Ever keen to take you above and beyond the industry’s velvet rope, That Grape Juice has engaged in conversations with some of the world’s brightest stars since its conception almost a decade ago.

From actors to singers, Reality TV producers to directors, we’re proud to say that we’ve interviewed true game-changers whose work has shifted cultures and inspired generations.

However, few of them can say they’ve made half as much impact as the woman we caught up with last week.

As a founding member of Destiny’s Child, LaTavia Roberson‘s run in the group saw her reach global superstardom alongside bandmates LeToya Luckett, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland by way of music and visuals that elevated them to levels  beyond those reached by the En Vogue‘s and TLC‘s of the world.

Much has changed since we were first introduced to Roberson in 1997.

What success means for her now?

Find out below…

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From myself (Sam) and all of us here at That Grape Juice, we take this opportunity to wish you – the TGJ faithful – a very Merry Christmas.

2016 has been especially great for That Grape Juice, yet none of that would have been possible without all of YOUR support. From the longtime readers to those who may be visiting for the first time. To the dedicated commenters. To the RT’ers, the LIKE’ers, the sharers. Everyone!

We are so thankful for you all.

Here’s hoping you soak up all the happiness the holidays have to offer.

Merry Christmas!

Tidbit: Be sure to keep to locked on TGJ today and over the Holidays – we don’t “do” days off! There’s also a lot of cool newness on the horizon 😉

[Pinned: Posts Resume As Normal Below]

With over 120,000 votes cast, the time has finally arrived for the winners of the That Grape Juice End of Year Awards 2016 to be announced!

While some acts maintained a major lead, upon the penultimate cut-off point, the final list brought with it many last minute surprises.

Check out the full list of winners below. Prepare yourselves for what awaits…and sound off!

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Kelly Rowland is no stranger to talent-searches, having starred on ‘The X Factor’ and more recently ‘Chasing Destiny.’

Now, the ‘Motivation’ maven is taking her judging acumen Down Under.

Dive below for details…

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Voting for the That Grape Juice: End Of Year Awards 2016 closes…tonight at 23.59pm PT!

As at writing, over 110,000 votes have been cast and the winners of many categories are presently separated by as little as 1%.

Hence, ensure your voice is heard by voting – and if you have already, feel free to vote again! There is also a festive prize in store for one lucky voter!

Click here to vote!

Click here to vote!

Click here to vote!

The congenial Katy Perry has stepped out to support the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement before the unveiling of her politically-aware new album.

Details below…

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Camila Cabello‘s defection from Fifth Harmony has done little to damage her relationship with bosses at the group’s label Sony Music Entertainment.

In fact, a new report posits that they’re on course to offering her a lucrative solo recording contract.

Good news below…

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New video alert!

Keen to keep interest in her brand alive in an arena inundated with new lady lyricists is Dej Loaf.

Her latest move? The release of a new video shot to support a song named ‘In Living Color’.

Please stop gassin’ these [expletive] before I attack ’em. Came from the bottom, some days I cannot fathom / Went from the ‘jects to a mansion / Took every L, came back a champion.

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As we’ve previously indicated, now is a good time to be a guy named J. Cole.

Indeed, as if seeing his new album, ‘4 Your Eyez Only,’ conquer charts with a whopping 492,000 units moved wasn’t enough (the third largest figure of the year), he made history by seeing every song from the project crack the top 40.

Now, Billboard reports Cole has even more reason to celebrate:

4 Your Eyez Only also logs a big streaming week as it tallied 118,000 in SEA units (equaling 176.9 million streams of the album’s songs), which is the second-largest streaming debut ever for an album. It trails only the bow of Drake’s Views, which launched with 163,000 streaming units in its opening frame (equating to 245.1 million streams of songs from the album that week). 4 Your Eyez Only is just the third album to surpass 100,000 streaming equivalent album units in a single week, following Views and The Weeknd’s Starboy (with its opening frame of 117,000 in SEA units).

Tuck in below to see who joined Cole this week on the refreshed Billboard 200:

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Photo courtesy:  PEOPLE Magazine

Scribbled in history books for some good and not-so-good reasons, 2016 brought with it some of modern entertainment’s most memorable moments.

As the year draws to a close, TGJ is reflecting on 31 moments that rocked – and to some degree shaped – the Urban and Pop musical landscape as we know it.

Now we reflect on the announcement Janet Jackson fans have been waiting for…

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Readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.

So, just as our retrospective features ‘From the Vault’ and ‘TGJ Replay’ allow us the chance to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday of one artist, our newest feature Chart Rewind – a variation of our current Retro Rewind assay – accedes salutes to an entire era of music history.

This week we say “hello” to ‘Goodbye’ by 90s pop group The Spice Girls.  The first single the group ever released as a quartet (post the departure of “Ginger Spice” Geri Halliwel), the fab foursome stormed the Hot 100 this week with an impressive #11 premiere of the pop ballad.  A gem found on the group’s third album, ‘Forever,’ ‘Goodbye’ may have been greeted with fanfare following the hoopla of Geri’s exit, but that favorable response was short-lived.  Going on to be the Girls’ last top 20 run (to date) on the Hot 100, the tune peaked at the same position it debuted.  Yet, despite its short run in the upper rankings of the Billboard singles chart, it endures nearly two decades after its release as a fan favorite of the group’s list of colossal hits.

A timely ode as this week saw pop’s currently reigning girl group, Fifth Harmony, become 4th Harmony (for lack of better terms), tuck in below to remember the time in 1998 when the Girls said goodbye to Ginger…

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Viola Davis‘ efforts to promote her new movie ‘Fences’ saw her make her way to ‘The Tonight Show‘ to spread the word about the poignant project.

There, she joined host Jimmy Fallon for fun and games and gave his viewers good reason to make their way to theatres to see the movie for themselves following its release on December 16th.

Watch below…

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