R&B artist Usher is preparing for the release of his highly anticipated album, tentatively entitled ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’. One of the tracks emerging from the ‘Papers’ singer’s recent studio sessions is the Danja-produced ‘Stay Down’. Usher’s LP is reportedly slated for a March 1st 2010 release after a slew of delays.

This is a great track for those fans who appreciate Usher’s dance-oriented material. Danja provided a tight play on the 80’s Pop melodies and combined it seamlessly with contemporary Urban beats. I expect Usher’s album to be framed around similar elements, especially given the direction that many of today’s artists such as Chris Brown, Lady GaGa and the Black Eyed Peas, have gone with their most recent material. Great stuff.

Hit or Miss?

Fresh off her electrifying performance on the X-Factor, superstar Janet Jackson raced down to the 02 Arena in London to perform her headlining set at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball. The icon, 43, gave a 30 minute set, which comprised performances of favourites such as ‘Rhythm Nation’, ‘All For You’ and ‘If’. Early reports say Ms. Jackson tore down the house…and judging by these pics it looks like she did just that!

Peep more pics after the jump…

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Rapper 50 Cent has been hard at working trying to promote his new album ‘Before I Self Destruct’, which has been suffering on the charts. The third single to be lifted off the LP is ‘Do You Think About Me’, with a video for the track debuting on December 8th at 8pm EST. The clip (a sneak peak of which can be seen above) features a cameo from his ‘associate’ Vivica A. Fox.

I personally have lost all of the little interest that I once had in this project. However, I am sure that many will find it interesting that 50 has reunited with Vivica after the two had such a heated conflict a few years back. Hopefully they brought some of that passion to the set while filming this video.

Thoughts?

Timbaland hosted an album release party for his new LP ‘Shock Value II’  at LIV nightclub at Fontainebleau Miami Beach this weekend.  The super producer (seen above with wife Monique) also performed ‘Meet in tha Middle’ with Brandy aka Bran’Nu and ‘Lose Control’ with Interscope Records’ newest act JoJo. Peep more pictures of the arrivals below:

R&B artist Brandy looked sexy in this black ensemble.

Young singer JoJo, who is featured on Timbo’s album, looked all grown up in this number.

Music legend Russell Simmons posed with Serena Williams and Brandy.

Hip-Hop rocker Travis McCoy also made an appearance.

Finally, we have rapper Fat Joe. New York!

What do you think of the looks?

Pop icon Janet Jackson took to the stage a few moments ago on the X-Factor, performing her 00’s classic ‘All For You’ as well as new single ‘Make Me’, which you can watch above!

This performance was everything….breakfast, lunch and dinner! Ms Jackson’s pre-recorded vocals are second to none in the industry (definitely a great crack at creating the illusion of sounding live! LOL). What’s more, she definitely served up a better performance of ‘Make Me’ than her American Music Awards showing last month. The ‘All For You’ dance-break was great to see again too. Great to have Ms. Jackson back!

What do you think of the performance?

The incomparable Lady GaGa performed her smash hit new single ‘Bad Romance’ a few minutes ago on the X-Factor.

Wow! While not vocally astounding, GaGa slayed with this performance! Serving up more of her trademark creative wackiness as well as pretty good vocals and choreography, this live showing will sure have her a sure cert for the #1 position on the UK singles chart next week.

What do you think of the performance?

Peep Mary J. Blige on the cover of the latest issue of Billboard magazine. Hmm, we think she’s had better front-page outings.

Mary’s new LP ‘Stronger With Each Tear’ hits stores December 21st.

What do you think of the cover?

Having listened through our preview copy of Timbaland‘s ‘Shock Value II’, I was kinda disappointed with the fact that it comes nowhere near the brilliance of the first – lending credence to the age old adage that ‘sequels never top the original’.

That said, the LP’s (hands-down) best cut is served up in the form of the JoJo-assisted ‘Lose Control’. Put simply, stellar production, great vocals, a catchy hook and a surprisingly workable mesh of the pair’s voices, make this one not only a winner, but an obvious choice for the record’s next single. It’d be criminal for this not to be given the release treatment.

Tidbit: Click here to check out E! News’ recent feature on JoJo in the studio. {Thanks George!}

Hit or Miss?

Show-stopping entertainer Lady GaGa took the stage  at Capital FM’s ‘Jingle Bell Ball’ last evening in the O2 Arena, in London. The singer thrilled the audience of over 60, 000 patrons with performances of her hits ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Speechless’ among other songs from her critically acclaimed ‘The Fame Monster’ LP. Peep more pictures from the event below:

Thoughts?

Attempted singer Rihanna was featured as a special guest and performer on this week’s Saturday Night Live, in New York City. The part time model ‘sang’ her hit ‘Russian Roulette’ as well as her new single ‘Hard’ with rapper Young Jeezy. Peep the performances as well as her hilarious ‘SNL Digital Short‘ below:

‘Russian Roulette’

‘Hard (Ft. Young Jeezy)’

‘SNL Digital Short’

Thoughts?

R&B veteran R. Kelly was interviewed by Skee TV recently and took a moment to address his detractors – seemingly taking particular aim at Trey Songz, who slammed him earlier this year. Say what you want about Kellz, but…really…Trey Songz?!

I mean,yes, this did come across like one big self-endorsement. Yet, in saying that, he wasn’t lying about anything now, was he?

Your thoughts?

Holding true to our promise of keeping things fresh here at That Grape Juice (v.2.0 baby!), we bring you ‘Cover Star’. Completing our current feature-list (From The Vault, Back In The Beat etc), Cover Star will each week showcase regular folk’s rendition of your favourite tracks. Recent history has shown the web to be the place to discover new talent – talent which is undeniably out there in abundance. So what better way to give shine to undiscovered talent than on your favourite site and mine – That Grape Juice!

This week’s Cover Star is 20 year old Felicity from Maryland, who serves up her own rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Broken Hearted Girl’.  Check it out:

While I would have preferred Ms. Felicity looked at the screen while singing (eye-contact is very important), there’s no doubt she did a great job! Raw, emotive and an overall solid vocal, make this cover a winner.

For more on Felicity, check out her Youtube page

Your thoughts?