Estelle is moving on.

After enjoying the lion-share of her success under John Legend‘s Homeschool Records (a joint deal with Atlantic), the British-bred songbird has flown from her recording nest of  six years to create her own label.

Details after the jump…

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The Recording Industry Association Of America has announced a new rule change that’s set to change the world of music forever.

For, as to accomodate the industry’s ever changing trends, they have revealed that digital streams will now count towards sales certifications awarded to entertainers.

Full story below…

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Having ditched both The X Factor and her fiance, Britney Spears is sporting all new everything these days. However, musically, it seems the singer wants a taste of the familiar.

Enter will.i.am.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman has been an integral part of Spears’ more recent successes, producing their global smash ‘Scream & Shout’, as well as fan-favourite ‘Big Fat Bass’ from 2011’s ‘Femme Fatale’.

As such, it’s little surprise that the 31-year-old’s team have tapped the hitmaker to helm her eighth studio album.

Full story below…

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When it comes to pleasing fans, very few come better than Usher.

Securing chart success with dance numbers while leading the way for R&B’s freshest stars with ‘Climax’, he has come under heavy praise from ‘Beatles’ legend Paul McCartney thanks to that very song.

Details below…

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Chris Brown continued his promotional push for new single ‘Fine China’ today, stopping by Power 105.1’s ‘Breakfast Club’.

As with most interviews on the hit show, the 23-year-old’s sit-down with Charlamagne and co is a must-see.

Leaving no stone unturned, the hilarious hosts quizzed Brown on his relationship with Rihanna, new music, Justin Bieber‘s “melt down”, Jay-ZDrake, Frank Ocean, and much more.

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R&B bad boy Chris Brown sent fans into a frenzy earlier this week when he announced he was hard at work on a new album entitled ‘X‘.

Featuring an all-star team of producers (including Danja, Pharrell, Diplo, and more), fans were eager to know who else the Grammy winner was keen to collab with – namely girlfriend Rihanna.

Said to be narrowing song choices down from 50 to 14, find out what Chris says about if ‘Nobody’s Business’ co-star Rihanna would be lending her chart-topping neigh to the mix and more:

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Much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ segments, readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.  So in a quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday we introduced a new retrospective segment – ‘TGJ Replay’.

Unlike its ‘Rewind’ and ‘Vault’ predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase albums (and eras) from a library of pop music hits.  Today’s conspectus comes from the Queen of Quiet Storm – Anita Baker.

The singer’s sophomore album ‘Rapture’ thrust her into the stratosphere of 80s prime R&B and made her the forerunner of a new movement for the genre:

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Twenty years.

That would be how long mega-producer Jermaine Dupri has decorated Billboard charts with a slew of hits for the likes of Mariah Carey, Usher, Janet Jackson, and countless others.

Indeed, throughout a storied career of lending a passel of platinum plaques to many-an-Urban Pop favorite, Dupri is now looking to stroll down memory lane with an assembly of stars from his self-fronted record label ‘So So Def’ to celebrate reaching the two decade milestone.

Chatting exclusively with That Grape Juice, JD details the inspiration behind the anniversary special (likening it to ‘Motown 25’) and shares dibs on Mariah’s forthcoming album, thoughts on Bow Wow vs. Kandi, and addresses rumors he’s working on Janet Jackson’s newest record.

As ever, this is a must read:

 Jermaine Dupri Shouts Out That Grape Juice!

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In epic credit to her handlers, Jennifer Hudson‘s star has shone brighter with each year since her Oscar winning turn in ‘Dreamgirls’ seven years ago.

Ironically, though, this has been in parallel to the unremarkable performance of not one, but two studio albums on the charts. The singer’s 2008’s self-titled managed to go Gold, yet it’s follow-up, 2011’s ‘I Remember Me’, failed to connect with listeners and to-date has only sold 370,000 in the US.  Hoping to right those wrongs, the great Clive Davis has taken the helm of Hudson’s third project.

Having orchestrated much of the late Whitney Houston‘s success, can the industry icon have a similar effect on a career in much need of it? Flip the hood to read his plans for Hudson’s new album in an exclusive interview with Billboard….

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Superproducer Bangladesh has lent the music industry over a decade worth of hits. 

Working with the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna to Lil’ Wayne and Nicki Minaj, the hitmaker (born Shondrae Crawford) has decorated Billboard charts with bangers over multiple genres.

But, despite imparting platinum plaques to all of your favorite rappers and singers, Crawford exclusively tells That Grape Juice that there is much uncharted territory to conquer – namely seeing his name afront those same plaques as lead act.

Dishing with TGJ on rumors of “artists stealing production credits”, his solo workings, and industry beefs, as ever, you know we asked the questions you want the answer to.  Click below to see a new side of your favorite producer’s favorite producer – Bangladesh:

Bangladesh Shouts Out That Grape Juice:

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After rocking America with her debut US offering ‘Want U Back’, petite Pop star Cher Lloyd is readying its follow-up, which has now been confirmed as ‘With Ur Love’.

Already a UK smash, peaking at #4 upon release almost a year ago, the track has been given a Stateside makeover (more specifically the axing of Mike Posner).

Take a listen to the “new” version of the cut, and peep Lloyd’s revised ‘Sticks + Stones’ album cover below…

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Iconic! That is fittest of description for this week’s From The Vault pick. Ladies and gents, we salute Britney Spears for her epic showing at MTV‘s 2000 Video Music Awards.

Performing a rendition of one of her many signature songs, ‘Oops, I Did It Again’, Britney delivers here a stunning spectacle, marking the true beginning of her storied relationship with the VMA’s. For many, this was the on set of the transformation of the ‘… Baby One More Time’ belle.
Setting sail with a shortened version of her Darkchild-produced cover of ‘Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones, this showing proved to be controversial after a scantily-clad. Spears, who at the time was still catering to an audience of teeny-boppers, stripped down to a sparkling nude outfit on-cue to perform the tongue-in-cheek ‘Oops’.
The said song and parent album of the same name were blockbuster smashes with the track being a global Top 10 hit and the LP debuting at #1. And, as at writing, remains among the best selling albums of all time with sales exceeding 20 millions units.
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What’s so special about this performance, as was routine in her early days, was Spears’ ability to “sell” you her product. The choreography in this specific video isn’t particularly intricate or out-of-this-world, her mic stayed “off” the whole show through (after all, it is Britney, b*tch). Yet, her stage presence is just off-the-Richter and she serves up a whole new dimension to a rather cheese-soaked song, relying solely on her natural charisma and the swag she oozed. Both of which see sadly confined to the past.
This is the Britney we became enamored with, not the robot her team have been carting out over the last
six years.
And, while we stay wondering if we will ever see the day the fierce stage-slayer in the clip above returns, we are grateful for artists such as Beyonce, Lady GaGa and Usher for giving us moments as powerful as this VMA’s showing in today’s age.

What are some the most iconic performances of the last few years…for you?

Your thoughts?

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