That Grape Juice UpdateAfter taking a brief moment to soak up Obama’s victory, it’s back to business here at That Grape Juice. I’d like to take a quick moment to update you all on a few things; so without further ado:

Comments: Comments are working properly now! We’ve had technical difficulties with the embedded comments box (at the bottom of a given post). Hence for now we’ve reverted back to the pop-up box. We love to hear what you all are thinking about everything and anything, so please do continue to express yourself. (It’s advsised that you may need to turn off your pop-up blocker – if you have one)

Janet Competition: After the postponement and rumored cancelling of several dates of Janet Jackson’s ‘Rock Witchu’ tour, our ‘That Grape Juice Wants To Rock Witchu’ ticket give-away contest has inevitably affected (possibly fatally). Stay tuned, particularly over the next few days, for a concrete update on this.

D. Woods Interview: The former Danity Kane star will be interviewed by That Grape Juice within the coming week. Scheduling conflicts have been the primary cause of the delay.

Guess Who?: Speaking of interviews, we are very close to confirming interviews with two members of a very well known musical family. Any guess on who?

Emails: For those whose emails have seemingly gone unanswered, please accept my apologies. The site literally receives upwards of 100 emails daily, so it can become a little difficult sifting though them all – even harder to respond to them all. Rest assured that I’m trying my hardest to respond to as many as possible – as much as time permits.

Thank you all for the support; it’s very very very much appreciated.

Remember to keep it locked on ThatGrapeJuice.net!
Danity Kane Drama Continues; Group Refuse New Season Of Making The BandIt appears as though those who thought the controversial ‘axing’ of Aubrey O’ Day and D. Woods from Danity Kane signalled the end of the drama surrounding the once-five-piece were wrong. According to new reports, there continues to be internal friction within the group and Bad Boy/MTV, with the ladies apparently refusing to sign on for the next season of Making The Band 4. Check out the report via ForWomenOnline.com below:

We have learned that MTV will begin shooting the next season of Making The Band in 2 weeks, however, it will be WITHOUT the 2 members of Danity Kane. Apparently, the group is said to be extremely fed up with Diddy and living out their lives in front of the MTV cameras.

The new season is following Day 26(the male group formed from the reality series) as they go out on the road and prepare to tour Europe. The season will also capture Donnie Klang a.k.a. Aubrey O’day’s former love interest, as he tours with New Kids On The Block.

The remaining girls(Dawn Richards, Aundrea Fimbres) and possibly Shannon Bex?? will have a “meeting” with Diddy on camera but that is their extent of their participation right now with no contract in place to appear in the new series. Maybe this will be the episode where Shannon tells Diddy and her fans that she quit? We hear that she has not “officially” come back to the group and though she may perform here and there with the remaining 2 group members, she did resign and no one has heard otherwise.

A mess, if there ever was one. For all their ‘potential’, I’m sure as anything that no one will be watching Making The Band 4 just to see Day26. For the sake of the group, show and whatnot, here’s hoping Danity Kane in their original form patch it up and keep it moving.

Any thoughts?

The youngest of the Knowles clan, Solange, is currently here in the UK to promote the release of her current single ‘Sandcastle Disco’, the 22 year old stopped by The Paul O’Grady show (which was being guest-hosted by Spice Girl Mel B) earlier this week to perform the track as well as sit down for an interview. You can check out the performance above and interview below:

The performance was solid, as is becoming the norm for burgeoning star. I must say she also came across really well in the interview too – and seemed to let her hair down a lot more than we usually see from her, which can only be described as a good thing.

Tidbit: As mentioned during her interview, Solange is currently on a tour of the UK, click here to see dates and prices for the shows.

Your thoughts?

Keri Hilson's 'A Perfect World' Pushed Back According to Billboard, Keri Hilson’s serially delayed debut ‘In A Perfect World’ has been…you guessed it…pushed back – again! Originally re-scheduled to drop on December 9th (after several set dates), the album is now listed with an ‘early 2009’ release date. {Source}
This is really becoming the Nicole Scherzinger, Mya etc case of 2008. Unlike the aforementioned though, this is particularly sad as Keri’s album, by all indications, looks to be one of the year’s best IMO. This really doesn’t bode well for her chances of actually shifting any units, as most of the tracks are “available”. Still, I won’t count Keri out and I’m wish her the best – she’s gonna need it!

Your thoughts?
Official: Barack Obama Wins US Presidency After a long and hard fought battle, Barack Obama has officially won the US presidencial election:

(CNN) — CNN projects that Barack Obama will be the nation’s 44th president.
Obama will address the country from a rally in Chicago, Illinois, later Tuesday night.

As news broke, supporters cried and cheered, “Yes, we can.”

Obama will become the first African-American to win the presidency.

The Illinois senator is projected to pick up a big win in Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Obama also is projected to beat Sen. John McCain in Ohio, a battleground state that was considered a must-win for the Republican candidate. {Source}

Woooooooooo! I’m beyond ecstatic right now. Yes, you’ve likely not seen much election coverage on That Grape Juice (it simply isn’t our lane), however Obama’s win no doubt means a lot to black people and moreso the world at large. Sky really is the limit!


“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk..Martin walked so Obama could run.. Obama is running so our children CAN FLY!” – Jay Z, November 3rd 2008

Your thoughts?
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R&B songstress continues her comeback campaign, yesterday stopping by BET’s 106 & Park to perform current single ‘Right Here (Departed)’. Put simply, she looked great and sounded even better. The live band were a nice touch. Great performance.

Brandy’s LP ‘Human’ hits stores on December 9th.

Your thoughts?

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Jennifer Kisses Mother Goodbye At Funeral A private funeral service for the murdered family of Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson was held in Chicago yesterday. Check out the report via People.com below:

Jennifer Hudson kissed her mother goodbye during a heartfelt private service for her slain family members in Chicago on Monday.

The Oscar-winning actress spent a few moments at the caskets of her brother and nephew, and gently touched the body of her mother before leaning down to kiss her, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Toward the end of the service, American Idol’s season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino sang a rousing rendition of the gospel classic “Your Grace and Mercy.” During the song, she walked into the aisle where she took Hudson’s hand and sang directly to her.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley both spoke at the service. After the funeral, a horse-drawn carriage led the procession to the cemetery.

The private service comes a day after a public service was held for Darnell Donerson, 57, Jason Hudson, 29, and Julian King, 7, at the Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church near their Chicago home.

Police discovered the bodies of Hudson’s mother and brother on Oct. 24, and her nephew’s three days later.

Though no one has been charged, police have classified Jennifer’s brother-in-law, William Balfour, as “a person of interest.”

The Hudson family members will be buried at Oak Woods Cemetery on the South Side of Chicago.

It is also being reported that many of Jennifer’s well known friends came out to pay their respects to the Hudson family including Oprah Winfrey, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah and Usher.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer and her family at this time.

Your thoughts?

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Former Spice Girl Mel B has been in the studio for several months now prepping her latest solo assault on the music scene. This new track ‘Who’s Is It’, which was produced by Scott Storch, is said to be a track from the as yet untitled set. Though the production really does bite off the Pop/Electro/Urban fused sound that has been all the rage for the last few years, it’s the best thing about the otherwise terrible song. Mel, no doubt, has a great personality and whatnot, but this is a big reminder that she could never sing…that well. What’s more the lyrics are just…blah. Times have changed since her last major attempt at solo success and so have expectations. This crap just isn’t going to cut it.

Hit or Miss?

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Britney Spears Confirmed For X FactorAfter much media speculation, it has been confirmed that comeback queen Britney Spears will be appearing on the X Factor next week – both to mentor and perform:

Britney Spears will appear on The X Factor on November 15, Simon Cowell has confirmed.

The popstar will perform new single ‘Womanizer’ on the ITV talent search on her first visit to the UK since 2004.

Cowell told the News Of The World: “I’m really excited about it, because she has got her act together and the new record is terrific.

“She has come back from a very dark place and is a terrific artist.”

Mariah Carey will perform new single ‘I Stay In Love’ on the programme this Saturday. {Source}

Granted she continues to keep a low profile between now and next week, this is set to be the first performance of Britney’s since that disatrous 2007 MTV VMA showing – and the first of smash ‘Womanizer’. Finger’s crossed she delivers the goods.

Your thoughts?

Preview Beyonce's 'I Am...Sasha Fierce' You can now preview Beyonce’s hotly anticipated new album ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’ album in it’s entirety over at 7 Digital, the link for which you can find below:

Wow! Granted the ‘Beyonce’ side of the record sounds pretty impressive, the ‘Sasha Fierce’ side sounds like it’ll be the real winner. I joke not when I say every single track from the Sasha CD sounds like the hotness. From the Darkchild produced ‘Scared of Lonely’ to the swagger-fied ‘Diva’ (which sounds like a female ‘A Milli’), ‘Video Phone’, next single ‘Ego’ and ‘Radio’ all sound great. Hell, the whole thing has me anticipating the record that much more. November 18th, well 17th for us UK folk couldn’t come any sooner.

Randomness: The previously heard ‘Beautiful Nightmare’ has been renamed ‘Sweet Dreams’ and will be featured on the Sasha Fierce CD

What do you think of the preview?

Preview Beyonce's 'I Am...Sasha Fierce' You can now preview Beyonce’s hotly anticipated new album ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’ album in it’s entirety over at 7 Digital, the link for which you can find below:

Wow! Granted the ‘Beyonce’ side of the record sounds pretty impressive, the ‘Sasha Fierce’ side sounds like it’ll be the real winner. I joke not when I say every single track from the Sasha CD sounds like the hotness. From the Darkchild produced ‘Scared of Lonely’ to the swagger-fied ‘Diva’ (which sounds like a female ‘A Milli’), ‘Video Phone’, next single ‘Ego’ and ‘Radio’ all sound great. Hell, the whole thing has me anticipating the record that much more. November 18th, well 17th for us UK folk couldn’t come any sooner.

Randomness: The previously heard ‘Beautiful Nightmare’ has been renamed ‘Sweet Dreams’ and will be featured on the Sasha Fierce CD

What do you think of the preview?

This week’s From The Vault serves up not the usual one clip, but two. This time we journey back 8 years to 2000 with Pink’s debut single ‘There You Go’ and follow-up ‘Most Girls’. As seemingly one of the the few that actually prefer Ms. Moore with her current Pop/Rock sound, I still hold her sole R&B LP ‘Can’t Take Me Home’ in high regard; these standout cuts from the record IMO:

There You Go

Most Girls

For all the quality music and success that Pink has enjoyed since switching up her sound, it’s not uncommon to hear the ‘Oh, she should go back to R&B’ statement from many a person. That said, peep this idea (tell me if it’s wack too LOL); wouldn’t it be great if her next release was a double CD of sorts with 1 CD being the Pop/Rock songs and the other being more R&B-tinged. I mean her voice certainly is versatile enough to do her thing on both. Then again, with the singer herself saying she felt forced into the R&B thing, the liklihood of this happening is slim. Still one can dream…

Your thoughts?
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