Friday, April 18th 2008

Raven Covers JET Magazine

Actress/singer Raven-Symone features in the latest issue of JET magazine. As well as talking about her forthcoming album, she spoke about being proud of her ‘voluptuous’ shape:

‘”I have to stay true to who I am’, says Disney star Raven-Symoné, 22, regarding her new self-titled CD, which is slated for release April 29. ‘I am not going to sing about sex, drugs and violence, that’s just not who I am’, she continues. As she prepares for the CD’s release and a 55-city Pajama Party concert tour, the confident and talented entertainer hopes this project will fill a void in today’s music. We need some music that will open people’s minds up and give them other things to think about other than the same things we have been giving them for a while. Maybe my album can do that.’

While the 5-foot-2-inch singer-actress stays true to her music, she’s also staying true to her image by being comfortable with her size. ‘When I look in the mirror and see how voluptuously fabulous I am, I can’t even worry about it. I am just fabulous.’”

It’s always good to see artists going against what has, sadly, become the industry’s norm – looks over talent. Random tidbit: Irrespective of how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake the ‘Disney’ association with Raven; the odd look she has on her face doesn’t really help matters.

Any thoughts?

Posted By: Sam

6 Comments

Friday, April 18th 2008

Foxy Brown Released From Jail

Rapper Foxy Brown was released from prison today, after serving eight months of her 12 month sentence:

“As soon as she was released from prison, she was greeted by her mother Judith Marchand and lawyer New York City Councilman Charles Barron, as well as hundreds of reporters and fans, some with posters and pink balloons, others with ‘Free Foxy Brown’ T-shirts. Brown wore a leather jacket, jeans, a black shirt, designer pumps and a stylish Fendi designer doo rag over her hair.

Brown’s entourage arrived in a fleet of luxury vehicles that included three Rolls Royce’s, a number of SUV’s and a Maybach, that was filled with clothes. Her family, friends, managers and a hair stylist and makeup artist were all part of the group of people that greeted Brown.” {Source}

Here’s hoping she fixes up now that she’s free. Click here to watch the video of her release

Your thoughts?

Posted By: Sam

3 Comments

Friday, April 18th 2008

Ashanti Performs ‘The Way That I Love You’ Live

R&B star Ashanti performed her current single ‘The Way That I Love You’ last night at Hot 107.9′s Hot on The Runway Fashion Show in Atlanta. Check out how she did below:

Despite not doing much stage-wise, I really enjoyed her performance.Yes, she isn’t the best vocalist, but I’ve never understood the claims that she can’t sing. This performance really highlights her improved live vocals. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

Posted By: Sam

14 Comments

Friday, April 18th 2008

Hudson’s Debut Due In September

According to Billboard, Jennifer Hudson’s long-awaited debut album will be released on September 30th via Arista.

Granted it’s commendable that they didn’t rush the album out to capitalize on her Oscar success, this date really has to stick this time, so as for people not to lose interest. What’s more, the longer it’s held back, the higher the expectations – something that may count against her. Here’s hoping she delivers with this album.

In related news, industry veteran Clive Davis – the man behind Whitney Houston’s success and more recently Jennifer Hudson and Leona – has been replaced as chairman over at Sony BMG (the parent label of J Records etc). Davis has been appointed a creative role in another part of the company (click here to read the full story). I wonder what implications this may have for Jennifer’s project – considering Davis has been overseeing it since signing the ‘Dreamgirls’ star in 2006?

Any thoughts?

Posted By: Sam

4 Comments

Friday, April 18th 2008

Usher – ‘Here I Stand’ Cover

R&B star Usher is gearing up for the release of his much-anticipated new album ‘Here I Stand’ – the official cover for which surfaced today. Originally scheduled to drop in the June, the album’s release date was pushed up following the chart-topping success of its first single ‘Love In The Club’.

What do you think of the cover?

Posted By: Sam

16 Comments

Friday, April 18th 2008

Competition: Kelis & Mariah Carey CD Give-Away Winners

Thanks all those who entered the ‘Kelis – The Hits’ and the ‘Mariah Carey – E=MC²’ CD Give-Away competitions. The winners are listed below:

Kelis

The correct answer to the question:

Which popular rapper is Kelis married to?

b) Nas

The following are the winners – who were chosen at random (email confirmation has also been sent out) :

* Jillian Jackson

* Yolonda Smith

———————————————————

Mariah

The correct answer to the question:

Which of the following is Mariah’s 1997 #1 Album ?

b) Butterfly

The following are the winners – who were chosen at random (email confirmation has also been sent out) :

* Nisha Luggah

* Josue Almodovar

* Danielle Atkins

Congratulations to the winners! Remember to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for future competitions.

Posted By: Sam

Ashanti – ‘The Declaration’ Cover

The official album cover for Ashanti’s new LP ‘The Declaration’ surfaced today via UrbanBridgez.com. What can I say? She looks stunning. I see Ashanti as more ‘girl next door’ as opposed to a grand diva, so the cover was initially kinda surprising. Still, I can’t fault this at all. Here’s hoping what’s most important, the music, is just as good.

What do you think of the cover?

Posted By: Sam

48 Comments

Thursday, April 17th 2008

‘The Relativity Of Mariah’ Performances

With ‘Mariah Week’ in full swing, the diva’s BET special ‘The Relativity of Mariah’ (taped back in March) aired today. Check out performances of ‘Migrate / Touch My Body’, ‘Love Story / Shake It Off’ and ‘We Belong Together’ below:

Migrate / Touch My Body

Love Story / Shake It Off

We Belong Together

Wow! She sounded great. Watching this kinda has me thinking she either had a few extra days “vocal rest” or that she’s only capable of delivering live vocals like that in front of her fans. Whatever the case, the performances were on-point. More of this, please.

What do you think of the performances?

Posted By: Sam

13 Comments

Thursday, April 17th 2008

Mary J. Blige – ‘Stay Down’ Video

After months of next-to-no word on the status of Mary J. Blige’s ‘Growing Pains’ project, the video for the album’s 2nd single, ‘Stay Down’, premiered today. While the song is a personal favourite, I can not defend this mess of a video. The cheap, uninspired vid, which was directed by Hype Williams, has me thinking the budget for the whole project must be drying up fast. Odd, considering she’s only released one single from the record prior to this. On a more positive note, Mary looked great.

What do you think of the video?