In news that hardly comes as a surprise considering the recent drama, reports are mounting that the Pussycat Dolls are offically over as a group:

I’m guessing a formal announcement is imminent. That said, the writing really was on the wall for these girls as a group a long time ago. I mean folks just weren’t feeling the group dynamic (1 singer and the others nameless extras) this go round – and rightfully so. Having Nicole at the forefront ALL THE TIME, when an able and arguablly better vocalist in the form of Melody was doing a whole lot of nothing in the background was unjustiable. Also a mess is the fact the other chicks (whose names elude me) didn’t get a chance to shine or develop either. It’ll be real interesting to see how this one plays out…particularly Nicole’s solo project – which is what seems to be at the heart of the drama. In the meanwhile, check out a recent Twitter post from member Melody which heavily suggests the end is nigh for PCD:

Ouch…wonder who she was referring to? Whatever the case, these are not the words applicable to the what their PR team will undoubtedly call an ‘amicable’ or ‘peaceful split’. Hmmm…

BET 106 & Park resident host Rocsi opened up to the audience yesterday about her battle with anorexia and almost killing herself. A very interesting and insightful watch.

Some the That Grape Juice faithful who visted the site yesterday would have noticed the brief posting about being able to preview LeToya’s new ‘Lady Love’ LP on Amazon. Well it turns out it was a glitch on Amazon’s part, so big that not only were folk able to preview the whole album…they were able to but it too!

Thankfully for LeToya, who we’re big supporters of here at That Grape Juice, the damage seems to be limited with little of anything floating around the net from the record. That said, the full version of ‘Lazy’ did ‘surface’. I’m really liking this one, it’s a mid-tempo with that ‘knock’.

Seemingly one of the few who got to preview the album, I’m kinda on the fence. Perhaps due to LeToya’s Destiny’s Child beginning, I have been itching for a bit more variety in terms of her tracks, most of which on this album seem very much to be mid-tempos about very similar topics. With LeToya evidently being able to do her thing on the uptempo tip (See: ‘All Eyes On Me’, ‘Tear The Club Up’, ‘I’m Good’), I’d definitely love to see her go down that route a bit more, for she’s risking being typecast as the soppy mid-tempo balladeer. Nonetheless, I’m still anticipating ‘Lady Love’ (due August 25th via Capitol/EMI).

The very puclic spat between Mariah Carey and Eminem continues to escalate, with the Detroit rapper dropping a new diss track aimed at Mariah titled ‘The Warning’ today. In what is a very interesting listen, ol’ Marshall goes all the off on Mimi. I guess he didn’t like the ‘Obsessed’ video, eh?

{Reaches for my popcorn…}

Shakira debuted the video for her much hyped new single ‘She Wolf’ today. Put simply, this was very much a hit and miss affair…although it did kinda win me over in the end. While Shakira oozes sex appeal here and really brings the song to life via the clip’s performance, it’s her ‘trademark’ moves that left me both hot and cold. There really wasn’t any middle ground; she either nailed the at-times awesome choreography or looked like she was having a seizure. Really though, some of that choreography was hot steaming mess. I’m kinda on the fence about the song too; the production is fire, but the vocals and the fact that I can barely understand a word she’s singing is by no means hot.

That said, for the simple fact I’ve seen no one these days bring the ‘uniqueness’ Shakira does to her performance, both she and the video (overall) get a thumbs up from me.

As Madonna gears up for the release of her Greatest Hits compilation ‘Celebration’ (due September 29th), the LP’s title track has surfaced. Produced by Dance hitmaker Paul Oakenfold, the track can quite frankly be summed up as ‘blah’. I say this not because the genre isn’t my usual forte, but simply due to the song sounding cheesy and dated. What’s more, with the lead singles from ol’ Madge’s more recent efforts ‘Hung Up’ and ‘4 Minutes’ being undeniable winners, I feel she dropped the ball with this one.

The video for the Sugababes new single ‘Get Sexy’ premiered literally moments ago. ”Sexy’ serves as the first single to be lifted of the ladies as-yet-untitled US label debut (on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation). While the song has grown on me considerably since initially hearing it, the video looks like it cost less than a KFC Bargain Bucket. Not the business. I was expecting a whole lot more from the clip considering the US label they are now in partnership with, but I guess everyone – including Roc Nation – are feeling the effects of this recession.

Since the tragic passing of the King of Pop Michael Jackson last month, I have made a particularly conscious effort to not indulge in the media circus and exploitation of what is a very sad situation. For this reason, the rumour of Michael having an unknown child wasn’t reported here.

However, in an interview with NewsOne, the ever-controversial Joe Jackson revealed that the child (now a man) in question is in fact Michael’s biological son!

While I will reserve judgement until the facts surrounding this surface, this really is quite shocking.

Check out Beyonce’s latest promotional shot for her and her mother’s ‘Dereon’ clothing line. This particular campaign is for their new ‘Sasha Fierce Is Dereon’ range.

Say what you will about the clothes, but Beyonce looks great here.

Whitney Houston and her team are not playing with this ‘comeback’ of hers. Feeding off the intense buzz surrounding Houston’s ‘I Look To You’ album, Arista have made the rare move of the pushing UP the release date.

Sounds exciting, eh? Well it’s only been pushed up by one day, so will now hit stores August 31st in the US instead of the previously announced September 1st store date (it was always due in shops Internationally on the August date). Sources close to That Grape Juice are claiming that the new date has just as much to do with the high public interest and an extra day to add to the first week sales as it does the Grammy Awards. The cut off date for nomination eligibility for the 2010 Grammy’s is…you guessed it…August 31st. I really can’t fault Arista for being on top of their game with the orchestrating of Nippy’s comeback; after all there is no grander stage than the Grammy’s for Whitney’s comeback to be a done-deal – big performance and/or award clean-up – than at the biggest show of them all. Roll on January!

In other Whitney news, it has been confirmed that the song ‘I Look To You’ will also serve as the first single from the album along with the Swizz Beats produced, Alicia Keys penned ‘Million Dollar Bill’. As a gift to fans, ‘I Look To You’ is available to download free from Ms. Houston’s official website. {Click here to download}

R&B star Ciara posted this Twitter video moments ago updating her fans on what she’s been up to as of late. During the clip, Ms. Harris breaks out into song, giving an interesting rendition of Estelle’s 2008 smash ‘American Boy’. She did g-o-o-d. Go CiCi!

As some of you may know, we announced a few months back that you can now follow That Grape Juice on Twitter! Adding to the ever-expanding ways to be apart of the That Grape Juice community, our Twitter page allows you to receive up-to-the-minute updates about the latest posts on the site as well as what’s happening in the Urban Pop Culture world more generally.

What’s more, you, as well as the thousands who have already joined, will be able to keep up with me, ‘Sam’, while I’m on-the-go. I’ll be making use of Twitter’s cool SMS feature which allows me to let you guys know what I’m up to via my mobile/cell. That means everything from checking in with you guys while on location at an artist interview to complete randomness from the wackiness that is ‘my world’. So what are you waiting for…

The That Grape Juice Facebook Group launched last year, as I’m sure many of you will know. Work, school, college, home, wherever; I’m sure many of you – like myself – spend a ridiculous amount of time on Facebook. Yes, it’s ‘that’ addictive.