That Grape Juice is pleased to announce that we will be interviewing Grammy Award winning singer Kelly Rowland here in London within the next few days.

The Destiny’s Child alumni will be in town promoting her new ‘Commander’, which hit iTunes this week.

Have any questions for Kelly? Be sure to drop them in the comments section. As usual, only legitimate questions will be considered.

Thanks!

Check out the cover of Kelly Rowland’s ‘Commander (Extended Dance Mix)’ single cover courtesy of Rap-Up.com. The song new version of the song was revealed by its producer, David Guetta, in Germany. ‘Commander’ hits iTunes on May 18th. Listen to the mix below:

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After sending fans into a frenzy with the première of her new single ‘Commander’ this week, Kelly Rowland is proceeding full steam with the promotion of the track.

Indeed, it has been confirmed today that the song’s accompanying video will be shot next Wednesday (May 5th) in Los Angeles. While the clip’s director is currently unknown, the revered Fatima Robinson will be choreographing the video.

Exciting stuff!

Tidbit: Word has it Rowland’s camp are mulling over whether to release ‘Commander’ in all territories or to go with another single in the US (What do you think?). In any case, current plans see the song being released to iTunes (including) in about 2 weeks.

Your thoughts?

It appears the initial buzz surrounding Christina Aguilera‘s comeback single ‘Not Myself Tonight’ hasn’t been enough to power the song up the charts. Despite being released almost month ago, the song, today, sits at a disappointing #64 on the iTunes chart – noticeably dropping several places over the course of the week.

In looking at why the Polow Da Don produced cut is struggling to catch on, its lack of a proper hook or chorus may be one explanation (it simply doesn’t ‘stick’ in ones head). That and the fact that its accompanying video is taking, perhaps, too long to debut. In any case, one can only hope the video premiere on May 5th helps garner Christina a higher position – as this is kinda embarrassing.

Tidbit: Lady GaGa’s two year old hit ‘Poker Face’ leap-frogs Aguilera’s latest effort this week, hitting #62 on the chart. Just saying…

Your thoughts?

Peep R&B star Ciara posing it up on the red carpet at the Los Angeles première of the movie ‘Death At A Funeral’ last night. Nice.

In other Ciara news, it appears there has either been a change of plans on her label’s end regarding the premiere of new single ‘Ride’or the source-cited by her usually-reliable fansites may have been inaccurate. While many a fan sat waiting in vein at their radios yesterday, expecting to hear the song, That Grape Juice reached out to her label Jive to get to the bottom of the situation. Interestingly, the label informed us that they knew nothing at all of a planned ‘Ride’ premiere for yesterday. Even more confusing, Ciara’s usually-active Twitter was silent yesterday, with no updates posted. Kinda has us thinking the whole thing may be a buzz-generating plan; smart, yet one which could easily backfire, should the song not deliver.

Still, with an anticipated iTunes release date of April 20th, it can’t be long until the Ludacris-assisted cut makes its debut.

Your thoughts?

Former Misteeq singer, Sabrina Washington, stopped by GMTV this morning to perform smashing new single ‘OMG’ (which is available on iTunes now). Sporting a daring hairdo and an even more out-there outfit, Ms. Washington held her own, doing the song justice live.

Check out the performance after the jump…(performance starts at 1.50 mark)…

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UK singer/songwriter and producer Taio Cruz has taken the US by storm with his new single ‘Break Your Heart’, which for its Stateside release features rapper Ludacris. So much so have the US warmed to the Londoner that the song is currently #1 on the iTunes. Cruz will, therefore no doubt, be hoping confirmed follow-up ‘Dirty Picture’ enjoys similar success.

Featuring ‘It’ chick of the moment, Ke$ha, the song sees the pair trade suggestive lyrics, with a thumping Electro-Pop beat serving as its backdrop. Though lyrically rather empty, it’s hard to deny its overall catchiness. Decent.

Hit or Miss?

Pinned: Normal Posts Resume Below!

That Grape Juice caught up with Grammy award winning R&B star Monica this week. In our candid interview with the mother-of-two, she spoke on everything from finding her place in the industry again, to whether her hit BET reality show will be returning, exclusive details on her new album ‘Still Standing’, marriage, kids, Rihanna, and much more.

As ever, we ask the questions you really want answers to. A great read, I must say….Enjoy!

{Transcription by Bisi Kadejoh}

Monica Shouts Out That Grape Juice

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After a ten year hiatus, Sade has shot straight to the top of the Billboard 200 with new LP ‘Solder of Love’, it has been confirmed today. The album, which is the band’s 2nd number one on the chart, sold through a whopping 501,665 copies in its first week on sale. In doing so, ‘Soldier of Love’ is already certified Gold – after just one week!

Recession? What recession?! It really goes to show that people will still buy music if they feel it worthy enough to pay for. Much congratulations to Sade on an amazing feat!

Randomness: I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about which artists are truly in the best position in today’s musical climate. Interestingly enough, we agreed it’s artists like the Sade’s and Whitney’s, who may not get much radio play, yet maintain an older audience who will go to the retail outlets in their thousands to buy a CD; an audience who aren’t a part of this ‘iTunes / downloading’ era. What do you think?

Your thoughts?

With the release of Mariah Carey‘s remix LP ‘Angel’s Advocate’ drawing nearer, the diva’s label Island Def Jam have announced that the release will NOT be available in all retail outlets. Instead, the record will be released as an exclusive to retailer Target:

Mariah has completed her 13th studio album, Angels Advocate, a collection of newly remixed duets with some of her favorite artists, performing Mariah’s favorite songs from her #1 R&B album Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (released September 2009). Angels Advocate, on Island Records, will be available March 30 exclusively at Target stores nationwide, iTunes.com/target and Target.com.

Featured duet partners with Mariah on Angels Advocate include: Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, R. Kelly, The-Dream & Ludacris, T-Pain & Snoop Dogg, Akon, Trey Songz, K-Ci & Jo Jo, and OJ Da Juiceman & OutKast’s Big Boi.

Not one to toot my own horn, but many of you will remember me suggesting such a move as best for the project, factoring in the initial album’s poor performance, and the further embarrassment a full-blown release flopping would cause for ol’ Mimi. By releasing the record as a Target/iTunes only release, the project takes on a ‘for the fans’ form, being less about sales – although I doubt this is what was intended for it initially. Back to the drawing board it seems for Mariah. Sigh…

Your thoughts?

The video for Simon Cowell‘s charity single for Haiti, a remake of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, premiered a few hours ago. Set to propel the song, which hit iTunes yesterday, into the stop spot, the accompanying video -which visually highlights the magnitude of the disaster- features a number of the track’s featured artists including Alexandra, Burke, Leona Lewis, JLS, Robbie Williams, and Cheryl Cole. Acts such as Mariah Carey and Kylie Minouge laid down vocals, however, were unable to appear in the video due to scheduling conflicts. Still, an admirable effort by all those involved.

Your thoughts?

In a recent interview with iTunes, Rihanna recounted her first concert experience, which interestingly happened to be a Beyonce show. Peep what the Covergirl model had to say:

“My very first arena concert was Beyoncé/Alicia Keys/Missy Elliott [in 2004]. I think it was the ‘Ladies First’ tour,” she said.

Despite her bad seats, she will always remember that special night. “I was in like a nosebleed seat, but I was in tears. I could not believe that Beyoncé was right there, and Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott.”

Rihanna was in awe of the artists she now considers her peers. “I was a little starstruck. No, I was verystarstruck, but it was so much fun. It was very inspiring and it motivated me so much.” {Source}

Needless to say the jokes kinda write themselves with this one!

Randomness: I hear a lot of ‘blah blah’ about going in on ol’ RiRi, but it’s only ’cause we care :-). For all Ms. Fenty’s fierceness looks-wise, it’s such a shame that her talent can’t match up. A damn shame. There’s no doubt in my mind that if it did, she’d be a the total package. Instead we have this absolute stunner with zero stage presence, sheep-bleating over hot beats, and kinda making a mockery of the industry in the process. It’s important to stress that no one is going at Ms. Fenty personally (hell, we don’t know her); however it’s more about what she represents – image over any substance.

Your thoughts?