Mariah Carey is clearing the Christmas air.

Ahead of the December 20 premiere of her CBS holiday special, ‘Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All,’ the Pop icon hit the promo trail by visiting ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.’

There, before playing the fast-round ‘Colbert Questionert,’ Mariah made sure to address recent press concerning her titling as “Queen of Christmas.”

“First of all, may I say I never called myself the ‘Queen of Christmas. Can we please be clear on that?,” she said.

The statement came in response to reports of her failed attempt to trademark the name last month. The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board denied her exclusive rights to the moniker, a decision made due to push back from singers Elizabeth Chan and Darlene Love.

“As an independent artist and small business owner, my life’s work is to bring people together for the holiday season, which is how I came to be called the Queen of Christmas,” Chan revealed in a press statement. “I wear that title as a badge of honor and with full knowledge that it will be — and should be — bestowed on others in the future… My goal in taking on this fight was to stand up to trademark bullying not just to protect myself but also to protect future Queens of Christmas.”

Always one with a quip, Mimi was sure to let folks know who the real Queen of Christmas is.

“They can look up every interview I’ve ever done, and not to get super religious, but I was like, ‘I think, like, if anybody would be the ‘Queen of Christmas,’ that would be Mary [mother of Jesus Christ],” she joked.

Did you miss the action when it first aired? No worries; we’ve got you covered.

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From Justin Bieber to Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kirk Franklin, and others, Mariah Carey is no stranger to calling on some of the biggest names in music over the years to assist with her annual Christmas domination.

And, if fans of fellow music royal Dolly Parton get their way, the Country Queen may be the newest added to the list.

Details inside.

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If the real-time sales tallies of Apple Music and iTunes are anything to judge by, SZA fans apparently couldn’t wait to get their hands on her sophomore album, ‘SOS.’

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The People’s Choice Awards 2022 rocked NBC and E! airwaves Tuesday (December 6) from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica!

As its banner title relays, this show is notable for having its winners voted for entirely by the public.

Spanning a wide variety of categories from music to television, movies, and more, the 2022 ceremony saw the likes of Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Harry Styles, and more go head-to-head for some of the night’s top honors.

Did your choice nab an award at the Kenan Thompson-hosted showing? Find out below…

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Brandy is set to reprise the role of Cinderella in the upcoming Disney+ movie ‘The Pocketwatch.’

Full story below…

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Welcome To The Latest
TGJ Roundtable!

Over the years, That Grape Juice has established a distinguished voice that – whether loved or loathed – sparks discussion, debate, and on occasion drama!

Though comprised of seasoned writers who share a similar outlook on Urban Pop culture, the idiosyncrasies of the TGJ team members often lend for quite heated debates “behind the scenes” about the hottest topics.

Now, we give you a front-row seat to the show. In a format similar to ‘The View’ or ‘The Real’, TGJ editors – Sam, Rashad, Joe, and Ryan – get real in a very candid way.

Today’s roundtable topic asks each anchor their thoughts on the…

2022 American Music Awards 

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After Tamera Mowry-Housley scored top ratings and critical acclaim with three previous Hallmark holiday films (2019’s ‘Christmas Miracle,’ 2020’s ‘Christmas Comes Twice,’ and 2021’s ‘Santa Stakeout’), the EMMY winner is hoping for a royal redo of that success with her fourth yuletide venture with the network: ‘Inventing the Christmas Prince.’

Also starring Mark Brandon and Mercedes Blanche, ‘Prince’ sees Mowry-Housley portray a rocket engineer who’s about to call it quits at her job until her daughter (Blanche) intervenes with a fantasy that convinces her that her mom’s ‘Scrooge-like boss’ (Brandon) is the real-life incarnation of the ‘Christmas prince’ – a character the young girl made up.

Does the madness that ensue turn Tamera’s boss to her boo?  There’s only one way to find out.

Ahead of its November 18 premiere, look inside to see the trailer to the Paul Ziller-directed flick.

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It’s become custom for each Halloween to bring with it millions of streams, spins, and celebration of Michael Jackson‘s ‘Thriller.’

This year, though, we’re spotlighting the criminally underrated ‘Ghosts’ – which is this week’s From The Vault pick.

Directed by Stan Winston and written by Stephen King and Mick Garris, the whimsical clip is based on a story helmed by Jackson, Garris, and King.

Released in 1996, it tells the tale of an eccentric man with supernatural powers who is forced out of a small town by its judgmental mayor. Suffice it to say, it’s clear Jackson was leaning all the way into the parallels with the happenings in his own life.

Ever the creative, he seized the visual – both its narrative and explosive performance elements – to drive his message home and make clear who the real adversaries were. Flexing his acting skills, MJ played five (yes, five) roles in the short film – including that of the villainous major.

Uniquely, ‘Ghosts’ – which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival – fused music from 1995’s ‘HIStory’ and ‘Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix’ – the latter of which arrived in 1997. The songs featured are ‘2 Bad,’ ‘Is It Scary’ and ‘Ghosts.’ 

‘Ghosts’ nor the music it served as the vehicle for were a hit. Quite the contrary.

Critics sadly lambasted the visual (which, in its original form, ran for 38 minutes and held the record for the longest music video until 2013) for being too on the nose as an allegory for Jackson’s struggles. Unsurprisingly, at a time when the fate of most music was in the hands of said critics, the songs included didn’t pop either and are considered “rare gems” in contemporary discourse about Jackson’s latter-day discography.

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Almost three decades on from its release, we have a renewed sense of appreciation for ‘Ghosts.’

Sure, it’s story is a lil’ on the literal side and, when viewed through today’s lens, is almost cartoon-esque.

However, we applaud MJ for consistently pushing the envelope visually and himself as a performer. Nearing 40 at the time and boasting both a catalog and videography like no other, it’s arguable that the King of Pop had nothing left to prove at that point. Yet, as is trademark with the greats, the appetite to up the ante and redefine what greatness both looks like and means was way too appealing of a concept to the megastar.

With ‘Ghosts,’ Jackson delivered one of the finest visual offerings of his later career and some of the best music video choreography of his entire career. An eternal salute.

Your thoughts?

With award show season in full swing, expect the year’s best and biggest in entertainment to be gearing up to grace the stages of annual staples to perform or accept some of the industry’s most coveted trophies.

The latest to unveil its highly anticipated list of nominees is the NBC & E! People’s Choice Awards.

Hosted by Kenan Thompson, the year’s list of leading musical nominees includes Bad Bunny (7), Harry Styles (6), Lizzo and Selena Gomez (5 apiece), and Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift (3 each).

They aren’t the only big names in the running for the night’s prized statuettes, however.

Ahead of the show’s December 6 air date, look inside for the full list of nominees across music, television, movies, and more.

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A career as captivating as Angela Bassett‘s undoubtedly has peaks and troughs that skew both public and private. And the superstar opens up about all in the November / December issue of Essence Magazine. 

Covering the latest edition of the publication in illustrated form, Bassett draws on a variety of narratives to make clear that her story is one defined by colors – both light and dark, challenges, and overcoming the tallest of obstacles.

Within her candid feature, the 64-year-old talks about the “butterflies” she felt on set reprising her role as matriarch Ramona in Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ (which premieres on November 11).

Bassett also waxed candid about the juxtaposition between breaking through with her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ and the reality that it didn’t multiply her opportunities at the time.

Head below for quotes on these and more…

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After reports surfaced her home had been burglarized (as we reported here), Megan Thee Stallion stunned her beloved fans –  affectionately called #Hotties – with an update that she is set to take a break from the music scene due to being “physically and emotionally tired.”

The hiatus, scheduled to kick off after her scorching double-duty time at ‘SNL’ as host and musical performer over the weekend (October 15), doesn’t mean the Hot Girl Coach won’t find time to party with her boyfriend Pardi, however.

Look inside to see how the lovebirds toasted each other on social media in celebration of their 2-year dating anniversary.

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Another day, another Eminem record.

Already the best-selling digital artist in history, Em – who is also the only act to boast three Diamond-certified singles and three Diamond-certified albums – learned one of those RIAA-reigning sets, ‘Curtain Call,’ made history again on the Billboard 200 this week.

Details inside.

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