UK vixen Alesha Dixon premiered the video for ‘Let’s Get Excited’ today, the third single from her smash album ‘The Alesha Show’. While it’s predecessors ‘The Boy Does Nothing’ and ‘Breathe Slow’ were great cuts, there’s little that ‘excites’ me about both this song and video. Put simply, neither then song or it’s accompanying clip, I feel, are strong enough to keep up the momentum Alesha has going at the minute. Of course, things could go otherwise…
What do you think of the song / video?
Your Top 5 Songs Of The Moment?You know the deal; That Grape Juice, once again, wants to see what you all are listening to. Which 5 tracks have you got on constant rotation at the moment? Remember, it doesn’t have to be limited to Urban music; could be something new, Throwback, religious, even something you made yourself LOL. Drop a comment in the comments section. Mine are – in no particular order:

1) Love, Sex, Magic – Ciara
2) Put It On Her – Day26
3) Walking On The Moon – The Dream
4) Fall – The Saturdays
5) Fashion – Lady GaGa

What are your ‘Top 5 Songs Of The Moment’?

The video for Eminem’s ‘comeback’ single ‘We Made It’ premiered a few moments ago. Directed by Joseph Khan, the clip sees the Detroit rapper in ‘funny’ mode (note the inverted commas).
Having been away for so long, it’s a little worrying that ‘this’ is the best Em’ could come up with. The song itself, to put it bluntly, is wacker than wack and the video’s concept feels like something he’s done 5 times over. While, I’ve never been the biggest Eminem fan, I’ve always preferred his darker, more edgier material (which over time, itself, became played out). For all my rambling, though, I’m pretty sure a few weeks from now this will be topping charts just about everywhere. SMH…
What do you think of the song / video?
Chris Brown Pleads NOT Guilty
The Chris Brown and Rihanna situation has been at the center of media hysteria for the last two months, with many a twist and a turn in the on-going saga. Yesterday proved no different when Brown, who was widely predicted to enter a plea deal or plea ‘Guilty’, entered a plea of ‘Not Guilty’:

R&B star Chris Brown pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened and assaulted his girlfriend, singer Rihanna. Brown arrived 25 minutes late for the 3pm arraignment, amid a flurry of last-minute plea bargain rumours. Rihanna was not present.

After judge Patricia Schnegg read the charges, of assaulting Rihanna “by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury” and of threatening to commit a crime “which would result in death and great bodily injury”, the 19-year-old murmured his plea. “Not guilty, your honour,” he said. They were the only words Brown spoke in court.

The singer spent less than 15 minutes at the Los Angeles superior court, entering his plea and then departing in a black SUV, escorted by four bodyguards.

The charges stem from an alleged altercation between the couple on the early hours of 8 February. According to a police affidavit, Brown shoved Rihanna’s head against the passenger window, punched her in the face, bit her ear and finger and put her into a headlock. “I’m going to kill you,” he allegedly told her.

Brown later said that he was “sorry and saddened” about the incident. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Although Brown’s attorney did not make a statement to the press, a lawyer for Rihanna spoke to reporters after the hearing. Donald Etra confirmed that Rihanna is in her native Barbados but would testify if subpoenaed. Asked directly if his client thought Brown is guilty, Etra said, “Her position on the case is to leave the matters of guilt or innocence to the judge and or defence counsel”.

The two pop stars are thought to have reconciled, although they have not recently been seen together.

Brown will return to court for a status hearing on 29 April. {Source}

While I’m sure many will be pointing to that now infamous Rihanna Police Pic and scratching their heads as to how Chris could plead ‘Not Guilty’ (hell, I am), this kinda has me thinking there is yet more to come out from this story….

Your thoughts?

Lil’ Kim continues to soar on Dancing With The Stars. Check out her performance of the Argentine Tango on last week (week 4), and her performance of the Viennese Waltz last night (week 5):
Your thoughts?

Peep this hilarious clip of new hidden camera show ‘True Colors’. I won’t spoil it for you all, but I spat out my drink at “I will pull off this this wig”. LOL LOL LOL.
Your thoughts?
T-Boz Talks TLC, Destiny's Child, Performing With Alicia Keys & More
Our very good friend, Jawn Murray, over at AOL Black Voices, caught up with Tionne Watkins, known by most as TLC’s T-Boz. The 38 year old spoke candidly about many a topic, including a possible TLC movie, Beyonce being ‘favourite’ in Destiny’s Child, performing with Alicia Keys at the BET Awards and more. Check out extracts from the interview below:
On TLC Movie:
Jawn: I hear you and Chilli have been approached about a TLC movie. Monique Coleman from ‘High School Musical’ says it’s her dream to play Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in a film.
T-Boz: That’s awesome to hear. I am interested now whereas I wasn’t before. I actually do want to pursue making this movie. We’re talking to companies now so right now it’s just talk. People are actively pursuing it and that’s a great thing.

Jawn: What actress would you like to play you in the film?

T-Boz: It would have to be a girl who has a lot of cool personality like a prissy tomboy. She has to look good with blond hair, because she must swag out the blond. I love Kyla Pratt. She has a lot of personality and a lot of spunk. I think Meagan Good can do it, too. I like both of them. In ‘ATL,’ Lauren London played me and she did a great job. ‘ATL’ was about Dallas Austin and my experience growing up in the skating rink. The only difference was that we [were not in a relationship]. That was part of the movie. I executive produced it, and it was a part of my life. That was really my story.

Jawn: What actress should play Chilli? I pick Keshia Knight Pulliam or Tatyana Ali or anyone else who can brush down their baby hair.

T-Boz: Those are two good picks. Keshia still has that valley girl in her and so does Tatyana, so they make great looks, but they have to get rid of the valley girl part, because Rozanda has no valley girl in her at all. You can buy the lace-front weave and anybody can have her hair. All you got to do is call up Tyra Banks and ask her where she gets her wigs from.

On Performing With Alicia Keys:

Jawn: Alicia Keys got you and Chilli to reunite and perform on last year’s BET Awards. How did it make you feel that a singer who wasn’t even in a girl group professionally wanted to celebrate TLC, SWV and En Vogue like that?
T-Boz: I love Alicia and that was the only reason I did it. We’ve never said yes to perform with anybody, ever. She is one of those people that you respect and feel honored to be asked and that’s why we said yes. I don’t count the BET Awards as a real TLC performance. That was just a mess altogether. That was a terrible day for me. It wasn’t a regular TLC show anyway. At a real TLC show, we run things and are energetic and dance. That was just a hot mess. I’m very excited to do what we do, and I’ll be back in my element. That sure wasn’t my element. I’m happy to be back, and we’ll be doing it the way that we do it.

On Destiny’s Child / Beyonce / Kelly:

Jawn: When you hear stories about what’s going on with Destiny’s Child and Kelly Rowland having to fire Matthew Knowles to finally get attention, what are your thoughts?
T-Boz: They get mad when I say this, but I don’t give a damn. It was all about Beyonce anyway. She was my favorite, too, but come on. Her parents are over everything. Who do you think they were going for? It’s always Beyonce. It was supposed to be exactly the way it is now, Bey is on top. I love Beyonce, and I am a fan of hers. She was my favorite in the group even before they were Destiny’s Child and they were the Baby Dolls. She was so cute and pretty. I like all of them, and I wish Kelly the best. When you’re in a girl group, you have differences, and you have to learn how to respectfully agree to disagree. There are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that people don’t know about. Some girl groups have girls trying to steal other girls’ boyfriends and that’s the ultimate no-no. You have situations like the Kelly thing and Beyonce’s parents. You can say that I’m out for everybody, but if Lisa was to bring somebody in that’s her boyfriend, then I’m gonna feel like you got Lisa’s back more than mine, and that’s gonna be a no-no. I just think that brings a conflict of interest in the beginning. That would have been a hard group for me to be in, because I would have been like your mommy and daddy are running things and they’re gonna have you at heart the most. That’s just how I feel.

Wow…she really went there LOL. I must say, I’m really liking T-Boz’s blunt and frank delivery.

Your thoughts?

Pussycat Doll only lead singer Nicole Scherzinger took center stage at WWE’s Wrestlemania 25 extravaganza in Houston, Texas last night, opening the show with ‘America The Beautiful’. While her rendition wasn’t completely terrible, it was down right cringeworthy for the most part. Strained, off and generally ‘a mess’ are what immediately comes to mind after watching this one.

Tidbit: Random, I know, but as a big WWE fan, I was wondering if anyone else caught Wrestlemania last night? HBK vs The Undertaker was a classic! Ok, enough of my rambling…

What do you think of the performance?

Alexandra Arrives In US
According to reports, Alexandra Burke is already in the US working with hit-makers for her much-anticipated debut LP:
X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has arrived in Los Angeles to start work on her debut album.
The 20-year-old singer is expected to spend the next two months in the US after completing the ITV1 show’s live stadium tour last week.
According to the Sunday Mirror, Burke will begin by teaming up with music producer Red One, who has recently collaborated with Akon and Lady GaGa.
An insider told the newspaper: “She is so excited. This is the moment she’s been waiting for – to get into the studio and start work.”
Simon Cowell recently predicted that Burke can match the success of X Factor’s 2006 winner Leona Lewis, saying “she can be as big as Leona. We’ve already selected three or four songs for her and I’m happy with what we’ve done so far.” {Source}
I’m definitely getting the impression that Alex’s team are readying an uptempo sound for the 20 year old’s debut. I say this especially when looking at the named producer she’s working with – Red One (‘Just Dance’ etc), as well as the producers she’s said to be hitting the studio with soon too (Neptunes, Akon etc).
Your thoughts?

The official Kanye West assisted remix for Beyonce’s ‘Ego’ surfaced over the weekend.
Having enjoyed the swagger-heavy original, I must say I’m disappointed with this. There’s nothing in the way of new vocals on Bouncy’s part and Kanye’s verse seemed lazy and long. For a  collaboration of such a magnitude, and for song that is said to be getting the single treatment, this one kinda disappoints IMO.
Hit or Miss?
Ciara 'Fantasy Ride' Cover & Tracklisting
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.
Your thoughts?

Tensions came to a head with Day26 once again on the latest episode of MTV’s Making The Band. This time, at the center of the fray were Q and Brian. These guys are something else…
Tidbit: Is it me or is the fact that their album is out real soon (April 14th) not really known by the masses?
Your thoughts?
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