he has to be rescued. Laurel doesn't care. At the end of the day, she wants to win, so she starts getting frustrated with him. Bananas pushes Nany to get the lead up on Laurel, and they eventually pass the two, making it up the mountain first.

Once all of the players finally get up the mountain, T.J. informs them that from here on out, they are all playing as individuals. It's nighttime by this time, but they have another stage before they can sleep. Stage 4 is the volcano bike. They have to bike 25 miles on a stationary bike. Bananas makes it first in an hour, and goes to get some sleep. Nany is over this day, and starts complaining, getting off her bike and having a meltdown. She eventually finishes, though. One by one, everyone does, except for Devyn  who gets left in the dust. Even though she hears the rest of the players obviously teasing her and laughing, she keeps going in the cold. At that point, I really respected her as a player. She's not the fastest or the best in these competitions. We all know that, even she does. However. she's not going to quit, and I respect her for that!

The competitors don't get much sleep, as T.J. wakes them up just a few hours later for the final stage. They have to climb a volcano, and touch the flag at the top. When the time is calculated, the winners will be announced. The only thing is it's cold and there's snow. The air gets thin, and it gets hard to breathe. It's a rough climb for everybody. Johnny makes it up the volcano first, but it doesn't mean that he's automatically the winner, with Bananas right behind him. Laurel and Nany finally make it up there, too. Devyn has a small breakdown, not knowing if she's going to be able to make it to the top, even though she wants to. She pushes herself though, and makes it to the top! They work to get down the mountain to find out who won.

T.J. gives a special shoutout to Devyn who took third place winning $15,000. She was more so worried about finishing this hard final, than winning. Zach also comes in third. T.J. announces that the first place winner is Bananas (who wins for the record breaking fifth time) the winner for the girls is Laurel, who beats Nany by nine minutes (some of which I'm sure were those minutes she used up complaining about the bike!). However, second place ain't bad with $35,000 each for both Nany and Johnny.

All in all, this was a GREAT season of The Challenge! I really liked this format, because people had to rely more on themselves than other people to get through. I'm sure MTV will keep it, because it really shook things up. Can't wait to see what they have in store for the next season!
Hollywood Exes has definitely been really good this season! Picking up from last episode (there wasn't a new episode last week because of I Love The 2000s), the ladies are still in Hawaii living it up! The next morning, Sheree wakes up to find all of the writing on her from her drunken night! It was so funny, as the girls talk about everything they wrote. At that moment, Drea comes in, and has to hurry to get changed since the ladies plan to ride ATVs. One the way there, she reveals that she had a breakdown with the wedding plans, which is literally happening in a few weeks. She invites all of them to be bridesmaids, minus Shanna, who takes it in stride since she’s new to the group. It’s a little late in the game to be asking though! Mayte has her own issues as well, with Humberto who’s giving her somewhat of the silent treatment. The ladies eventually crack jokes, and Andrea says out loud that it's a lot more fun that Jessica isn't here. The first of many digs at Jessica throughout the episode.


The ladies finally get to the ATV trail. Everything is dirty, and the girls have to wear helmets, shoes, and bandanas. When someone asks if there are donkeys on the trail, Shanna makes a dig of her own, saying, “We have one at home. Her name is Jessica.” The rest of the ladies laugh, while Nicole looks uncomfortable. It was clear to me in that moment, that Shanna is really trying hard to fit in with these girls, and will go along with the flow to do it. When they get on the trail, Nicole and Sheree book it, as do Mayte and Shanna. However, Drea and Shamicka take their nice slow, Driving Miss Daisy time. It looked like they had a fun time, though.

That night, the ladies go to Morimoto for dinner. Humberto texts Mayte saying that he's been trying to talk to her. He apparently threatened to break up with her, and she didn't like that at all. The ladies advise her to fight for the man she loves, and make it work. Andrea brings up the fight between Brian and Tony, which was crazy. Andrea really wants Tony to see that he’s not losing her as a sister. He’s just gaining a brother in Brian, but Tony, of course, doesn’t see it that way. However, all in all, she is more worried about the wedding. As I watched, I thought how crazy how Andrea and Brian are getting married so quickly, yet Nicole and her fiancé Michael still haven’t taken that walk. Jessica's name is brought up yet again, and everybody talks about how Jessica is so fake. This situation is really bringing out the ugly in people, especially Drea. It's uncomfortable for Nicole, because she still considers Jessica a friend.

The next day, the ladies go paddleboarding. Andrea reveals that she almost drowned when she was younger, so she is petrified. However, the ladies finally get her out into the water, but when a wave hits her, she makes her way back to the beach. The rest of the ladies do yoga moves on the board, which is cool, but it's not for me. Sheree and Drea have drinks instead, and just talk. Sheree admits that she has to talk to Terrell about stepping down from leading the Women's Ministry. She's prayed about it, and doesn't believe that it's her true calling. She's afraid that it might affect her marriage, though.

Later, Nicole and Sheree walk the beach to talk about Jessica. Nicole is over everybody bashing her, and is irritated. Sheree thinks it’s probably best that Jessica didn't come. Maybe the rest of the ladies all needed to come together and just express their feelings about the whole thing. Jessica needs to accept responsibility for what she did, and try to make amends. However, Sheree also thinks there needs to be some type of forgiveness and closure, even if Jessica isn’t friends with the other ladies anymore.

Nicole then goes to talk to Shamicka about it. Shamicka's not forgiving ANYTHING. She feels like Jessica did this to herself. Shamicka was called a hood rat by the girl TWICE, so I get where she's coming from. She gets emotional because she doesn't like being put into a box like that, and doesn’t want to have Jessica in her life. I think what irritates everyone the most is that Jessica doesn't seem to be trying to put effort towards making things right. If I said something to offend my friends, I would apologize, and try my best not to do it anymore. So I get why a lot of the ladies are over her.

That night, the ladies go out to dinner, and talk about their fun they've had this weekend. Mayte talks again about Humberto, bringing up the fact that the distance is what hurts her the most. She needs affection, which is understandable. To make the night a little more fun, Shanna brings up the game "Screw, Marry, Kill," which the ladies all play with each other’s exes and current loves, and, eventually each other! It was all fun and games, and a good way to end the day.

The next morning, the ladies find out that they are all over the blogs from their trip on the beach. Some of the photos are nice, but others are TERRIBLE. Sheree gets a bad shot of her put next to a picture of Jada, while Drea gets a shot of her wedgie. It brings up the fact of how terrible and messy the media can be (and how I NEVER want to be as a writer). People are coming down more and more on Drea because she is going after R. Kelly for child support. The way I see it, a man should WANT to provide for his kids, especially when they’re accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Just because you and the mother aren’t together anymore, doesn’t mean that you just disappear from their lives. All of the ladies are used to getting called gold diggers, and people making assumptions about them. This is why I love this show. They all are truly friends, and all get each other.

On their last night, they have a nice dinner. Drea asks Sheree how she thinks Terrell will feel about her stepping down from the Women’s Ministry, which is news to the rest of the ladies. Sheree wants to pass that mantle and move on to something new. She’d rather do conferences for women to connect with and uplift each other. To lighten up the mood, Nicole tells all the ladies that they should play Truth or Dare. In a stupid move, Shanna asks Nicole to ask if Drea ever partook in "golden showers," which relates back to the R. Kelly incident years back. We went almost three seasons without anyone going there! Drea walks away upset, and Nicole and Shanna realize that it just went over their heads. Shanna said she heard it in a Macklemore song, not knowing what it was, but I find it reallyyyy interesting how it was Drea who got asked that question and not anyone else. Sheree and Mayte go to comfort her, where Drea reveals how hard it’s been because it had such a huge effect on her and her kids. She's mad at Robert for it, if anything, not Nicole and Shanna, but it was still upsetting. Just a bad way to end their last night in Hawaii.

Check out all new episodes of Hollywood Exes on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. only on VH1!
Working hard to feature a few different artists this week! As always, if you or someone you know, is an upcoming artist, producer, actor, etc., and are interested in a feature, please email me at BrittanyShawnte@gmail.com!

Today on The Spotlight, we have Brazilian singer Natalia Damini! This upcoming star has had her sights on music since she was only five years old. “I remember when I was singing, imagining a crowd of fans in front of me. That was so fun!” she said. “ I have been dreaming [about] this my whole life.” When she was 17, she met a DJ that was looking for a singer to put on his record. He only had music, and not any lyrics, so Natalia wrote the track, which became her first single “Feelin’ The Love.” “The people liked it and the DJs started sharing the song all over the country and outside, I had a demand for shows and that's how everything started,” the singer said. Natalia eventually left home for Sao Paulo alone, touring around Brazil to pursue her dream.

Inspired by legendary artists like Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Madonna, and Britney Spears, Natalia uses her music to truly express herself. “My songs are about my personal feelings, my experiences in life and my friends’ experiences too. I write about things that people can relate to,” the singer said. Throughout her career so far, the 22-year-old has toured all over Brazil, including in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and several other big cities. She collaborated with Lil Wayne and Rezzo on Rezzo’s song, “Can’t Stop Me,” as well, which happened because of her team Concore Entertainment and Charve The Don, along with Cash Money. “I was very excited to do that because Lil Wayne is one of my favorite rappers,” Natalia said of the track. “So when I got the record, I wrote my part. Lil Wayne and Cash Money loved the record.” She went on to say: “The lyrics of the song [are] very personal. You can’t let nobody stop you or stop your dreams, and sometimes the dreams might be everything you have.”

Most currently, Natalia has dropped her debut album, Beautiful, which was released in January 2014. The album, which reached #16 on iTunes Pop Music charts, features collabs from Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, the Shop Boyz, and more! “The basic concept of the album is about not outer beauty, but about being and feeling beautiful inside,” the singer said of the album. “We wanted to put a variety of music that everyone can relate to with great melodies and nice choruses.” Natalia said.

Already, the singer is working on a new album, which will be released later this year. She’s also working on a feature with Dream Kayris, and she will also be featured on the cover of Mr. Dreamz Magazine in their next issue. In terms of what separates her from other artists right now, the singer feels that her music and performances stand out the most. “I bring to [audiences] that energy they never felt before,” she said. Natalia wants her music to inspire and motivate people to reach their dreams, just like she is. In terms of her career, she is grateful to God for the success that she is having right now. “I feel very grateful that my music is so widely accepted, especially for being the first artist from Brazil having a major impact in America,” the singer said. In the future, she wants to tour worldwide in arenas and do great things to help people. Definitely a talented artist to be on the lookout for!

You can connect with Natalia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud!

Interview courtesy of Jeffrey Pollack/Thoroplated Productions and Charve the Don
We are almost at the very end of The Challenge: Free Agents, and I'm excited to see who's going to win! Picking up from last week, the elimination round is in motion! The players play Wrecking Wall, with each player having to punch and kick holes in a wall to make it to the top. CT claws and punches that wall with a vengeance! It's neck and neck between him and Leroy, but CT manages to make it to his bell first, sending Leroy home. Now Bananas might just have to deal with CT's revenge. Then comes time for the REAL battle! Unfortunately for Cara, the hurt hand is what really hurt her in the game, and Laurel blows past her. Laurel apologizes surprisingly at the end, but for Cara, the friendship can't be what it was.

After the losing players leave the arena, T.J. announces that the remaining players need to meet him at the airport, because they are going to the Andes Mountains! When they get there, it's absolutely beautiful , and the house is amazing too! They have a great view of the mountains, and there's even a smoking volcano! However the volcano is called "House of the Devil," so you just KNOW that it's about to go down in this final. Even though it's cool that they're switching up locations, this brings along a new challenge as well since no one knows what to expect.

The next morning, T.J. announces that there's only room for six people in this Final, and that there's going to be a Draw right here, right now. Two of the cards are blank, and two of them are Kill Cards. Obviously if you draw the Kill Card, you have to go into the elimination round. CRAZY! CT and Bananas end up having to battle it out, while Johnny the Rookie gets to go to the Final. Laurel and Theresa get the Kill Cards, while Devyn automatically gets to the Final, which is crazy. I love Devyn, but she skated past this entire challenge.

For the final elimination round, the players will play Puzzle Pyramid. Each player has to solve three puzzles to make it up their side of the pyramid. I'm not the biggest fan of Theresa, but I really can't stand Laurel, so she needs to go. Theresa begins to panic when Laurel moves ahead of her, but manages to catch up. However, Laurel eventually takes it and sends Theresa home. I still don't like Laurel, but I can't say she doesn't deserve to be there. It sucks for Theresa to make it that far, and then get sent home, though. Bananas glides through these puzzles and wins for the guys, sending CT home, which is crazy because he's normally very great at puzzles.

The final six players are Laurel, Nany, Devyn, Bananas, Johnny, and Zach. T.J. warns them that this Final will be the hardest thing they've ever done, and they should get some rest. Of course, they're all nervous about what's coming. Nany is bothered a little bit that Laurel is here, not necessarily because she's scared to face her, but because Laurel just prances around like she knows she's going to win. That should motivate Nany to go hard and do what she needs to do to possibly beat Laurel in the end.

That night, the competitors get a clue from T.J.: "I hope you are all ready for tomorrow, because it will be the hardest day of your lives." The next day, T.J. announces that the Final will have five stages, and for the first three, the players will be in guy-girl pairs. After every stage, you will trade partners. For stages four and five, you will be completely on your own. The guy and the girl with the fastest times wins $125,000. Second place gets $35,000, and third gets $15,000.  The first stage is a kayak race! The players have to get their oars from the middle of the water, come back to their kayaks, and race it to the finish line.

From the very start, Laurel and Bananas, who get teamed together of course, are KILLING it! Meanwhile, Devyn and Zach are going in circles, which frustrates Zach extremely, and Nany and Johnny end up going down the rapids backwards for quite a while! Devyn and Zach hit a rock and their kayak overturns. They both have to be rescued because their kayak is halfway downstream. While Devyn quickly makes it in the rescue boat, Zach gets swept up in the current, which is definitely scary! And, of course, that's how the episode ends. God only knows what's going to happen!

Check out the FINAL EPISODE of The Challenge: Free Agents this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET only on MTV!
Wow, FIVE YEARS! The Spotlight has hit a milestone people! I literally remember creating this blog like it was yesterday, bored during my internship and needing something to make myself busy. Little did I know that I would find my purpose that summer of 2009. I still can't believe it sometimes.

I'm not quite where I want to be, but the journey over these past five years has been remarkable. I've been able to network and form bonds with various people, grow in my skills, and write about what I love! It's a hard job balancing everything, and I still don't have it all down pat yet, but I'm growing every year, and I thank God for that. I thank Him that He showed me what I'm meant to do at such a young age, for giving me something that I'm truly passionate about, that motivates me to work hard every day.

Thank you all for the love shown, and the continued support of The Spotlight!
FINALLY CAUGHT UP! Still have a lot of spotlights to do as well, which is good. The work load is heavy, though so if you are interested in a volunteer writing position to build up your resume, email me! Trust me, there's plenty of great opportunities to create clips for your portfolio, including interviews with the up and coming!

Moving on to the topic at hand. We are nearing the end of The Challenge: Free Agents, so the game is gettingmore intense! Picking up from episode 9, Cara Maria went to the hospital for x-rays on her hand, and never returned. People are definitely worried that she’ll be eliminated. Laurel, who hasn’t been the best friend to Cara Maria lately, is confronted by CT and Johnny about it. When Cara returns with a cast on her hand, Laurel tries to talk to her, but Cara is over it. She says that she’s done with Laurel and walks away.

The players hit the beach for their challenge, where I was expecting T.J. to send Cara home like he did Frank when he got that nasty infection. However, he tells her that she can stay, but if she injures herself more then that’s on her (i.e., MTV will assume no legal responsibility if something goes wrong). The players play Crossover in male/ female pairs since it’s all even. They have to swim across the lagoon to a sand dune, dig up puzzle pieces, and swim with the pieces back to the shore where they have to put together a puzzle.

The players are mostly used to swimming in these challenges, but the real struggle comes when they realized that there’s a lot of mud they have to get through. Nany and Bananas manage to take the lead early in the game, but all of the teams eventually become neck and neck. Once they get their pieces, all of the teams have a hard time putting this puzzle together. However, Nany and Bananas manage to finish theirs first, winning the challenge.

Though the stress of the game has to be on people’s minds, the house goes out for drinks as always to burn off some steam. Cara Maria gets upset that Theresa is kissing up to Nany to stay away from elimination, believing that Theresa is a snake and will do just about anything to stay in the game. But we all knew that! I knew that when she let everybody else do her dirty work to vote Laurel into elimination some weeks back. No shocker that she’s now all up on Nany.

Nany and Bananas eventually deliberate who they will send in. Bananas talks with CT to try to make a deal with him to avoid putting him up for elimination, but CT’s not up for games. He keeps it simple: “Don’t say my name, and I won’t say yours.” However, Nany and Bananas do decide to vote in CT, as well as Cara Maria, which sends her off the deep end, going in on Theresa for basically campaigning for votes. It’s a part of the game, but to be this close to the end, you definitely don’t want to have to face an elimination round now! Johnny and CT try to comfort her and make sure she doesn’t quit, and she’s not. Good for her. Cara Maria is the underdog every challenge, and she manages to do pretty well.

Later that night, the house heads over to elimination, where it looks like the game is Wrecking Wall. This sucks for Cara with her hand messed up (or could it be a plus since she has the cast on her hand and can break through easier? I don’t know). In the Draw, Leroy and Laurel pull the Kill Card, and it’s ex-friends Laurel and Cara Maria against each other, which will be a good battle to watch! The episode ends on a cliffhanger, not knowing who will be sent home!

Check out all new episodes of The Challenge: Free Agents on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET only on MTV!

I WILL have these last two recaps done before tonight's episode of The Challenge: Free Agents! Picking up from episode 8, T.J. sends the house a clue, saying that they will have to “dig deep” at the next challenge! The house heads to sleep, and Jessica and Laurel even have a little slumber party! The calm before the storm, I guess!

The next day, T.J. introduces the teams to their next challenge, Dug Out, which they’ll be playing in teams of two, girls and guys. There is a maze dug out in the ground, and each player has to run through the maze to get their team’s balls from one stand to the other. However, the way the maze is set, they are bound to run into each other! The girls go first, and it’s crazy. Some people move really slow as to avoid running into people, like Laurel, which annoys Devyn to the max. In spite of it, Theresa and Nany end up taking the win for the girls. The guys’ round is a little more intense, and ultimately CT and Zach win. The four players are safe from elimination, and will vote one guy and one girl into the elimination round later.

When Theresa, Nany, CT, and Zach get back to the house, they automatically go into deliberation mode. The guys consider Cohutta for the guys, which definitely gets Nany concerned. She lets Cohutta know, and Cohutta tells her to do something about it. The house goes out to party the nigh away, and Theresa mentions to Leroy that he might be going up for elimination, but it’s like Leroy doesn’t even care. He doesn’t try to make a deal or talk his way out of anything. In the end though, Jessica and Cohutta are voted into elimination. The other losing players will be entered into the Draw before the competition. Jessica feels pretty calm about the whole thing, but Nany is worried about Cohutta possibly being eliminated.

At the elimination, Leroy and Cara Maria pull the Kill Card to face Cohutta and Jessica. The game of the night: Balls In, which is one of my favorites because it takes both strategy and physicality. Of course, the object is to get your ball into the center bin as the other player plays defense to try to block you. Each round, the players switch positions. The best out of five rounds wins. It’s a tough game for Jessica and Cara Maria, and surprisingly Jessica goes hard! However, Cara Maria finally wins, sending Jessica home. I didn’t leave unimpressed by Jessica, though. Who knew she had that in her?! Cohutta and Leroy then go head to head, and it’s hard to watch because Leroy is a huge giant, and Cohutta’s just a tiny little guy. Leroy wins three rounds straight, eliminating Cohutta from the game.

At the end of elimination, Cara finds out from the medic that her hand might be broken and she’ll need an x-ray. Of course, she gets emotional because if her hand is broken, she’s going to be sent home. That would definitely suck this close to the final!

Watch new episodes of The Challenge: Free Agents on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET only on MTV!

Image via MTV
Last recap of Hollywood Exes to catch up on (Now I have to get on Free Agents)! Picking up from episode 5  , Shanna goes to get airbrush laser liposuction to get a thigh gap (to each his own), with Mayte by her side to support her. In addition to this procedure, she wanted to get her breasts done, and maybe would have, had she not messed up her friendship with Jessica and can’t really go to Jessica’s ex-husband who does implants. Oh well. The liposuction itself goes well, though.


Meanwhile, Nicole is planning a trip to Hawaii, and everyone is invited—yes, even Jessica, which is sure to stir the pot. However, before she’s officially invited, Nicole wants to sit down with her. Jessica heads over to Nicole’s house to talk with her, as well as Sheree and Mayte again. They wanted her to know how they felt when they read that text, and for Jessica to offer up a sincere apology. However, that is not Jessica’s style. We all know that. She eventually runs away again, which would piss me off as a friend. Man up, admit what you said, and apologize. That’s it. It still doesn’t make it okay, but at least you acknowledge that you were in the wrong. Jessica doesn't seem capable of doing that.

Before the trip, Shanna speaks with her therapist about her intense fear of flying, which is understandable seeing as though her ex-husband Travis was in a terrible plane crash that almost took his life. However, after her session, she feels like she’ll be okay. The therapist advises her to take some valium, which she does, along with a few glasses of wine, which knocks her out during the flight to Hawaii with the ladies. Andrea ends up missing the first, running late, and takes a second one in. However, Jessica didn’t bother to show up at all, even after Nicole invited her over voicemail. I’m sure some of the ladies are happy about that. However, Nicole struggles because throughout her friendship with Jessica, Jessica has never shut her out like this, even during their roughest times.

When the ladies get to Hawaii, they arrive to a gorgeous house with plenty of room. However, Mayte’s relationship troubles with Humberto weigh heavy on her brain. She feels he’s been distant, and, of course, she wants to know why. See….this right here is why they need to wait on the kid front. They both need to work on their own issues before bringing another child into the equation. During their first night, the ladies drink, which results in First Lady Sheree getting drunk and sick and having to go to bed first. The rest of the ladies then decide to prank her, drawing over her face and chest! Fun times!

Check out new episodes of Hollywood Exes Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET only on VH1! 

Image via VH1
Catching up on Hollywood Exes! Hoping to finish these all today! Picking up from episode 4, Andrea and Sheree go out to taste cakes, and Sheree lets Drea know about the texts that Jessica sent. This obviously upsets Andrea, since she has, for one, always had Jessica’s back and has tried to be there and back her up on several different occasions! Though Jessica is known not to have a filter, this is too far!

Mayte herself wants to talk with Jessica first, before she gets too upset about the situation. However, to be honest, Jessica’s texts are the least of her worries right now. She’s trying to get pregnant with Humberto, and she still isn’t yet. Sheree herself thinks that Mayte should slow down a bit. She and Humberto just got together, even though they’ve been knowing each other for years. Plus, he doesn’t even live in L.A. right now. I know he’s planning to move there, but it seems like it’s too soon to be thinking about having another child. Same thing with Andrea. It seems like both Mayte and Drea think that babies will be perfect to add to their already somewhat complicated love lives. They’re still trying to work things out, and a baby, though a blessing, will only add more complications. Mayte, however, later goes to an OB/GYN to make sure she’s actually still fertile. Her mother Nelly went through early menopause. However, the doctor tells her that she is able to have kids, in spite of her age.

Mayte, Nicole, and Sheree eventually meet with Jessica to discuss these crazy texts. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. Jessica doesn’t have a clear explanation to why she would say something like that, saying that she wrote the text after some black girls were getting on her for dating a black guy. However, it still doesn’t explain why she would say that. She also couldn’t explain calling Shamicka a hood rat AGAIN, after she knew the big debacle that caused last season when she said she was “joking.” Obviously, for you to say it again, you’re not joking. Jessica got frustrated after Sheree continued to push her to explain, and, of course, in fine Jessica Canseco fashion, got up and left. Mayte and Sheree discuss the situation again later on in the episode, not thinking that Jessica is really a racist or hates any of the ladies. She said a very stupid thing, though.

Later, Drea and Brian go to see Sheree’s husband Terrell, for some marriage counseling, especially about having kids, which the two of them completely disagree about. Terrell sits back and listens to them both, eventually coming to the conclusion that Andrea identifies herself mainly as a mom, because she had her kids with R. Kelly mostly to herself as he was out on the road. When Drea talks about it with Sheree, Sheree admits she was in a similar situation. All she wanted was to have a baby with Terrell when they first got married, because all she had was her son. However, Terrell didn’t feel like they should, and that caused some resentment for years. Seems like Andrea has to decide if she wants to go through that same thing. She can’t really expect Brian to change his mind, but if having another baby is so important to her, seems she should really consider if this man is the right one for here.

At the end of the episode, Shamicka finds out about Jessica’s texts and she is LIVID! Understandably so. No telling what this is going to do to the group dynamic. Jessica seems like a decent person, but the stuff she says sometimes is completely out of line.

Check out new episodes of Hollywood Exes on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET only on VH1!

Image via VH1
This week is ALL about playing catchup. Life has been ultra crazy, especially now that summer is
about to be in full effect, and I’m trying to get everything back on track. So, this week, God willing, you’ll see a bunch of recaps and hopefully a few spotlights I need to get up. I also hope to edit my video from my night at Danity Kane’s No Filter Tour, when they hit the Fillmore in Silver Spring a few weeks ago!

But enough about my personal stuff. I owe you quite a few recaps of Hollywood Exes (I MISSED THREE WEEKS!), and I want to be caught up by the next episode, so let’s get to it. Picking up from episode 3, we see Andrea who is very excited about her upcoming nuptials. However, the ladies still have their doubts. Nicole, who offers to host the wedding at her house, plans with Andrea and brings up her questions again. She wants to make sure if Andrea is absolutely positive about this, wondering if maybe the wedding could be postponed. Andrea is not trying to hear it, though. She wants to marry Brian, saying that divorce isn’t even an option. Come to find out though, that Nicole’s house is on “cursed ground.” Apparently, all of the couples that live in the area have gotten divorced. Wow! I don’t necessarily believe so much in luck, as I do blessings from God, but that’s some bad juju!



Later the ladies go out to celebrate Andrea’s engagement. They quickly start grilling her, and Andrea reveals that she hasn’t or will ever sign a pre-nup. Even though most of her money is legally in a trust, the rest of the ladies think she should still get a pre-nup just in case. Later, when Jessica goes shoe shopping with Drea and Shamicka, she brings up the pre-nup again, which frustrates Drea, who feels like the ladies aren’t in support of the relationship. She begins to cry, saying that she wouldn’t even care if he took her money. According to her, in the past six months, he’s been through a lot being with her, and she thinks she would deserve it (I don’t know about all that Drea!). I get where she’s coming from, because who would want to hear people talking about what you should do in your relationship all the time. However, everyone’s just being concerned friends. With Drea not only being an ex-wife of a popular singer, and now a reality TV star, it’s understandable why her friends would question Brian’s motives. The tables quickly turn on Jessica, when Drea and Shamicka asked about her fling with Austin, and that got her upset too. Jessica goes to Shanna with her complaints on that.

Later, we find that Andrea is throwing a 70s theme birthday party, for which she invites a lot of her friends including all of the ladies. Tony, who’s been there for Andrea for over 20 years, is still very suspicious of Brian, eventually going back and forth with the man over who Andrea belongs with. Brian then tries to attack Tony, and has to be held back. The whole thing obviously ruins the party mood, with Andrea at first wanting to end it. However, she was convinced to stay, and the party eventually turned back for the better. Brian gifts Drea with a brand spanking new Benz, putting her back in a happy mood (though I’m not sure where he’s getting Benz money from though!). When the ladies play with the birthday cake, throwing it at each other, and Jessica gets splattered with cake in the face by Shanna, Jessica goes OFF! Looks as though their little friendship might be over.

The next day, seemingly in a “revenge” mode, Shanna shares with Sheree and Mayte that Jessica had sent her some very interesting texts about the ladies, saying that “white girls and black girls don’t mix” and that “Shamicka was a hood rat.” Oh my goodness. Sheree and Mayte were obviously shocked, as I was, because Jessica has such good relationships, or so it seems, with these girls, that it’s hard to imagine her saying anything like that. All I know is that this is DEFINITELY going to start some trouble when the other women find out!

Check out all new episodes of Hollywood Exes only on VH1 on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET!

Image via VH1
Catching up! Picking up from episode 7 of The Challenge: Free Agents, the house holds a mock
funeral for Devyn's water wig, Tamara, which was destroyed in the last challenge. It's so funny, watching everyone fake cry and mourn and Devyn fall out all over the place! Later, they go out and party. Leroy laments on how much he hates this game. Preston himself is at peace with it, though. Maybe a little too at peace. Several people in the house think that Preston is just floating on by, not really into the game, but just here just to be here, which may very well be true.

Meanwhile, Nany is afraid she's going to hurt Cohutta, not knowing when she'll be going home and really afraid of being vulnerable. Back at the house, Nany starts flirting with Johnny, and they end up hooking up. The next morning, the rumors spread around the house about what happened, but Cohutta doesn't know. Nany admits that she did something stupid, but doesn't think that he should be catching feelings. The sad part is that Nany is passing up a good guy in Cohutta because she doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings.
Later, the house gets a clue from T.J.: "You need to stretch your mind to be able to win tomorrow's challenge." The next day, the house plays Hold That Pose, in two teams of 7. We see two separate cages with 28 straps and seven different colors. The object of the game is for each player to use their four straps to pull and hold themselves up from the group for one minute. It’s very tricky since not only does this require physical strength, it’s a bit of a mental game as well to decide where everyone is going to be. However, Devyn's team kills it, taking the win! They are safe from elimination and will decide who will go in.

Back at the house, Nany talks to Preston about Cohutta. She doesn't want to make him feel bad or look stupid, and she feels terrible because of how she seems to others. She should feel bad. Like I said, Cohutta is a nice guy, and treats Nany very well. Later, Nany sobs to Cohutta about hooking up with Johnny. She doesn't want to hurt him, because she genuinely cares. She pushes people away, but Cohutta tells her that she has to be a little vulnerable and not close everybody out and not believe that all guys are the same. See? A true southern sweetheart!

At deliberation the next day, the team unaminously votes Aneesa and Preston. That night, at the Draw, Laurel draws the Kill Card for the battle against Aneesa! Cohutta pulls the Kill Card to go against Preston (*gasp*). They play Oppenheimer. The goal is to race around a circular hallway and ring the bell in the center. They are bound to crash into each other, though, so you have to fight and strategize to make your way to the finish. Best two out of three round wins. Preston fights hard, but Cohutta manages to win and make it back to the house. Aneesa fights hard too, but Laurel beats her by literally milliseconds. It sucks, because I can't stand Laurel at all. I really wanted Aneesa to take her out. That would’ve been MAJOR!

Check out all new episodes of The Challenge: Free Agents on Thursdays at 10 p.m. only on MTV!
Sad news! Legendary actress Ruby Dee has died at the age of 91. She was said to have died peacefully at her New Rochelle, New York, home on Wednesday. Her representative, Michael Livingston, confirmed the news of Ms. Dee’s death to CNN.

Throughout her career, Ms. Dee starred in several Hollywood films and Broadway plays, as well as television shows. She played Rachel Robinson in The Jackie Robinson Story in 1950, and costarred alongside Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt and Cab Calloway in St. Louis Blues (1958). One of her most known and amazing roles was her character Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, opposite Sidney Poitier. With her long-standing career, she earned an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among several others.









Most recently, the late actress earned her only Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in American Gangster (2007), which starred Denzel Washington. Her final film will be the crime drama “King Dog,” alongside Ice-T, which is still in production.

She and her husband and partner, actor Ossie Davis (who passed away in February 2005), often worked together, and even had their own short-lived show, “Ossie and Ruby!” which aired from 1980-81. The two were also pioneers in the Civil Rights Movement, and received the National Civil Rights Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Freedom Award in 2005 before Mr. Davis’ death.

So sad, but Ruby Dee definitely lived a full life. To be 91, still working and on the move, and looking GOOD, she deserves peace. Thoughts and prayers to her family and friends.

Image via Afro Newspaper/Gado/Getty Images

I have a great spotlight (and a lot more on the way, slowly but surely!). As always, if you are or know of an upcoming artist, designer, producer, etc, please email me at brittanyshawnte@gmail.com.

Today on The Spotlight, we have upcoming singer Montrey Slayton! Born in Springfield, IL and moving to Marianna, Arkansas for most of his childhood. Montrey grew up in a musical family, so his singing talent was always evident. “We didn’t have a lot growing up but we ALWAYS had music. If our lights was out, we put batteries in the boom box and it’s like all of our problems faded away,” he said. He and his family eventually moved to Milwaukee, WI, in 2004, which Montrey calls a “gem” in terms of music. “We try to be different than other cities like Atlanta or Houston. You could hear in certain people music where they from. But it’s such a mix of originality in Milwaukee that you would always hear something new and unheard of,” the singer said of the city. Once he graduated from high school, Montrey recognized that he had a gift of writing music. That’s when he decided to record his first demo and take his music seriously.

Montrey eventually auditioned for the hit singing competition, The Voice, which he called an amazing experience “I didn’t make it to the celebrity judges but I beat out many other talented vocalists in the first 2 rounds,” he said. “I think the experience motivated me a lot to keep striving! I was honestly on the verge of quitting music but after making it as far as I did, it gave me the confidence I needed to keep going.”

Montrey’s latest single “Cake” was inspired by a situation in his own life, and believes that so many men go through the same thing every day. “I always try to be as real as possible in my music and give the audience something they can relate to,” he said of the song. “Once I heard the beat to this song, the melody came to me right away. And seeing that I don’t put words to paper when I went to the studio to record it, the situation came to my head and the words just came to me.”


Montrey recently just signed a distribution deal to release his upcoming EP, Melody Within. “This EP [is] kind of mellow and soft. Something for the ladies to put on when they coming home from a long day of work and just want to relax in a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine.” he said. The singer thought of at least 10 titles for this project, but this one stuck out to him. “It explains my passion for music. Melodies are always in my head and I’m always singing wherever I am so I stuck with that title.”

Though his EP is his main focus right now, Montrey plans on releasing a mixtape sometime in the winter. The singer will also be re-releasing his first album, Love At First Sight, with a few new tracks and new artwork. In terms of his music standing out in the R&B industry today, the singer is focused on creating substance in his music. “Everyone is so focused on sex, drugs and strip clubs,’ he admitted truthfully. There’s a handful of artists who actually makes music about life, relationships, and love. That’s what I bring to the table. People, especially young people don’t know any of the good music we grew up on. I’m trying to bring back the soul and storytelling to music.” In terms of his career, his focus isn’t fame or fortune, but merely only working on music full-time. “I do have a goal of performing at a sold out show in Madison Square Garden, though! That would be a dream come true!” he exclaimed.

You can check out more from Montrey on SoundCloud, as well as connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
Trying my best to get these recaps up...sorry I'm so behind, but I WILL get up everything I have to say (LOL)!  Picking up from episode 6 of The Challenge: Free Agents (so long ago!), the rivalry between Jordan and Johnny Bananas continues. That night, the house gets a clue from T.J. that reads: "Nothing beats a traditional Uruguayan barbecue!" Looks like the he house is going to be eating some great Uruguayan cuisine!

The next morning, Theresa talks to Aneesa about being betrayed by Devyn, since Devyn voted her into elimination. Now she feels like her name will be brought up again, and she'll be used as a scapegoat. Leroy himself also doesn't want to be voted in. He'd rather go into the draw and take a slight risk, versus being voted in by someone else.

That morning, the house gathers to play Sausage Party as individuals. Surprisingly, it's not an eating competition like everyone thought! There are two rounds, one for the guys, and one for the girls. Everyone gets wrapped up like a sausage in plastic wrap, with each player having to make their way through a course, rolling through condiments along the way. The first guy and girl to make it wins! The last three guys and the last three girls are up for elimination.

It's funny to watch, because everyone looks like fish out of water flopping around, trying to roll through this course! Though there was some struggle towards the end (each player has to roll on top of a bun at the end), Laurel takes it for the ladies. The guys have their turn. Jordan basically quits right at the beginning, planning  to go to the Draw because he knows that Johnny (not Bananas) and Zach are in the lead, and won't vote him in. After a close race, Johnny makes it on his bun first.

Back at the house, Johnny wants to vote for Bananas so Jordan can go against him. He plans to flip over every single card to go against Bananas. It's very foolish and prideful on his part, because he's risking his shot at all this money, just to try to prove something. Stupid!

That night, the house goes out to Moby Dick's to party and just have fun. Aneesa tries to butter Laurel up into not voting, but her presentation was a mess. Both Aneesa and Theresa realize that it will be either of them getting voted in. At the deliberation, Laurel ends up voting for Aneesa and Johnny backs her up. Johnny votes in Bananas, and Laurel backs him up. From that point, I was hoping that Jordan gets eliminated and Bananas shuts him up for good.

At elimination, Jordan flips over all three cards to go against Johnny, though he had some hesitation about it. He stuck to his word, though. Jonna pulls the Kill Card after second guessing her first choice. The elimination game is Wrecking Wall. You have to punch and kick your way through the 30 foot wall to make a path to climb up and ring the bell. Though Jonna played the game before and won, Aneesa kills it and sends Jonna home. When it came time for Bananas and Jordan's heat, they are pretty neck and neck, to the point where I really didn't know what was going to happen. HOWEVER, like it was an act of God, Jordan slips and falls, allowing Bananas to win! I don't feel bad for Jordan at all. In fact, in my mind, just a reality TV thing, there was no way as long as Johnny Bananas has been in these games, that he was going to lose. Jordan talked way too much trash, and wasn't fully able to back it up. Hopefully he learns from his cockiness, and comes back to another challenge with a more level head (If they have a Rivals II, he and Bananas are DEFINITELY teammates!).

Watch episodes of The Challenge: Free Agents on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET only on MTV! 

Image via MTV
I am BEHIND on recaps for both Hollywood Exes and The Challenge. Due to some unforeseen crazy work and life moments, and pure exhaustion, I couldn't edit my recaps like I normally do. Trying to get better with timing! Something new though:  I'm officially hiring interns/volunteers with the site [non-paid but will give you great experience!]. Email me for more info!)

Picking up from episode 2, Brian is busy recording in the studio after getting a hookup from one of Andrea's friends. She's excited, because the song he’s recording he plans on performing at the wedding. When she gets overly excited to him, he simply tells her “Filter,” as if it’s some kind of warning. To me, there are little warning signs that I’m seeing which explains why the two already got a divorce. (Brian wants to work it out but I think Andrea should leave that be).

Meanwhile, Shanna goes to see Jessica at her spa and brings along Miss Nevada winner Nia to get their eyebrows done. They talk about the pageant, and how great Nicole did as a judge. Even though there were some issues beforehand, it all came together. Shanna reveals that once she gets her winner, they start working on the girl in terms of beauty and media training. Shanna and Jessica seem like they really mesh well together, so it was nice to see them bonding.

Later, Nicole talks to Jessica, and talks about how she's going to meet Mayte. Mayte wants to clear the air, and Nicole clearly wants an apology, which she deserves. Jessica, playing both sides, admits that Mayte gets very defensive lately. However, Nicole has hopes that they can work it out. At the lunch, it's very tense and awkward. Nicole still wants an apology because she feels like it was wrong. The fact is Mayte broke her sugar bowl, and she should apologize for it. Mayte is extremely stubborn, though, and doesn’t apologize at all. Some “friend.” Nicole wants to try to move past it, anyway, but that was ridiculous of Mayte. She clearly did that on purpose, and wants to use her “passion for fur” as justification for her getting mad about the situation and throwing a tantrum.

Meanwhile, Josie has a fashion shoot for Ford Models. The girl is balancing modeling and doing an online program for high school. Josie is maturing and coming into her own, which is nice because I was worried about that girl for a minute! Jessica tells her she wants her to be happy, but to also finish school. Josie’s looking at colleges in New York, which will be perfect if she decides to continue modeling. The only thing is how will Jessica deal with her being so far away?

Later, Mayte and Humberto have dinner with Gia. They bring up whether or not they should have kids of their own, which is a little up in the air.

At Andrea’s wedding dress fitting, Tony brings up suspicion about Brian and his intentions. It seems like he’s feeling a little jealous that Andrea is marrying Brian, but I understand his concerns. Andrea JUST met this guy, and already is getting married to him. That’s a serious commitment, and Tony, as one of her closest friends, wants to make sure Brian’s the right one. Andrea picks a wedding dress, and gets emotional reminiscing on her first marriage. She doesn't have a picture of her in a wedding dress after that wedding. It wasn’t even a fabulous wedding from what she said, so I guess she wanted this one to make up for it.

The next night, Shanna hosts a Poker Night for the girls. She doesn't want any fighting or drama in her house with all the ladies, which we’ll see about. Sheree brings a friend Austin, who is also Drake's trainer, to meet Jessica. They flirt and clearly have a fitness and romantic connection, as Austin shows off some of his moves he uses in his session. Later, Mayte comes in, and brings Humberto. Sheree talks with Humberto about him not coming to the party, which is more of a discussion versus having an argument. However, she doesn’t even bother bringing Mayte in the conversation.

Drea brings Brian, and Tony voices his skepticism to Nicole. Sheree asks him how he feels about the wedding, and he admits that he wasn't excited that much for the wedding. Tony tells Brian that they still have to have a one on one, and decides that now is the perfect time. Several people, like Tony, question his motives. Brian says that he doesn't have a motive. He just wants to make her happy. He doesn't want to have kids, which is something Drea wants. Another red flag. Finances, kids, and religion are some of the biggest things that I think people should be on one accord with. Brian already had a vasectomy, and doesn’t even want to consider reversing it. It just shows that Andrea may have entered into this decision a little too fast.

Later, Jessica and Austin have their first date...at the gym, of course! She admits that he kind of reminds her of her ex-husband Jose, since they’re both muscular. They joke around and laugh, and later go to steam in the non-co-ed steam room!

That night, Sheree goes out to dinner with Mayte, with Andrea as a mediator. Sheree obviously asks her about the "Will Smith money,” comment, which Mayte tries to explain was in the heat of the moment. At the end of the day, in the situation, Gia is only a baby and Mayte didn’t want to bring her to the party, which I get (though I still say Humberto could’ve watched her). In this situation (as Iyanla Vanzant), Andrea hears fear, believing that Mayte is overprotective and can't lose another child, like she did with her son. In that moment, Sheree thought it was better to move on and upward, instead of dwelling on it. It was another situation where Mayte kind of managed to get off easy.

The next day, Andrea and Brian have a date night, and discuss the wedding. There's still a lot to plan with everything going so quickly. Andrea brings up the fact that she wants him to reverse his vasectomy. He thinks she's crazy, and she thinks he's selfish. He wants to focus on his career, and she seems to want more kids. They're clearly not in agreement with that. That, for me, would be a game ender. It looks like Andrea and Brian did not have some much needed discussion before they got engaged. Andrea should’ve known better!

Check out all new episodes of Hollywood Exes on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET only on VH1!