Controversial singer Chris Brown took to his Twitter a few hours ago to vent his frustrations at what he believes is the industry attempting to blackball his comeback attempt. Here’s what the 20 year said:

I’m tired of this shit. Major stores are blackballing my cd. Not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. What the f*ck do i gotta do…

WTF… yeah i said it and I ain’t retracting sh*t. I’m not biting my tongue about shit else… the industry can kiss my ass.

thx again to my real fans. u dont go unnoticed .love yall

WOW! In as much as some will question the point Chris’ outburst (which I’m almost certain is to do with the 100k prediction for his LP’s sales first week), I find it somewhat refreshing to see an artist so impassioned about their work that they have no qualms in airing out the industry politics etc that are threatening its success. Though I’m not exactly sure what it was going to achieve, other than alert the masses as to what is going on behind the scenes, think about how many artists get screwed over by the industry and just sit there and keep quiet until they bonafide flop and their names and statuses are dented.

In any case, keeping the focus solely on the music (which many publications seem to struggle with doing these days – see: ‘Graffiti’ reviews), ‘Graffiti’ is a great body of work, which deserves more success than its being positioned to achieve.

Your thoughts?

After months of speculation and a string of erroneous reports, Universal Music Group has just announced that Mariah Carey will be embarking on an 8-week, 19-city North American tour. The ‘Angels Advocate’ tour will be preceded by a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City and officially begin on January 2nd at Borgata in Atlantic City. The production will support the diva’s 12th studio album, ‘Memoir of An Imperfect Angel’, which has been commercial disappointment by selling less than 344, 000 copies since it’s September release. Peep the official list of locations below:

Dec. 31 New York, NY Madison Square Garden – on sale now
Jan. 2 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata – on sale now
Jan. 15-16 Mashantucket, CT MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods – on sale 12/11
Jan. 19 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre – on sale 12/19
Jan. 21 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – on sale 12/18
Jan. 25 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre – on sale 12/19
Jan. 27 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall – on sale 12/18
Jan. 30 Boston, MA Wang Theatre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 1 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 4 Montreal, Que. Bell Centre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 6 Ottawa, Ont. Scotiabank Place – on sale 12/21
Feb. 9 Toronto, Ont. Air Canada Centre – on sale 12/21
Feb. 10 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center – on sale 12/19
Feb. 13 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 16 Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium – on sale TBA
Feb. 18 Dallas, TX Nokia Theatre – on sale 12/18
Feb. 20 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 23 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Theatre – on sale 12/19
Feb. 26 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena – on sale 12/19
Feb. 27 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl Concert Theater – on sale 12/19 {Source}

As a major supporter of Mariah Carey’s music and someone who enjoyed the ‘Memoirs…’ album, I am indeed excited she will be hitting the road once again. However, I am concerned that this maybe a little too late. The album has underperformed tremendously on the charts and has already fallen halfway down the Billboard 200. Furthermore, with only one hit record from the project, I highly doubt that people will be enthused to see her perform material from the album at all.

The real question is if she will be able to consistently sell out venues on her journey around the nation. Judging by the list of sites, it seems that label has taken this into consideration, as she will only be performing in small to medium venues. Hopefully, this will help the sales of her LP because at this rate, it does not seem that she will even go Gold (a first for Carey whose other 11 studio releases have all gone platinum or higher).

Thoughts?

The video for Alexandra Burke‘s latest single ‘Broken Heels’ premiered a few moments ago. Shot in the Los Angeles last month, the Frank Gatson (Beyonce) choreographed clip unsurprisingly has a distinct US feel and polish to it which is most definitely a good look. Speaking of ‘good looks’, Alexandra looked great and moved even better – she was working that choreography!

Having not been sold on the song, and admittedly still not being its biggest supporter, I find myself liking it a whole lot better after watching this – a testament to how good this clip is. Gwan Alex! LOL

What do you think of the song?

“Tis the season to be jolly”…and jolly we are, because today sees the launch of That Grape Juice’s 1st annual Christmas Give-Away!

We have teamed up several major players, including Nokia, EA Games, THQ and Sony Music, to give you the chance to win prizes that will ensure you have a very Merry Christmas this year courtesy of That Grape Juice!

Check out list of items up for grabs! Click on any for further details!

Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-905 (Retail Price: £150.00) – * Twitter only comp* Click here to follow us to be in with a chance of winning!

The Sims 3 (PC)

The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack (PC)

MySims Agent (Wii)

FIFA 09 (PS3)

Need for Speed Nitro (Wii)

Brutal Legend (X360)

Rock Band 2 (XBOX 360, PS3)

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 (XBOX 360, PS3, PS2)

The Fame Monster – Lady GaGa

Untitled – R. Kelly

Graffiti – Chris Brown

Tyson (DVD)

**Just added!**

*Surprise Gift (Retail Price: £150)

Number Ones / The Best – Janet Jackson

The Element of Freedom – Alicia Keys

& More!

To be in with a chance of winning, email your desired list of prizes (it could be everything!)  as well as your full name, age, contact number and address to competitions@thatgrapejuice.net. Please be sure to put ‘Xmas Comp’ as the subject. Winner will be selected randomly. Competition ends Saturday 19th December.

Good luck!!!

* Banner Credit: Luca!

According to Mariah Daily Journal, the 39 year old diva is now set to release not one, bit two ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel‘ LP in the coming year. The first (the main) will comprise of R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop remixes, while the other will be a Dance record featuring Jump Smokers remixes of tracks from original LP.

Oh Mimi. So the original album sold triple wood, and instead of disappearing quietly and sparing herself any embarrassment, she drops two remix albums. Newsflash: If no one bought it the first time, they sure as hell won’t be buying the second, third, fourth?! It’s like there’s a 12 year old at the steering the wheel of her career at the moment. I mean, for a number of reasons, ‘Memoirs’ passed away a long time ago. Surely now would be the time to regroup, live a little and come back with something people will part with their money for.

Worse still for Mariah, when she does drop another project, she will be over 40 (that’s if she isn’t already…I’m not being a cow, there are legitimately reports that she is!) Not that I agree with the notion, but it’ll be problematic in that the industry appears to have a silent ‘you’re past it if over 40’ M-O – just ask Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Toni Braxton and Madonna (to a lesser extent). While some of the aforementioned are still snatching wigs and doing the damn thing, it’s clear they almost have to graft that much harder (almost like a new act) to garner radio play and support from the industry. With MiMi still attempting to sell her sex-appeal, which long expired, she’ll have an uphill struggle, unfortunately, trying to re-position herself in an industry she had in the palm of her hand just 3 years ago (damn you ‘E=MC2’ and ‘Memoirs’). Sigh…

Your thoughts?

R&B star Keri Hilson performed new German-only single ‘I Like’ at the ‘Pop Stars: You & I’ finale in Oberhausen, Germany last night. Kudos to Keri for continuing to up her profile outside of the States. About the performance itself, though, I quite enjoyed it. Although – for however much good was intended with the Michael & Janet ‘Scream’ part – it really should have never been included. All-in-all, a pretty good performance. Go Keri!

What do you think of the performance?

Alicia Keys has been over here in the UK for a minute promoting ‘The Element of Freedom’, her 4th studio album which is due in stores next week. Check out her performance of current single ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’.

A decent enough live showing, I guess. However, I’m really not feeling the song and feel she could’ve come harder for the record’s lead single, especially considering the fact her album boasts songs more deserving of the 1st single treatment.

What do you think of the performance?

Bajan model Rihanna continues along the promotional trail for her ‘Rated R’ LP, most recently stopping by BET’s 106 & Park to perform new single ‘Hard’.

Getting the good out of the way first (I know…), Ms. Fenty certainly exuded a lot more swagger than I’ve seen from her before and the crowd were H-Y-P-E-D, which can only ever be a good thing for any live performance. That said, it came off as if she was performing at a local high-school talent show. In any case, some folk seem to like that, so…errr….more power to her?

What do you think of the performance?

US Magazine snagged this exclusive shot of Christina Milian and The-Dream‘s wedding, which recently took place in Rome, Italy.

Christina looks great, but if Dream’s outfit isn’t a boiling hot mess I don’t know what is! There’s nothing wrong with trying to be fashion forward, but my goodness those boots – on your wedding day. I vote ‘no’…hell no.

Your thoughts?

Diva Mariah Carey stopped by the Regis & Kelly show today to plug her… everything lol. Though I commend Mimi’s promo hustle, I can’t help but feel irked everytime she uses her marriage for promotion (which is exactly what it is). Yes, the interviewers ask her about it, but surely she or her team could find means to eliminate that line of questioning from the possible pool of questions. I mean, ol Mimi has been married nearly two years now. Must we hear the same regurgitated story of how Nick (Cannon) proposed in every interview? Upon that, why isn’t she performing on these shows? Hasn’t she or her team seen ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’s current position on the Billboard 200 – #118. I’m just saying…

Your thoughts?

R&B star Brandy put her sweet harmonies on the bench for a night, instead debuting her rap alter-ego (Bran’ Nu) live at Timbaland‘s ‘Shock Value II’ album release party in Miami last week. You can check out how the 29 year old did above.

What do you think of the performance?

Stars and industry folk came out full force last night in London for the Alicia Keys Album Launch In Association With W Hotels. Ms. Keys journeyed back to some of her earlier hits including ‘If IAin’t Got You’ and ‘Fallin’, as well as newer material from her new LP ‘The Element of Freedom’. Tidbit: That Grape Juice was supposed to attend, but I put the request in too late. Moral of the story: Procrastination is not hot!

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Dave Benett]