Even for seasoned singers, being compared to the likes of supreme vocalists Whitney Houston and Kim Burrell can be a dangerous pressure.  But, for ‘Sunday Best’ season 2 finalist Latice Crawford, the pressure was not only expected, it was welcomed.

With magnetic melisma, spirited growls, and a spirit-stirring message in tow, this beauty is a pressing reminder that big things do come in small packages.  Chatting exclusively to That Grape Juice, Crawford dished on her debut album (in stores now), its energetic lead single ‘There’, and so much more.

We were so excited to finally sit down with the budding gospel diva.  And, after one look and listen, you’ll see why:

(more…)

Less than a fortnight after its February 12th release, Mariah Carey‘s latest single ‘You’re Mine‘ has told quite the tale on the current status of the icon’s career.

Indeed, while very little can take away from her classic-smothered discography and the vocal stylings the likes of Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and Ariana Grande have pulled from many a time, ‘Mine’s unfortunate chart run has unearthed a fact the powers that be over at Def Jam now find themselves faced with.

Nobody cares.

How many are sure that they’ve come to this unfortunate conclusion?

Bad news below…

(more…)

Is Christina Aguilera on her way to the top of the UK’s ‘Official Charts‘? Yes!

Well…that is this week is just as fruitful as last week was, seeing her ‘A Great Big World’– driven song ‘Say Something’ soar to #4 on the nation’s singles chart!

Details on her latest win below!

(more…)

After seeing her latest album snubbed by the 56th annual Grammy awards, February 14th welcomed the launch of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Bangerz’ tour, kicking off in Vancouver.

Controversial to say the very least, the show packs opening performances by Icona Pop and ‘Red Lips’ belle Sky Ferreira, the stage show touched down in LA hours ago, wowing any impressed by the star’s shock-inducing antics.

Missed out on the action?

Watch below…

(more…)

Mariah Carey‘s music may not be rocking the singles charts of late, however the premium diva is still banking on her album pulling power.

The 43-year-old’s fourteenth studio LP heads to stores on May 6th, and though preceded by a slew of singles – little had been divulged about the project as a body of work. That is until now.

Ms. Carey-Cannon stopped by New York’s 95.5 WPLJ, where she lifted the lid on interesting details about the newly untitled LP.

(Sidenote: According to Mimi, the album is no longer named ‘The Art Of Letting Go’ due to the leak of the title to the press. Of course, it’s nothing to do with the single of the same name tanking. We digress…)  

Revealed during the singer’s candid chat with host Ralphie Aversa was info on collaborators, the project’s recording process, newly recorded songs, and much more.

The tea awaits after the jump…

(more…)

Before TLC‘s T-Boz was treated to a round of stings by Beyonce’s faithful #Beyhive, the week saw actress Garcelle Beauvais swarmed by a barrage of Twitter attacks following (what were perceived to be) disparaging remarks about the ‘Drunk In Love’ diva.

Indeed, as reported here, Beauvais took to our friends at HelloBeautiful to say:

“I love Beyonce. But, I think there has to be a fine line where you have to take responsibility for what you do. I think it’s good to be sexy…It doesn’t have to be everything showing out grinding, all of the time.”

Igniting a social media onslaught as a result, the actress – best known for her role as ‘Fancy’ on ‘The Jamie Foxx Show’ – took to Twitter over the weekend to clear up the confusion:

(more…)

Your thoughts?

They may have parted ways, but it would appear Chris Brown and former manager Tina Davis have business together that is far from finished.

Alas, despite the positive strides the star has made towards happier ground in recent months, he now finds himself battling Davis this year…accusing the star-making power player of sabotaging his career.

Her alleged weapon of choice?

Find out below…

(more…)

The Pharrell Williams promo machine rolls on, landing tonight on the stage of Germany’s Wetten Dass.

There, the Neptunes supanova thrilled the crowd with a roof-raising rendition of global hit ‘Happy’.

The performance comes on the heels of the announcement that the track’s parent album, ‘G I R L’, will land in stores on March 3rd.

Watch Skateboard P in action after the jump…

(more…)

Ever keen to broaden our musical scope, recent months have seen That Grape Juice venture into a number of new musical landscapes including, most recently, gospel.

Spearheaded by well-received interviews with gospel singers Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, Twinkie Clark, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Micah Stampley, Joshua Rogers, and more, TGJ is now offering readers ‘The Overflow’ – a collection of the top gospel-themed news stories from the week.

Tuck in below for the latest news on Mary Mary, Zie’l, Kierra Sheard, Coko, Sheri Jones-Moffett and many more…

(more…)

It appears Trey Songz isn’t the only R&B crooner keen to share his particulars with the public.

For, less than a week after Trigga sent the ladies and gentleman of Facebook into a frenzy with racy boxer baring shots, rival Mario has  posted a revealing snap of his own.

The ‘Let Me Love You’ singer took to Instagram today to titillate fans with the shot above, which came with the caption:

“Ladies only | I had a dream that I would play in the next spartan movie so I woke up like this | God”

***********

Clearly, the current sales climate has many a male act playing the “less is more (clothes)” m-o in a bid to build buzz. One has to do what they’ve got to do, ay?

We just hope Mario plans to drop more than his jeans and actually serves up new jams. This album of his is taking approximately forever to arrive.

Your thoughts?

Grammy winning singer T-Boz, one-third of veteran R&B girl group TLC, finds herself in hot water on Twitter yet again for weighing in on today’s top stars.

After  Nicki Minaj‘s faithful fan group, christened ‘Barbz’, put the ‘Waterfalls’ wailer on their scope for comments she made about the rapstress during her short American Idol stint, now the ever outspoken Tionne is finding even indirect mention will ignite attack from the most devoted fans.

Case in point?

Earlier this morning, T-Boz took to Twitter to share her thoughts on Miley Cyrus.  Unbeknownst to her at the time, those very comments would spark a firestorm of backlash from fans of Grammy-winning Roc divas Beyonce and Rihanna.  The attack was so harsh, it led the TLC frontwoman to say:

See how this all started below:

(more…)