Just days after her unfortunate passing, Pop icon Amy Winehouse‘s fans have responded to the tragedy by taking her last album back into the top ten of the Billboard 200.

Find out exactly how much it has sold this week below…

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With much ado made about the release of Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Here I Am’, all eyes are undoubtedly on the LP’s first week sales. Having interviewed Rowland last week, the 30 year old tells That Grape Juice that longevity is what she and her team are shooting for.

Without further adieu, Ms. Kelly’s sales predicitons after the jump…

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Having shaken up the industry in every which way, Jessie J undoubtedly is one of 2011’s break-out stars.

The British belter looks set to continue wracking up the accolades as she releases new material this year.

While it’s being speculated that the new music will manifest in the form of a re-release (of her ‘Who You Are’ LP), fans were given a taster of what to expect from hitmaker Dr Luke. For the ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Price Tag’ producer shared a snippet of a newly recorded J track titled ‘Domino’.

Take a listen after the jump…

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R&B is on a respirator.  Once a celebrated genre that has given the music industry some of its most praised acts (see Luther, Whitney, Aretha, Marvin), the musical styling is unquestionably losing its identity to Hip-Hop and now Electro-Pop.

The question at hand: is R&B on its last breath or is revival in its future?  In a three part series, That Grape Juice will analyze three sectors of the fallen genre:  ladies (songstresses), males (crooners), and groups (both male and female) to determine if resurrection is in its future or if it will find permanent rest in the history books.

Next up, gentlemen…

One quick peruse of today’s Pop charts and Marvin Gaye might have a new reason to ask ‘What’s Going On’?  2011’s Billboard charts stand almost tenantless of R&B testosterone, with acts like Trey Songz acting as sole representative of the dying breed.  Such turn of events beg the question; Where did the male R&B singer go?

Rewinding to the beginnings of R&B sees acts such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and Gaye winning over multi-racial audiences, breaking down barriers while ‘breaking it down’ on global stages.  These are the men who effortlessly denoted what the generations that succeeded them would call ‘swag’.  And, though Gaye himself is touted as one of the greatest R&B vocalists of all-time, his contemporaries yielded no shortage of competition.

Fast forward from the Motown heyday of the 60s to the 80s and early 90s and you’ll see R&B replace disco moves in place of slow grooves, and balladeers take the forefront. And, while the Prince’s and Michael Jackson’s were migrating from their native genre to Pop crossover territories, Peabo Bryson, Gerald Levert, Babyface, Tevin Campbell, and the era’s king crooner, Luther Vandross, were busy enacting an R&B renaissance. Although not dominating the Pop charts like their R&B female counterparts (see Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey), there was certainly no dearth of R&B divo, crafting unforgettable hits and designing the soundtrack to our generation’s ‘old school’.

And then there was R.Kelly. With highly sexualized lyrics and suggestive stage shows to match, Kelly single-handedly ushered in a new era of R&B – discarding the debonair of Romance&B in exchange for Risque&B.  Crowned the genre’s new king, the singer undeniably stands as the bridge between the balladeers of yesteryear and today’s R&B.  And, while the Brian McKnight’s, Jon B.’s, Maxwell’s, Ginuwine‘s, and co. crooned to varying, altogether commendable chart success, the 90s saw no other R&B male take the industry by the reins like Kelly until Usher.

With Kelly’s packaging, albeit diluted, Mr. Raymond saw his rise to fame come on the wave of teen idolatry.  Even with the record buying public partial to Popi’er counterparts (Backstreet Boys, N’sync, etc.), Usher still never abandoned his R&B roots, wielding such career defining hits as ‘Nice and Slow’, and later ‘You Got It Bad’ and ‘Confessions’.

Fast forward to today.  After a decade of Hip-Hop influence, even neo-soul and traditional R&B singers (Mario, Jaheim, Musiq Soulchild) have tried trading in their signature mid-tempos to conform to the genre’s stylings (bass heavy and oft misogynistic lyrics) – to mixed success.  And with Hip-Hop’s hand itself slowly losing grip on the industry, failures in both Hip-Hop and R&B have encouraged the Usher’s (see:  ‘Here I Stand’) and co. alike to conform  (to varying degrees) to the industry’s new tyrant – Electro Pop.

So, where does the R&B male fit in?

While a new class lay waiting for chart recognition (Lloyd, Miguel, and the like), this generation’s leaders are undoubtedly Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, and Trey Songz.  Interestingly, though all three are billed as R&B artists, none have remained as loyal to the genre as Songz (noted:  the first to debut, but the least successful of the three).  Could such be due, in part, to his allegiance to R&B?

That Grape Juice wants to know…

Do you think that there will be a resurgence of mainstream R&B males?

Get very familiar with the latest visual in support of Miguel‘s critically acclaimed new album. The long awaited  black and white visual sees the much loved crooner bring life to one of his more raunchier sounds.

Check it out below…

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Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige bared  just that and more in the latest edition of VH1‘s ‘Behind the Music’.  In the candid interview, the ‘Share My World’ singer shared details about alcohol abuse, her infamous relationship with Jodeci‘s K-Ci, and even revealed childhood molestation – a bout that has plagued her for years.

An interesting watch indeed.  See more on Mary behind her music after the jump:

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As earlier reported, the ladies of Destiny’s Child reunited last night to celebrate the release of Kelly Rowland‘s latest album ‘Here I Am’.

Though ecstatic, fans of the trio queried the whereabouts of a shot of the group together. Indeed, commenter ‘KingB Slays’ wrote:

“I want a picture of all three of them together!!”

Hence, the ladies gargantuan following will no doubt be happy to see all three of them snapped catching up at the high-end event.

Perhaps  the typical pre-planned photo-opp was avoided so as to keep the focus on Kelly – as opposed to more pointless reunion talk?

No word on whether their manager Mathew Knowles attended.

{Pic source}

Your thoughts?

Having delivered Oscar worthy performances in her role as a “singer”, Rihanna is taking her true talent  to the big screen. The Bajan sensation stars in big-budget flick ‘Battleship’, the trailer for which premiered moments ago.

Check her out in the blink-and-you-miss-her promo below…

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Check out ‘Bad Boys‘ darling Alexandra Burke enjoying the company of R&B icon Usher and world renowned record producer Rico Love.

Reported to have recorded created music together, the image of the three artists comes after Ms. Burke tweeted excitedly about  material Love had penned for her.

It is still unconfirmed as to whether Usher features on this song.

Responsible for Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Commander’ and ‘Motivation‘, Beyonce‘s ‘Sweet Dreams‘ and Usher’s ‘There Goes My Baby‘,  it appears that Alexandra is hoping Rico Love’s platinum touch  will assist her in her bid to entice American audiences.

For now that she recently signed to RCA Recordings, Ms. Burke’s chances of becoming the international sensation so many of her fans believe she can be are looking increasingly likely.

Your thoughts?

Rihanna‘s racy antics and barely there outfits have seen her serve as the bain of many a parent. It seems the popular model agrees; for, in the latest issue of Glamour magazine the 23 year old laments on having to be a role model.

Her comments after the jump…

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50 Cent may not have had a hit in years, yet that hasn’t stopped the rapper from tearing into the one entity who could make that happen – his label Interscope.

Not one to hold his tongue, the G-Unit general let rip on Twitter today, venting his frustrations at the handling of his new LP.

Find out what he said after the jump…

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No. It’s a Keri Hilson, enjoying all that summer has to offer making her way to the Elle Magazine offices in NYC.

The starlet, who recently enjoyed platinum status also lent her voice to the fight against HIV/Aids and joined That Grape Juice to help inspire school children who are hoping to pursue a career in show business.

More below…

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