Congratulations are in order for Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry as news circulates she and husband Oliver Martinez welcomed their first child tonight.  Berry’s second, after daughter Nahla, was born just hours ago in Los Angeles.

Via People:

“The healthy baby, who was born in Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, has a 5-year-old sister, Nahla, Berry’s daughter with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubrey.”

The news comes just a day after reports broke that Berry would be starring in the new futuristic Stephen Spielberg-directed thriller/CBS series ‘Extant’.  Read more about that here.

Your thoughts?

Grammy winning crooner Usher joins the long list of R&B acts who have made a promenade down Sesame Street.  From India Arie, Alicia Keys, and Destiny’s Child to John Legend and Chris Brown, R&B’s top sellers have found their way on the legendary children’s show.

Press play above to see Ush give put a remixed twist on the class ‘ABCs’ song…

Your thoughts?

#Gladiators helped the highly anticipated return of ABC‘s ‘Scandal’ triumph over competitors this week with a whopping viewership.

Led by Emmy-nominated actress Kerry Washington, the seriesseason 3 opener opened to a series high of 10.5 million!  The story below:

Via THR:

“With so much of Thursday’s attention fixed on three brand-new comedies, the spotlight may have been stolen by ABC‘s Scandal. The drama returned to the 10 p.m. hour with series highs, averaging a 3.6 rating with adults 18-49 — a 71 percent jump year-over-year — and 10.5 million viewers.”

The news came as a surprise to Washington, who spent most of the night tweeting the show’s faithful followers.

Via AccessHollywood:

“It really is amazing! I’m so happy that so many people caught up with the show on Netflix and with the DVD during our hiatus,” she said. “It feels like we were able to have a lot of new Gladiator converts.”

Your thoughts?

 

20-year old serial twerker Miley Cyrus pulled double duty on tonight’s Saturday Night Live as she took to the variety hour to play host and musical guest. Celebrating the release of her newest album ‘Bangerz’, the songstress shared a live rendition of the album’s second single ‘Wrecking Ball’.

While she may have wrecked previous performances of the #1 tune (see: iHeartRadio Festival), her latest swing at the tune may have proven itself a homerun.  Rendering an emotional take on the power ballad, see Cyrus share her best performance to date of the song…with clothes on:

Watch below:

*Updated with acoustic ‘We Can’t Stop’ performance*

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Ever keen on keeping the masses abreast of fresh and/or often underrated talent, That Grape Juice presents ‘The Spill’ – a renewed look at not-so-new, yet active, acts.

Much like its ‘Freshly Squeezed’ sister segment, this revived assay aims to put the magnifying glass on talents who may not appeal to the buying public on a broad scale yet are still serving material that could easily spin side-by-side with some of today’s top hits.

Covering a kaleidoscope of genres, ‘The Spill’ is set to feature some names you probably know and love as well as some you’ll (soon) be glad to know.  Click below to find out the spill on crooners Mario, Jaheim, and much more…

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Fresh from her #1 debut album, ‘Baby I’ beauty Ariana Grande gifted her fans with yet another cover of one of her favorite numbers.

Taking a page from her “fairy godmother” India Arie‘s #1 album ‘Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships’ (2006), the 20-year-old powerhouse songstress took to fan favorite ‘Private Party’ to offer a new take on the tune.

Did she do it justice?  #Soulbirds and friend weigh in below:

 

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#BFV fans rejoice!

WeTV has finally unveiled the first look at the upcoming 4th season of their hit reality series “Braxton Family Values”.

Featuring more insight on the latest of the Braxton five – including Toni working on her new duets album ‘Love, Marriage & Divorce‘ with Babyface to Tamar’s banging R&B career and all the sisters’ happenings in between.

Press play on the video above to find out what you can expect to see of the ladies’ on their fourth go round.

Your thoughts?

#BFV fans rejoice!

WeTV has finally unveiled the first look at the upcoming 4th season of their hit reality series “Braxton Family Values”.

Featuring more insight on the latest of the Braxton five – including Toni working on her new duets album ‘Love, Marriage & Divorce‘ with Babyface to Tamar’s banging R&B career and all the sisters’ happenings in between.

Press play on the video above to find out what you can expect to see of the ladies’ on their fourth go round.

Your thoughts?

Brandy may be The Vocal Bible, but is clearly is not shy to celebrate the talent of other prolific singers.

Case, point, her impromptu rendition of Beyonce‘s 2011 hit ‘1+1’.

The songstress/actress saluted her fellow R&B game-changer while preparing for her Musicalize UK gig recently, soaring with a take on the ‘4’ cut that is easily a must-see.

Check it out after the jump…

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Divas Danity Kane are playing approximately no games with their comeback album.

The ladies, who announced their return at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, have been hard at work on the as yet untitled LP for several months. And while we were hoping to have heard material by now (‘Rage’, anyone?), it appears Dawn, Aubrey, Aundrea, and Shannon are holding out for the best. The latter being exactly what they’ve enlisted to craft the project.

Speaking recently at the iHeartRadio Festival, the group revealed that they have locked in studio time with two of the industry’s most renown hitakers.

Peep the interview after the jump…

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Ever keen to spotlight what goes on both in front and behind the camera, That Grape Juice was on-hand at hot new LA event ‘The Hollywood Confidential’ recently.

Hosted by VGS&L Entertainment, the sold-out panel-based platform saw a who’s who of the entertainment industry share their pearls of wisdom regarding images of African American Women in Mainstream Media. Attendees included Kimberly Elise – star of VH1 smash ‘Hit The Floor’ – and OWN exec Endyia Kinney-Sterns.

One of the other notable names in attendance was hitmaker LaShawn Daniels who dished excitedly on a woman who’s winning on the charts at present – Tamar Braxton!

Hit ‘PLAY’ above to watch the ‘Love And War’ songwriter talk “She, Me, Her’s” upcoming Christmas album, as well as the current season of ‘Tamar & Vince’ – which he stars in alongside wife April.

More pics from the event await after the jump…

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‘The Beatles’ legend Paul McCartney has named ‘End Of Time‘ performer Beyonce as one his inspirations, revealing that he seeks out her work when readying ideas for his concert showings!

His words below…

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