Despite landing the first #1 run of her solo career atop the Billboard 200 with her latest album ‘This Is What the Truth Feels Like,’Gwen Stefani‘s failed to make music lovers feel the singles launched from set.
After missing the top 50 on the Hot 100 twice with lead singles ‘Used To Love You’ and ‘Make Me Like You’ respectively, Stefani may finally be onto a homerun with ‘Truth’s third single ‘Misery.’ Putting her best foot forward with the song’s glossy video, an ode to the golden era of Hollywood, the stunning 46-year-old just may prove the third time’s the charm.
Teasing the video aplenty before its May 31st release, tuck in below for your first glimpse of the clip and weigh in:
Serviced as the fourth cut from the blockbuster project, the New Wave inspired track was released in 2005.
Produced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin, the latter also co-wrote the song with Stefani.
While ‘Cool’ only reached Top 40 status overseas, was a hit in the US peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Pop tally.
The lyrics pull from real life in its centring on Gwen’s relationship with No Doubt-bandmate and former-bae Tony Kanal and how (after the ups and the challenges of life) they’ve remained more than colleagues but good friends too.
Sophie Muller helmed the video, which was shot in Lake Como, Italy and features the singer playing opposite Spanish actor Daniel Gonzàlez — and Erin Lokitz… who happens to be Kanal’s girlfriend.
It plays like a literal, yet creative take on the song’s resonating lyrics.
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After a series of missteps, Team Gwen finally seem to have things in check and we couldn’t be happier. For, Ms Stefani is among the few artists who rose to prominence during the golden age of the 90s but somehow still possess all that is “required” to be successful in todays climate.
Hopefully the next chapter of her solo run is as colorful, captivating and game-changing as her first swing of the bat.
Welcome to the latest edition of ‘Retro Rewind’, the TGJ original feature that takes our faithful readers on a journey to TV and film’s glorious past.
Today, we shine a light on the 1959 version of ‘Imitation of Life’, a movie exploring self-hatred within the African-American community by way of a young black girl, portrayed by Susan Kohner, attempts to erase all traces of ethnicity when she learns that she “passes for a white” in a pre-Civil Rights society.
Drama ensues when her quest to pass as a Caucasian woman sees her find herself in dark and dangerous territory as her hatred for her black mother (Juanita Moore) intensifies.
Today’s From The Vault pick salutes the enduring impact of an artist that sadly left us way too soon – Aaliyah and her break-out hit ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.’
The title track from her 1994 debut album, ‘Age’ was serviced as the project’s third single and like the majority of its parent LP was produced by R. Kelly.
Interestingly, it was the artist’s first single to miss the Billboard Top 10 peaking at #75 on the Hot 100 and #32 in the UK.
In retrospect, because of its subject matter and lyrics about a girl wanting to pursue a relationship with an older man (and the fact that Kelly wrote the words to the song), it was deemed controversial. No doubt because of the singer and the producer’s relationship — but that’s another day another conversation.
Millicent Shelton was in charge of the song’s visualization and delivered a vintage 90s clip, one that resonates and reminds why the era is helmed as golden by so many.
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Boasting a stellar debut LP, which displayed a musical maturity well beyond her youth, Aaliyah indeed proved to the world that, sometimes, age can quite literally be just a number.
One thing’s for sure, the singer embodied the concept, as she has accomplished way more between 14 and 22 than most of her peers have in the length and breadth of their careers.
That Grape Juice‘s latest feature ‘Meet The Makers’ spotlights the gifted names who engineer the spectacle in all facets of entertainment. Music, TV, and beyond.
In today’s instalment, we chat candidly with Carlos King – producer of television smashes such as ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ and ‘Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta.’
A force in the realm of Reality TV, King has upped the levels by launching his own production company (Kingdom Reign Entertainment), which has birthed the likes of ‘Hollywood Divas’ and TV One’s newest addition ’The Next 15.’
With the latter launching tonight (at 10/9c), the producer asserts that the show, which stars the likes of Tiffany ’New York’ Pollard and Claudia Jordan, will relay to viewers what really happens behind the scenes in the Reality realm.
Join us after the jump, where a King recounts his journey and provides detailed advice to those wanting to break into the TV arena. He also spills delicious tea on new seasons of ’The Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ ‘Hollywood Divas,’ and more. (more…)
Music royals are a rarity in today’s blink and you miss it Pop culture climate.
However, last night Janet Jackson showed and proved that her crown not only remains in intact, but also that it hasn’t lost any of its shine.
The Queen of Pop took to the stage in Vancouver, Canada to perform the first show on her hotly anticipated ‘Unbreakable World Tour’ — and Ms. Jackson did not disappoint.
Her past jaunt saw the singer journey through the hits, yet this trek smartly does that while laying the foundation for her eagerly awaited new album, ‘Unbreakable.’
So while the likes of ‘All For You,’ ‘If,’ and ‘Nasty’ were delivered with fine finesse, new numbers such as ‘No Sleeep’ and the LP’s title track were introduced live. The Missy Elliott assisted opener, believed to be titled ‘Burn It Up,’ received an especially roaring reception. [Editor’s note: it’d be almost criminal if this isn’t a single. Preferably the next single. But we digress…]
In other Jackson news, the superstar’s current single ‘No Sleeep’ returned to #1 on the Billboard Adult R&B songs chart — coincidentally on the the same day the tour kicked off.
Check out what the diva had to say about the honor below, where more snaps and footage from the show awaits…
Designed much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’features, ‘Replay’ is That Grape Juice‘s newest reflective segment to act as a written quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday. Unlike its TGJ retrospective predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase entire albums (and eras) from a library of pop and Urban pop music hits.
This week, we’ll fall in love all over again with Celine Dion‘s 1996 chart-topping album ‘Falling Into You’ – one of the best selling albums of all time…
As reported here, the 2015 Primetime Emmy nominations were unveiled today to honor the year’s most spectacular moments and people on television.
While the historic nominations of Taraji P. Henson (‘Empire’) and Viola Davis (‘How To Get Away With Murder’) could lend the first time in history an African American woman walks away with the ‘Best Actress’ primetime Emmy, other coveted categories are looking just as good for some of entertainment’s leading ladies.
‘Telephone’ duo Lady Gaga and Beyonce are considered frontrunners in their respective categories while fellow pop diva Katy Perry‘s ‘Super Bowl’ outing – like Bey and Bruno Mars before her, nabbed a mention in this year’s ‘Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program’ category.
