All of the monarchs of the music industry are resting securely on cemented thrones.  We have an undisputed Queen of Soul, King of Rock n’ Roll, King of R&B, and of course, a King of Pop.  Even though such title was initially self-proclaimed, there was no denying its delegation.  Interestingly, there is a vacancy on that list…the queen’s chair sits ostensibly empty.  And though many may vie and eye the throne, no woman has boldly professed herself as such (unlike her male counterpart).  So, it begs the question:  Who is the Queen of Pop?   While there are candidates many-a-fan would crown as such, there has been no definitively, unquestioned female pop potentate. And then…

In an age where the merit of ‘pop royalty’ is defined by fly-by-night radio hits and digital downloads, famed music magazine Rolling Stone developed an index of criteria to best crown the genre’s new queen.  For anyone who has been alive for the last three years (inhabitants of the animal kingdom included), it was a no brainer that Lady Gaga would be enthroned the genre’s reigning female monarch.  However, the list, which only included Pop’s active acts, was greeted with so much backlash it was later revised.

But, even the revision still featured Lady Gaga (a relative newcomer) above legends Mariah Carey and Celine Dion (with no mention of Janet Jackson or Whitney Houston).  While the magazine’s attempt to fill the void is applaudable, it is also laughable.  With music’s other matronly monarchs having a spate of success under their individual belts, is it really fair to say the Lady named queen would only have two albums under hers and less than 5 years in the game?

Thusly, That Grape wants to know:  what should be the criteria for determining queenship? Sales? Influence?  Awards?  If so, with so many candidates, who is the Queen[Q1] ?

That Grape Juice has chosen six leading ladies who would probably be the real contenders for the throne.  Each of the succeeding songstresses have, at minimum, 20 years experience,100 million records sold, and immeasurable influence over the industry (especially over those who decorated Rolling Stones’ list).  Did your fave make the cut?

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Rolling Stone’s newly crowned Queen of Pop, Lady GaGa put on a free mini-concert yesterday in Taiwan. Performing nine songs, including standouts from her platinum selling Born This Way LP, GaGa entertained 6,000 fans inside the Taichung Arena, while 40,000 more enjoyed the show from outside via a big screen.

Check out a few of the performances below…

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Last month, Bay Area rapper Kreayshawn set the blogosphere ablaze with the release of her music video “Gucci Gucci”. A few weeks later, she had the internet talking again. That time, about the one million dollar record deal she’d just signed.

After a bidding war of sorts, Columbia Records, part of Sony Music Entertainment got Kreayshawn to sign on the dotted lines. Along with directing/editing videos for herself, fellow West Coast rapper Lil’ B, and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the female emcee has drawn comparisons to Lady GaGa, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, and Lil’ B’s “swag movement”. Her polarizing presence has been the subject of intense debate, especially between hip-hop enthusiasts. This recent signing, is sure to be the proverbial fan to this fiery discussion. Yet, in the modern pop landscape, who are you if you don’t have people talking, right?

Kreayshawn scored a local hit with her song ‘Bumpin Bumpin’ last year, now the rapper is in the studio prepping her major label debut.

Your thoughts?

Alicia Keys took center stage last night (June 24th) at Los Angeles Pantages Theatre for a concert commemorating the release of the 10th anniversary edition of her debut album ‘Songs In A Minor’ (in stores June 28th).  The event, entitled ‘Piano & I: A One-Night Only Event With Alicia Keys’, saw the singer give rousing renditions of some of the album’s biggest hits (‘Fallin’, ‘A Woman’s Worth’, ‘Girlfriend’) as well as a few covers of soul legends Mary J. Blige and Marvin Gaye.

You can read a full review of the event here.

You can also catch Mrs. Beatz performing live at the 2011 BET Awards, June 26th at 8/7c.

Your thoughts?

One of the biggest sales weeks of the year has arrived! Each year artists capitalise on the Thanksgiving sales offered in the lead up to Black Friday by releasing a string of new material. Indeed, this 2010 is no different.

Three industry heavyweights –Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Ne-Yo – have debuted their latest albums in stores this week. West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ is already considered to be a favourite of fans and critics alike after receiving rave reviews from all major publications including Rolling Stones magazine which credited the LP with a 5/5 rating.

However, Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday’ will undoubtedly give West serious competition. Probably the most anticipated record of the year, the project boasts appearances from Drake, Natasha Bedingfield and West himself. Furthermore, thanks to Minaj’s ongoing feud with Lil Kim, ‘Pink Friday’ remains a consistent talking point across several platforms comprising both the mainstream media and Twitter.

Of course, every battle has an underdog and this time it comes in the form of Ne-Yo’s ‘Libra Scale’. Although the LP has thus far received underwhelming sales in international territories, the singer/songwriter has been promoting the record for weeks on US talk shows, award ceremonies and radio interviews. None of the album’s singles have cracked the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 but that hasn’t stopped Ne-Yo from performing on every possible stage.

Still, in the end, the only person’s opinion that matters is yours so we want to know: which album will you buy? Also, if you’ve heard the albums, which do you consider to be the best? Share your views below!

[polldaddy poll=4135679]

The-Dream is planning a summer release for his new album, ‘Love King’, which will hit stores on June 22nd. The album is being preceded by the title track first single which has thus far peaked at #26 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and #92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The-Dream’s previous LP, ‘Love vs. Money’, received rave reviews from critics and was ranked at the 8th best album of 2009 by Rolling Stone magazine despite being overlooked at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony. {Source}

Thoughts?

The iconic Janet Jackson has been at the centre of media attention during the last few weeks while promoting her new film ‘Why Did I Get Married Too?’. Of even greater interest to her legions of fans is her new song, ‘Nothing’, which was released to support the movie. However, despite enjoying the limelight from both projects, Jackson has revealed to Rolling Stone that she has not taken things a step further by recording a new studio album or even signing to a new label. Read what the diva had to say below:

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That Grape Juice were fortunate enough to catch up with Grammy-nominated R&B star Fantasia Barrino recently.  The 25 year old, whose new VH1 reality series ‘Fantasia For Real’ has been a hit with viewers, spoke candidly with That Grape Juice in a 40 minute long conversation about many a topic. Areas discussed include how ‘real’ the show actually is, her new album, the rumours which threatened to destroy her career, her romantic life (yes, we asked about Antwaun Cook!), industry politics and so much more. As ever, we asked the questions you really want answers to…and answer them Fantasia did. A lengthy, yet great read; this is Fantasia for real….Enjoy!

{Transcription by Bisi Kadejoh}

Fantasia Shouts Out That Grape Juice

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Remember Donnie Klang? Making The Band 4? Still don’t? I really can’t blame you. A victim of Diddy’s ‘no-promo-when-show-ain’t- on-air’, we’ve heard pretty much nothing from Donnie since his debut album ‘Just A Rolling Stone’ sold triple copper last year.

In any case, the 24 year old is back with new single ‘Prisoner of Love’, the video for which premiered today. Directed by The Littles, the video and the song aren’t that bad. While I remember scratching my head as to why Diddy signed him (he’s simply not good enough, plus that bootleg Justin Timberlake thing was never going to cut it), this is definitely much more in line with what Donnie should be singing IMO. As  that contrived Electro-Pop he was trying to pass off as believable the last go round was not the business.

No word yet on a title or release date for his sophomore effort…(Sam checks to see if he’s still on Bad Boy>>>he is>>>sounds about right! SMH…)

What do you think of the song / video?

Seventy days after the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop was finally laid to rest last night, September 3rd, with a private ceremony Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. About 200 close friends and family members attended the evening funeral, which concluded with Jackson being entombed in Forest Lawn’s Great Mausoleum, the final resting place of Walt Disney, Clark Gable and other legendary talents.

Elizabeth Taylor, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and Macaulay Culkin attended the ceremony, along with Mila Kunis, This Is It director Kenny Ortega, Teddy Riley, Chris Tucker, Corey Feldman and Miko Brando. According to a statement from the Jackson family, Michael’s five brothers Tito, Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie all served as pallbearers.

Look back at Michael Jackson’s life, in photos.

Michael’s three children Prince Michael, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II placed a crown atop Jackson’s casket to signify his status as the King of Pop. The Jackson family had provided a live video feed to media prior to the ceremony when guests began arriving at the cemetery, however the feed ceased transmission the moment the Jackson brothers went to take Michael’s gold-plated casket out of the hearse.

Photos from Jackson’s star-studded L.A. memorial.

After Pastor Lucius Smith read the opening prayer and a portion of Ecclesiastes 3:7, Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” Songwriter Clifton Davis next sang the Jackson 5 tune he wrote for the group, “Never Can Say Goodbye.” Speakers then began to take the podium to pay tribute to the singer, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Michael’s father Joe Jackson and other close friends and family members.

According to the New York Times, the media that congregated outside Forest Lawn outnumbered the number of fans, though one group of fans held a large white banner that read “Gone too soon.” Following the ceremony, according to the ceremony’s nine-page engraved invitation, family and friends of Jackson were encouraged to drive to an Italian restaurant in Pasadena, California, for “a time of celebration.”

The first page of the invitation also featured a quote from Michael’s 1992 book of essays and poems Dancing the Dream, “If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.” {Source}

Gone in body, but not in spirit. R.I.P Michael Jackson. I