Movie fans may remember that at initial reports of Quentin Tarantino‘s controversial slavery film ‘Django Unchained‘s casting, rapper/actor Will Smith was touted as its lead.  However, by the time the film neared release, Jamie Foxx was cast as the movie‘s main character.

While not much fuss was made at the time, Smith recently acknowledged his decision to pass on the film.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

‘Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead,’ said Smith. ‘The other character was the lead! I was like, “No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!”‘

The actor did later shower the film with praise and commend Jamie for his performance.

Your thoughts?

As reported yesterday, Alexandra Burke is set to take up residency at the iconic Royal Albert Hall, paying live homage to the soundtrack of movie ‘Lady Sings The Blues’.

Promoting the stint ahead of its June kick off, the 24-year-old revealed the stunning snap above. Given that ‘Lady’, which starred Diana Ross, told the story of Jazz singer Billie Holiday, it’s clear that that is exactly who the X Factor graduate is channelling here. Stunning.

Your thoughts?

As BET’s ‘The Game’ nears its March 26th premiere, each member of its all-star cast has taken to separate outlets to plug the show.  ‘Sittin In My Room’ singer Brandy was spotted sitting on Access Hollywood‘s couch today dishing on what fans can expect from the show as well as fondly reminiscing on the days of her hit TV show ‘Moesha’.

As expected, the songstress was also quizzed on her engagement to beau Ryan Press.  Press ‘Play’ on the video above to see what she said on the aforementioned topics and more…

Your thoughts?

Despite serially delay, R&B diva Ashanti is pressing forward with new material from her forthcoming LP ‘BraveHeart’.

Indeed, the ‘Aww Baby’ beauty may be enjoying a run on Lifetime’s hit series ‘Army Wives’, but that hasn’t taken her sights from battling for Billboard’s top spot.  The latest single she’s launched for fan approval is ‘Never Should Have’.

But, should ‘Never Should Have’ never have seen the light of day?  Or is the drum-filled pop-anthem just what the songbird needs to soar on charts again?  You tell us:

(more…)

Jennifer Hudson stunned spectators in her Donna Karan ensemble last night as she strutted her way to the dedication of a new ‘Weight Watchers’ center in honor of the company’s founder Jean Nidetch.

Simultaneously celebrating its 50th anniversary, the weight loss titans tapped J.Hud – its present spokesperson – to share news about her weight loss journey.

While there, the soon-to-be-Mrs. Otunga shared news on her new album as well and her thoughts on this season of American Idol (including Nicki Minaj vs. Mariah Carey).

See some quotes and photos from the event below:

A potent potion of hits, fashion, and outlandish have seen rapper A$AP Rocky ascend into the major leagues. However, it’s also the MC’s forward-thinking cultural commentary that has caught the attention of the masses for the right reasons.

Case, point his feature in the latest issue of Interview magazine. Paired with a (now trademark) risqué  photoshoot, the piece saw the 24-year-old New York native sit down for a Q&A with designer Alexander Wang – whose line he wore in the shoot.

Perhaps most interesting in their discussion was Rocky’s unprompted and frank take on the issue of homophobia in Hip-Hop. He said:

“One big issue in hip-hop is the gay thing. It’s 2013, and it’s a shame that, to this day, that topic still gets people all excited. It’s crazy. And it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid—and that’s not the case. We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that. I treat everybody equal, and so I want to be sure that my listeners and my followers do the same if they’re gonna represent me. And if I’m gonna represent them, then I also want to do it in a good way.”

Insightful.

Peep more pics below…

Check out A$AP’s new video ‘Wild For The Night’ below…

(more…)

Mariah Carey may be M.I.A on the charts these days, but that hasn’t stopped the diva’s fan-base from remaining fiercely loyal.

Case, point, the verbal daggers the group (who Carey deems her Lambs) have been throwing at R&B singer Kelly Price for the last 24 hours.

Like most drama in the modern era, the issue started on Twitter following comments Price made about an artist who had a concert special on TV at the time. Call it co-incidence or call it shade, whatever the case, Carey had a special airing at the exact same time.

The initial comment, the Lambs response, and Kelly’s clapback after the jump…

(more…)

 As a proud representative of the Jewish community, ten minutes ago saw Grammy Award winning chart topper Drake share a moving snap of his family celebrating the beginning of Passover, in memory of Jewish liberation from Egyptian slavery and their birth as a nation under the leadership of the Goshen born Moses.

However, in what will no doubt disgust any who sees them, the uploading of the picture via his personal Instragram page saw him face anti-semitic taunts from a number of digital spectators.

Details below….

(more…)

Having spent much of last year conquering the UK, Roc Nation’s Rita Ora is blossoming into quite the International diva.

The 22-year-old stunner was tapped to perform in Monaco over the weekend at the private birthday party of the country’s Princess. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the ‘How We Do’ singer was styled and ushered into the event by fashion icon Karl Largerfeld.

Needless to say, it’s great to see Ms. Ora making major power movements ahead of the release of her sophomore album – which she recently told That Grape Juice she’s hard at work on.

Peep more pics of Rita rocking out below…

(more…)

MTV’s Video Music Awards has a new home.

The Summer staple, which serves as one of Pop music’s biggest calendar nights, is moving from the West Coast to the East for what is sure to be a blockbuster show.

Details below…

(more…)

Fresh from signalling ‘The Beginning’, John Legend has unleashed official new single ‘Who Do We Think We Are’.

The Rick Ross assisted cut is the lead release from the Grammy winner’s fourth studio album ‘Love In The Future’, which is due on June 25th.

So what are you waiting for? Take a listen to new John Legend after the jump…

(more…)

Much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ segments, readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.  So in a quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday we introduced a new retrospective segment – ‘TGJ Replay’.

Unlike its ‘Rewind’ and ‘Vault’ predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase albums (and eras) from a library of pop music hits.  Today, we press play again on Tweet‘s 2005 criminally underrated sophomore album ‘It’s Me Again’… (more…)