Controversial rapper Eminem has just announced that he will be re-releasing his hit album ‘Relapse’, which has sold over 1.5 million units to date. Mariah Carey’s biggest fan collaborated with partner 50 Cent and producer Just Blaze on the double-disc ‘Relapse: Refill’ project which will feature seven new songs. The LP will serve as a replacement to the previously announced ‘Relapse 2’ LP that the rapper promised to hit stores by the end of the year. ‘Relapse: Refill’ drops on December 22nd.
Eminem has managed to remain a major sales force on the charts since his debut almost a decade ago. However, with his new material becoming less inspired with each release, I find it incredible that he managed to sell as many records as he did this year. Maybe he ought to share his secrets with 50 because it is evident that he is in desperate need of a hit.
According to popular chart analyst site HitsDailyDouble, UK singer Leona Lewis‘ second studio album is set bomb on next’s weeks US chart tally. The record, ‘Echo’, is projected to sell a dismal 60, 000 units, completely missing the top spot. In stark contrast, Leona’s first LP, ‘Spirit’, debuted on the Billboard 200 with over 205, 000 units; more than triple the numbers that ‘Echo’ is expected to ship in it’s first week.
I am in no way shocked by this news. There has been almost zero public interest in the album, with the first single, ‘Happy’, failing to even get pass #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Leona did experiment with a few new sounds with this project but with the lack of passion in her music and being frankly devoid of an actual personality, I found myself bored with almost the entire record. ‘Brave’ is the only interesting track on the entire album. I sense that it’s high time that her label stops trying to recapture the magic of ‘Bleeding Love’ and trying to create the next Mariah Carey. Rather, they should focus on allowing her to find her own voice in the industry.
According to Hits Daily Double, rapper 50 Cent‘s album ‘Before I Self Destruct’ is on course to sell just 150, 000 copies first week, enough only to secure a #3 or #4 debut.
While decent numbers for some artists in this current climate, this has to come as a disappointment to ol’ Fiddy considering a) how much he trash talks other folks and b) how much he’s sold in the past. There’s no doubt in my mind that these sales will be blamed on the leaking of the album several weeks ahead of release; however the last time I checked, everyone and their mother’s record seems to hit the wonderful world of the Internet prior to hitting shops.
It seems as if Curtis is set to have his Ja Rule moment…ouch.
Toni Braxton has finally opened up about her recent split with her husband Keri Lewis. The sultry singer spoke with popular UK newspaper ‘The Voice Online’, an excerpt from which can be seen below:
The Unbreak My Heart hitmaker has two sons with her spouse, and she revealed in an exclusive interview with The Voice that she’s not entirely sure why the marriage broke down.
“I’m newly separated – no-one really knows what went wrong,” Braxton said. “My husband and I are still cool – we get along great. But that could become challenging. If things go further, you may read about some things… things will have to be split and all of that.”
However, the US songstress is hopeful that the split won’t become a messy battle that’s played out in the public eye.
“Oh, it’ll nothing like that,” she said. “We were friends for years before we started dating and we’ve been married for almost nine years. I’m a little sad about it and I can’t see anything down the line because it’s all so new. We’re sorting different things right now.”
Good for her. It’s great to see that she is remaining focused and not allowing this situation to consume her. I hope that she keeps this same attitude when it’s time to promote her new album, ‘Pulse’, when it hit stores in February 2010.
Leona Lewis held a release party for her new album ‘Echo’ in Hollywood, Los Angeles recently. Yes I know this is post is supposed to be a Leona post but Ciara looked so FIERCE that she needed to get the top spot!
O yeah, Justin Timberlake made a stop at the party too!
Hip-Hip/Soul Queen Mary J. Blige has decided to rename her forthcoming album, changing the title from ‘Stronger’ to ‘Stronger With Each Tear’. The record is preceded by the singer’s new song ‘I Am’ which she is expected to perform for the first time at this Sunday’s star-studded American Music Awards. Blige’s new LP hits stores on November 22nd.
Am I the only who has lost interest in this album? Both Blige and Usher are releasing albums on the same day yet there has been little buzz about either of their projects and neither have managed to achieve blockbuster success with their first singles. As two of R&B’s premier artists, I would have expected such direct competition to garner a lot of media hype but with the average material that both have released, I can’t blame the public for not being engrossed in the situation. It is a complete gamble on which act will have higher sales, or if they will even ship large numbers at all.
R&B songstress Alicia Keys premiered the sequel to Jay-Z collaboration ‘Empire State of Mind’, the aptly titled ‘Empire State of Mind (Part 2)’ during her set for iHeartRadio today. The song is set to feature on her forthcoming ‘Element of Freedom’ LP (due December 15th).
Some may jump on me for saying this, but I’m thinking I like this better than the original. (Sam runs out of post with the swiftness…LOL)
You can now preview Beyonce‘s ‘I Am…Yours’ live tour album, due out November 23rd. The LP was recorded during Beyonce’s intimate show at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas earlier this year.
That Grape Juice are please to announce that we are giving one lucky Mariah Carey fan the chance to win a pair of tickets to meet the superstar diva herself here in London town tomorrow (yes, meet!). Carey, 39, will be switching on the Christmas lights at the trendy Westfield Shopping Mall in Shepherd’s Bush.
To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question correctly:
Mariah has how many #1’s on the Billboard Hot 100?
a) 12
b) 18
c) 19
Submit your answer, along with your name, age, address, telephone number to the below address at title it ‘Mariah Comp’:
We’re loving what we’re hearing of Lady GaGa‘s ‘The Fame Monster’ LP and have had our preview copy on replay for a hot minute now. The RedOne produced ‘Monster’, however, has been getting crazy spins here in “That Grape Juice land”. Infectious production, clever wordplay and totally ‘GaGa’, this one has ‘S-M-A-S-H’ written all over it.
This week’s edition of Best You Never Heard features little known gems by Michael Jackson, Wyclef and Claudette Ortiz, Kirk Franklin and Teedra Moses.
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Michael Jackson – Unbreakable (ft. Notorious B.I.G)
While the world unsurprisingly gravitated toward Michael Jackson‘s classic songs in the wake of his death earlier this year, I found myself doing the same, yet also reaffirming my appreciation for his ‘newer’ music. Taken from 2001’s ‘Invincible’, Jackson’s last studio LP – ‘Unbreakable’ stands as one of my favourite of his more recent offerings. Produced by Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins and featuring the late, great Notorious B.I.G, this epic piano-driven cut oozes funk, with a MJ’s trademark stamp on it. Without a doubt, had ‘hit’ written all over it; interestingly this was initially supposed to be a single (accompanied by a big budget video), however contractual disputes with his label Sony K.O’ed such plans. Tidbit: R&B star Brandy features on backing-vocals.
Listen:
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Wyclef & Claudette Ortiz – Dance Like This
Upon hitting ‘play’ on this one, many of you will immediately think back to Wyclef and Shakira‘s 2005 smash ‘Hips Don’t Lie’. Indeed, ‘Dance Like This’ (recorded a year earlier), which features former City High singer Claudette Ortiz on lead vocals, sounds almost identical to ‘Hips’ – only with different lyrics. With both produced by and featuring Wyclef, it appears he simply tweaked Claudette’s version, which featured on the soundtrack to ‘Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights’ (straight-to-DVD) for Ms. Shakira, Shakira. With ‘Hips’ blowing up and becoming the hit it did, very few are in the know about the original – which I would argue is the better of the two versions; this primarily due to the superior vocals and all-round more logical lyrcial content. Randomness: Come to think of it, where the hell is Claudette, she’s so talented?
Listen:
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Kirk Franklin – How It Used To Be
I’m a sucka for ‘crossover’ Gospel tracks, and few come harder on that front than Kirk Franklin, particularly on ‘How It Used To Be’. Said to have been produced by hitmaker Bryan-Michael Cox, this stirring piano-ballad has a ‘knock’ that would see it sit comfortably beside Mary J’s ‘Be Without You’ and similar sounding songs. More over, however, the vocals and vocal arrangements cut deep, really evoking emotion. Great, great song.
Listen:
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Teedra Moses – Backstroke
Soulful songstress Teedra Moses served up an R&B classic in the form of her debut LP ‘Complex Simplicity’. As hard as I try, I cannot remember where I stumbled upon the CD, yet what I do remember quite vividly is playing it on my iPod one night in 2005, while laying in bed. The intention was to see what the growing underground buzz was about…let’s just say I started a love-affair with the album there and then, an affair which still holds strong today. A particular album stand-out is ‘Backstroke’, which is best described as sensuality epitomised. With it’s suggestive coos and convincing vocal delivery, this stands as testament to the undeniable talent that is Teedra Moses. Tidbit: Still waiting on her sophomore LP ‘The Young Lioness’!
Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson has landed the role of Winnie Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, in a new biopic which will focus on the life of the one-time South African 1st lady. Check out the report via Variety below:
Hudson will play Winnie Mandela in a film that begins production May 30 in the South African locations of Johannesburg, Capt Town, Transkei and Robben Island, where the future president spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.
“Winnie” will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt, the veteran South African filmmaker whose 2006 film “Yesterday” was Africa’s Best Foreign Film nominee, and who also directed “Cry, The Beloved Country,” and “Sarafina!”
Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson wrote a script based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography “Winnie Mandela:A Life.” Picture is being made with South African and Canadian money, with Pieterse producing with Michael Mosca of Canada’s Equinoxe Films.
While Nelson Mandela — who’ll be played by Morgan Freeman in the Clint Eastwood-directed “Invictus” — is a universally sympathetic figure for his struggle against apartheid, his former wife is a far more complicated figure. She has been depicted as the mother and wife who was a steadfast supporter of her activist husband and who was jailed herself for campaigning for his release and fighting against apartheid. Her image was subsequently tarnished by association with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year old alleged informer, and she was later convicted of fraud.
The filmmakers will tell the whole story, good and bad.
“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”
Hudson, who is expected to sing the film’s theme song, won the Oscar for her screen debut in “Dreamgirls’ and followed with “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Sex in the City.”
Go Jennifer! As one of the few talents in the industry actually getting props for being one of the best, as well as being an equally great actress as she is a singer, I couldn’t more happier for Jennifer. The movie sounds like a winner too. More power to her!
