It chick of the moment Lady GaGa took over Saturday Night Live last night, performing her smashes ‘Paparazzi’, ‘Love Game’ and ‘Poker Face’, as well as the lead single from the re-release of her debut ‘The Fame: The Monster’, ‘Bad Romance’. Peep the performances above, as well as a supposed-to-be-funny-but-not skit she did with Madonna (yes, you read right!) below:
Despite the crappiness of the Madge skit, you know Ms. GaGa is here to stay, when she has an informal endorsement from The Queen of Pop!
‘Revolver’, one of the new songs to feature on Madonna’s ‘Celebration’ greatest hits package, surfaced in its full form today. Featuring rent-a-rapper Lil’ Wayne, the song actually works more than one would assume, considering the names involved. Though nothing profound, the song is infectiously catchy, with it’s easy-on-the-ear verses and rousing sing-along-song chorus. Not bad at all.
Loose-tongued rapper Kanye West features on the cover of the latest issue of French magazine ‘Liberation Next’. Having clearly been working out, it seems the ‘Love Lockdown’ star is looking to show it off.
The new Sugababes single ‘Get Sexy’, their first under their new deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, premiered yesterday. Produced by Red One, the vivacious uptempo sees the ‘Babes venture into new territory musical territory. Big, bold, and banging, the ladies have managed to serve up a fresh new sound, without deviating from their top 40 mainstay (evidenced by the many hooks which pervade this song). Listening to this definitely has me anticipating more new material from the ladies, who worked with Ne-Yo, Stargate, among others during their time in the US.
Peep the alternate cover for Ciara’s forthcoming ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP. Put simply, this is A LOT better than the original (which will still be used).
The tracklisting for the LP, which Amazon have revealed, has kinda caused outrage among Ms. Harris’ fans – who were promised a 3 disc ‘musical journey’. Instead, a collection of 13 tracks, many of which have been heared already, form the final tracklisting. Check it out below:
1. “Ciara to the Stage” 2. “Love Sex Magic” featuring Justin Timberlake 3. “High Price” featuring Ludacris 4. “Turntables” featuring Chris Brown 5. “Like a Surgeon” 6. “Never Ever” featuring Young Jeezy 7. “Lover’s Thing” featuring The-Dream 8. “Work” featuring Missy Elliott 9. “Pucker Up” 10. “G is for Girl (A-Z)” 11. “Keep Dancin’ on Me” 12. “What’s Your Name” 13. “I Don’t Remember”
Hmmm. Here’s hoping the tracks we’ve yet to hear deliver…they are really going to need to.
Tidbit: With ‘High Price’ making the final tracklist, I still say it should have been the first single.
Hot on the promo trail for her ‘In A Perfect World…’ LP, Keri Hilson performed smash ‘Turnin’ Me On’ with Lil’ Wayne on Jimmy Kimmel last night. She also performed ‘Energy’, which you can view below. Pretty good performances, though I’m eager to see her perform more cuts from her awesome album.
The official video for X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke’s debut single ‘Hallelujah’ made its debut today. Put simply, it’s pretty much standard-fare in terms X-Factor winner’s first single video – i.e. interwoven clips from the show and a simple concept. Alex does look great though.
Update: Alex’s version of ‘Hallelujah’ has become the fasting selling European single of all-time – in just 3 days. Congrats!
IT girl of the moment Rihanna fainted onstage while performing her smash ‘Umbrella’ with Chris Brown during a concert in Sydney, Australia today.
As seen in the video above, the 20 year old star is visibly clutching her stomach in pain and stumbles off stage into the hands of her handlers, while rumored boyfriend Brown completes the song.
Her camp have since confirmed that she is ok after being taken to the hospital following the occurrence.
Though I don’t mince my words about Ms. Fenty (with good reason), here’s hoping she’s actually better.
As I’m sure those who you who caught the ‘live’ finale of Making The Band 4 on Tuesday night know, Diddy sensationally revealed that he has removed Aubrey O’Day AND D. Woods from Danity Kane:
Three years after he picked them to round out the all-girl pop group he’d been assembling, Diddy gave Aubrey O’Day and D. Woods the proverbial boot during Tuesday night’s live season-three finale of “Making the Band 4,” leaving only Aundrea Fimbres, Shannon Bex and Dawn Richard to carry on as Danity Kane. Diddy’s reason for the dismissals? Fame turned O’Day into someone he no longer recognized, he said via satellite, and D. Woods was merely guilty by association, caught up in the shrapnel of O’Day’s celebrity.
But according to Richard, it was O’Day’s image that gave Diddy pause.
“Puff did not like [O'Day's] image … where her image was going for the group,” she told UsMagazine.com. “It wasn’t a personal thing,” she added, explaining that O’Day’s recent topless appearance on the cover of Complex magazine wasn’t sending the right message to the group’s fans.
“We had just did a signing with Dollhouse Teen, which is for 13-, 14-year-old young girls,” Richard continued. “So, we can’t do that one day and then the next day do an obnoxious cover. … [Diddy] wants the fans, and he says he can’t do that if we can continue to go in the direction that we were going.”
While Diddy said he would work with Woods in the future, O’Day’s time is over. But the group will continue, Richard said.
“Well, Puff told me specifically that Aubrey is no longer in Danity Kane, and Danity Kane will move forward without her,” she explained, adding that Diddy hasn’t mentioned anything about replacing the two singers. “He has not said anything per that. But I think in my heart that he is going to do another show.” {Source}
Peep Aubrey’s speech/clash with Diddy at the finale below (D. Woods did not attend the show):
————————————————–
Now, as some of you may know, That Grape Juice was on-site ALL-DAY at the 2008 MOBO Awards here in London yesterday. Having not yet watched the finale of Making The Band 4, yet knowing it was aired live, imagine my surprise when I spotted a certain D.Woods sitting right in front of me with her publicist (a friend of That Grape Juice).
After exchanging pleasantries (she is very familiar with the site, dating back to our interview with her back in February) and watching her present an award , I spoke with her on the side about what exactly is going on with Danity Kane (bare in mind I knew nothing of what went down at the finale), she confirmed she’d reveal all in an inteview with That Grape Juice (which will hopefully be in the coming week(s)). Interestingly, however, when shouting out the site, she introduced herself in a way that will leave many scratching their heads, somewhat. Check it out:
Hmmmm…
Wait…there’s more. After the airing of the finale, a press release from MTV touting ‘bonus episodes’ of Making The Band to air in 2009. Check out an extract of what to expect:
With the future of Danity Kane still up in the air, Day26 pursuing their dreams and Donnie Klang working his way to the top, where do they go from here? MTV is extending the drama into 2009 with bonus episodes of the hit reality series “Making The Band.” The saga will continue with the remaining members of Danity Kane, their label mates Day26 and Donnie Klang as they all embark on the next phases of their Bad Boy careers.
The extended season will pick-up where the last one left off…Following all the drama and turmoil from the cliffhanger on the live finale. Fans will catch-up with Day26 as they go out on their own and experience what it’s like to be the opening act for more established recording artists. Can they stay focused and make it on their own without the support of their label mates? Donnie Klang will continue to strive and prove to Diddy that he has what it takes to be a solid solo artist and go on tour with more well known musical acts. Will the hectic pace of the music business put too much strain on Dawn and Que’s romance or will it make their love stronger? The Danity Kane story will continue to unfold after Diddy’s shocking decision to remove Aubrey and D. Woods from the group. Will the Band live on without them? Will Aubrey and D. Woods return to Danity Kane? The bonus episodes will follow MTV’s favorite “Making The Band” artists as they give it all they have while trying to remain true to themselves in the process.
I’m still pretty surprised at the whole thing. I’ll hold my tongue until I learn/hear more of what is going on.
Home-grown vocalists the Sugababes took to the stage at the 2008 V Festival earlier today here in the UK. Check out their performances of ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Red Dress’, ‘Push The Button’ and ‘About You Now’:
Freak Like Me
Red Dress
Push The Button
About You Now
Great performances! One of the ladies’ main appeal is their roughness around the edges. Far from a typically ‘polished’ act, the Keisha, Heidi and Amelle have managed to successfully appeal to the masses with their all-encompassing sound and, of course, their undeniable talent.
{Wondering who the hell they are lol? I will hit you up with a mega post highlighting some of the best acts the UK has on offer in the coming week}
Rihanna performed on the Spanish version of American Idol – Operación Triunfo – last night. You can view her performance of ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ above as well as her rendition of ‘Hate That I Love You’ with Spanish star David Bisbal below:
Though her sheep-bleating vocals and lack of stage presence kinda ruined any chance of me actually enjoying the ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ performance, the ‘Hate That I Love You’ performance was better; weird, as, for the most part, the song doesn’t move me.
A burgeoning star in her own right, Solange Knowles is currently prepping the August 26th release of her sophomore effort ‘Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’. This new promotional shot for the set recently surfaced on her official Myspace page. It’s hard to ignore the similarities to ‘Big Sis’ in this one (in terms of posture); not a bad thing at all, as it’s evident that Solange is taking what she’s seen and putting her own stamp on it. Her album is definitely one I’m anticipating for the 2nd half of the year.
The video for Solange’s new single ‘I Decided’ premieres on BET’s Access Granted this coming Thursday (June 5th).
Diva Mariah graces the June cover of VIBE magazine. The issue, which hits newsstands today, sees the songstress model a variety of swimwear showcasing her new slim-line physique.She looks real good; they went a lot easier on the Photoshop job than her recent promo pics have done, IMO making her look even better.
The video for Lil’ Mama’s latest single ‘L.I.F.E’ made its debut today. Far removed from the uptempo, party vibe of her releases to date, the song and the video depict the daily struggles of growing up in ‘the hood’. Great song and vid. Lil’ Mama’s debut album ‘VYP: The Voice Of The Young People’ is in stores now.
