As anticipation for her new album ‘ARTPOP‘ intensifies, Lady GaGa has taken the bold step in pushing forward its pre-order release date to meet the growing demand for the project.

Exciting new details below…

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Details on her sophomore album may remain scarce, but Cassie Ventura keeps her PR flame lit via ‘a+’ Magazine, rocking the publication with a shoot shot by Kenneth Capello. 

Though saying little of the new music fans hope to hear from her, the shoot will make for interesting viewing for the vocalist’s fans/fashion heads.

Check her out below…

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Just when we thought we couldn’t love them anymore than we already did.

Last night, joined by temporary new member Lil Mama, ‘Dear Lie’ darlings TLC hit the VH1 Mixtape Festival to serve their first live full length show in over a decade.

Gliding through a well thought out set list, and joined by a live band, the group’s show found itself elevated by Mama’s appearance, sure to give many no choice but to praise the underrated entertainer.

Enjoy below…

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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, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, 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 Tye Tribbett, Deitrick Haddon, Donnie McClurkin, Tweet, & more…

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The songbird that is Jill Scott took flight in Virginia recently, when she flew into ‘The Hampton Jazz Festival’ for yet another stellar live showing.

Joined by a trio of gifted backing vocalists, the Soprano wooed her willing crowd with a rendition of 2011’s ‘So Gone’, going onto to watch her support rock the stage with the Kevin Conner penned H-Town classic ‘Knockin’ Da Boots’.

Press play below…

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After a brief rest on the bench, From The Vault is back this week with one of the most successful releases of the 1990’s. It’s Mariah Carey‘s melismatic ‘One Sweet Day’, her smash duet with R&B’s finest Boyz II Men.

The second single lifted from Mimi’s blockbuster LP ‘Daydream’, ‘Day’s production was cooked up  by Carey and former fervent collaborator Walter Afanasieff. It was written by the dynamic duo alongside the R&B quad about specific loved ones who passed away. Most notably, it was also penned with people affected by the AIDS epidemic in mind – in a bid to raise awareness.

On a chart front, the single remains a landmark to this day; it debuted at #1 – which was the singer’s second consecutive single to do so. Yet, most importantly, it is the longest running #1 single on Billboard Hot 100 of all time, totaling an impressive 16 consecutive weeks at the top. It became Mimi’s tenth chart-topper on that tally and the Boyz’ fourth.

(Fun fact: the single replaced Whitney Houston’s ‘Exhale (Shoop Shoop)’ at #1 and was replaced by Celine Dion’s ‘Because You Love Me’. Needless to say, power ballads staged a “chart stampede” during the mid-nineties).

A true world smash, it managed to peak inside the Top 10 in many European countries and remains a fixture on “talent shows” all around the globe.

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With the success and the critical acclaim the single and its parent album had received, it was believed Mariah was a shoo-in for a Grammy sweep after being nominated 6 times in 1996, but all those assumptions were cut short when the ‘Outside’ vocalist went home empty-ended on Grammy night. An injustice if we’ve ever seen one.

Given that Mimi and the Boyz were enjoying gargantuan success in their own rights, busy schedules meant both parties didn’t have time to shoot a proper music video for the single. So in order to make the most of their tenure together, Larry Jordan was in charge of documenting the conception of the track. This edited footage was turned into the track’s “video”.

Its raw quality suited the heartfelt song to the tee, choosing to put the emphasis on the group bonding and the song’s almost other-worldly vocals, rather than drowning everything in “glamorous” and “sophisticated” sets – ala some of Mariah’s more outlandish visuals since her post-Butterfly days.

With “The New Era” nigh, we can’t wait for Ms. Carey-Cannon to unleash it. Did ‘Triumphant (Get ‘Em)’ make the cut? What about ‘Almost Home’? Are we in for some more Adult Contemporary numbers in the vein of ‘#Beautiful’? Are there any other collaborations to help her on the charts? We guess it’s a matter of time until we find out. Hopefully.

Still, we’re hoping her ever-loyal ‘Lambily’ and we – over at TGJ HQ – aren’t the only ones anticipating new Mimi. Album and single sales will tell, ay?

 Your thoughts?

Admirers of ‘Jump’ singer Rihanna may find the star’s influence in a unique place today, flaunted via a performance put on by Urban Pop dream team, 2NE1.

Pulling on the star’s Reggae tinged brand of R rated fun, the group rocked the Music Core Ulsan Summer Festival hours ago with their brand new single ‘Falling In Love’, proving just how far the singer’s signature- yet oft criticised- style has gone to influence her contemporaries across the globe.

Check ’em out after the jump!

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Last year, ‘Visual Concepts’ called on ‘On The Run‘ Rapper Jay Z to executive produce the soundtrack for NBA 2K 2013 soundtrack.

The hit Basketball game series that’s taken the world by storm since 1999, this year saw ‘NBA’ call on Miami Heat star LeBron James to pick songs he felt best suited this year’s ‘2014’ instalment.

Only right then, that he can call on the likes of John Legend, Drake and Robin Thicke to complete the set, enlisting their songs to accompany the hotly anticipated game play.

Full story below…

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Cop a gander of Christina Aguilera!

The Pop diva looked like a bag of money and good living as she arrived at the press launch for the fifth season of The Voice last night in Los Angeles.

Having made headlines for less than savoury reasons in the past, the singer hit all the right notes yesterday, turning heads in a demure pink ensemble.

Naturally, we’re wondering why Xtina wasn’t this “on” during her ‘Lotus’ campaign (after all, love it or loathe it, image decides a lot in today’s industry). However, she looks so fierce here that the only direction we’re gazing in is forward.

Fingers crossed a new album is on the horizon!

Peep more pics below…

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As one of the most active online destinations for Urban Pop, things move at a rapid pace here at That Grape Juice. However, each week, there’s always select stories that resonate most amongst our millions of monthly readers. Happen to miss one of them? Fret not, you now have…The Refill!

No frills or trills, The Refill simply recaps the hottest topics on the lips of the TGJ faithful over the last seven days. The metrics used to compile the list weekly are comments, social media shares, and page views.  So without further adieu…

That Grape Juice’s Top 5 Stories Of The Week!

1) Vote: What Is The Greatest Song Of The Decade?!

2) Lil Kim’s Axed Lovebox Set Causes Controversy

3) Kelly Rowland Debuts ‘Dirty Laundry’ Video

4) Top Selling Albums Of The Decade Revealed 

5) Shots Fired? Lana Del Rey Disses Lady GaGa

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Your thoughts?

May 23rd 2014 marks the spot for ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past‘, the latest instalment in the long running X-Men film series.

Welcoming Halle Berry back to reprise her role as Ororo ‘Storm’ Monroe, this month saw its cast arrive at San Diego’s Comic-Con to spill fresh details on the Bryan Singer piece during a fan based Q&A.

Consider yourself a fan?

Press play above!

It seems the charts won’t be the only place ‘Part of Me’ performer Katy Perry will have to battle the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Nicki Minaj.

For, after seeing her last album ‘Teenage Dream’ lift her to a lengthy reign atop Billboard charts,  Perry’s now looking to extend that throne occupancy to fragrance shelves.  Much to fan delight, the songstress took to Twitter earlier this week to unveil a queenly photo of herself accompanied by a scepter with the fragrance’s design atop it.

Greeted with royal fanfare in its own right, the snap surfaces just days before the songstress’s reprisal of the ‘Smurfette’ in the ‘Smurfs 2’ film is set to hit theaters (July 31).  Despite being a bit under the weather, last night saw the pop princess pop up on Jay Leno for a chat about the film and more.  See it all below:

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