R&B singer Mya continues to razzle and dazzle on the current season of Dancing With The Stars, this week taking on the Rumba. More power to her!

Your thoughts?

Billboard named Beyonce its Woman of the Year at a lavish luncheon this past Friday (October 2nd) at New York’s Pierre Hotel. The baddest chick in the game sat down with Oprah’s pal Gayle King for an interview, in which she discussed her career, her unconditional love for her family, and the run-away success of ‘Single Ladies’. Ms. Knowles-Carter also addressed the now-infamous Kanye West outburst during the MTV Video Music Awards last month.

Perhaps, focussing on the least important part of whole clip, I do find it genuinely quite hilarious how Beyonce can come across so wholesome and sweet and then turn on ‘Sasha’ at the drop of a coin! As much as it pains some to swallow, Bouncy really is the business; an artist whose talent justifies the hype.

Your thoughts?

Check out the official album cover for Leona Lewis’ sophomore effort ‘Echo’ (due November 17th).

Absolutely stunning; she truly looks model-esque. A classic cover for sure, however whether or not the music will serve as a worthy parallel remains to be seen.

While the record’s lead single ‘Happy’ isn’t rocking my world, the album’s list of hit-making contributors is. Ms. Lewis has clocked up studio time and churned out songs with the likes of Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, Claude Kelly, Xenomania, and Toby Gad for the record. Here’s hoping they serve up the hotness.

What do you think of the  cover?

Usher’s eagerly awaited new single ‘Papers’ premiered literally moments ago…literally. If you were thinking the Sean Garrett penned cut was going to detail the drama his relationship with ex Tameka Foster, then boy were you right. The piano driven track is largely engaging due to its lyrical content; with a chorus which sings ‘Damn near lost my mother, done been through so much drama, turned into the man I never thought I’d be, I’m ready to sign them papers’.

While I’m sure the song, which is pretty decent, will get tongues wagging because of its lyrical content, I’m a little on the fence as to my take on Usher airing out private life on record. On the one hand, it’s an open door into what was apparently his reality over the last year or so…a very, very vivid account. However, having gone the same route and pimping out his relationship with TLC’s Chilli during his ‘Confessions’ project, I’m wondering whether it’s been done in good taste. Who am I fooling, though, this really does make for an interesting listen and sure does make Usher that much more noteworthy this go round!

‘Papers’ is lifted from Usher’s forthcoming LP ‘Raymond vs Raymond’ (formerly ‘Monster’), which hits stores in December.

Hit or Miss?

You know the deal; That Grape Juice, once again, wants to see what you all are listening to. Which 5 tracks have you got on constant rotation at the moment? Remember, it doesn’t have to be limited to Urban music; could be something new, Throwback, religious, even something you made yourself LOL. Drop a comment in the comments section. Mine are – in no particular order:

1) About A Girl – ‘Sugababes’ (ft. Keisha)
2) Wordshaker – The Saturdays
3) Up Out My Face – Mariah Carey
4) T.O.N.Y – Solange

5) Tik Tok – Ke$ha

What are your ‘Top 5 Songs Of The Moment’?

MTV have released their annual Hottest MCs In The Game list, which takes a number of factors into consideration. Check out who made the list and who charted where below:

01 – Jay-Z
02 – Lil Wayne
03 – Drake
04 – Kanye West
05 – Rick Ross
06 – Gucci Mane
07 – Young Jeezy
08 – Fabolous
09 – 50 Cent
10 – Raekwon

Your thoughts?

It chick of the moment Lady GaGa took over Saturday Night Live last night, performing her smashes ‘Paparazzi’, ‘Love Game’ and ‘Poker Face’, as well as the lead single from the re-release of her debut ‘The Fame: The Monster’, ‘Bad Romance’. Peep the performances above, as well as a supposed-to-be-funny-but-not skit she did with Madonna (yes, you read right!) below:

Despite the crappiness of the Madge skit, you know Ms. GaGa is here to stay, when she has an informal endorsement from The Queen of Pop!

Your thoughts?

The legendary Whintey Houston is over here in Europe to promote her comeback LP ‘I Look To You’, this evening stopping by German TV show Wetten Dass to perform the album’s title track – which you can watch above.

Yes, Nippy! I was on the edge of my seat the whole performance, hoping and praying that Oprah wasn’t a fluke; and Whitney proved herself yet again. Great performance. By no means a perfect performance, yet one that really does reinforce the fact that the ‘voice’ is still there – legitimately. She sounded the best she has in years. Awesome. {Thanks Tamone, Trent and everyone else who sent this in!}

Tidbit: Let’s ignore the awkward interview at the end LMAO!

What do you think of the performance?

Shakira continues to promote her smash ‘She Wolf’ in Europe, recently stopping by popular French show Le Grand Journal to perform it.

While her previous live offerings of the song have been decent, they’ve dually been kinda ‘just there’; however, the Columbian beauty nailed this particular performance. Spurred on, I’m sure, by the uber receptive crowd, this IMO stands as her best live showing of the song to date. Fierce, sassy, and oozing sex appeal, she nailed it. It was also great to see her actually attempt to sing the verses as opposed to lip-synch as she had done so previously (there’s no need to deny she sucks live vocally, but browny points for trying…plus she is one hell of a ‘performer’). Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

The youngest of the Knowles clan, Solange, features in the latest issue of Honey Magazine. You can read the 23 year old’s interview with the magazine by clicking here. In the meanwhile, check out an extract from the feature, as well as the rest of her eye-catching shoot:

With this record I am experimenting more with a really interesting mix of music. My describing it probably sounds crazy but I’m kind of working with tribal, Native American drums and mashing them with weird ’80s and blues. I have been exposed to so many different great forms of music. It’s definitely going to be an experimental album.

I’m still establishing the sound, but what I’m really focusing on is doing everything independently. I’ve been A&R-ing the project and staying on top of the budgets. I’ve been producing myself, and learning the backside of making the record financially because I didn’t do as much of that the last record. I really want to be in a place where I feel no pressure with my record sales.

————

It was never my intention to have this huge commercial success because otherwise, I would have made other kinds of records. I know how to write pop [and radio] records. I’ve written them for other people. But that isn’t the music that inspires me. It isn’t the music that I feel good about performing or that makes me want to get up and push every morning and be in 10,000 cities in one month promoting.

Your thoughts?

R&B singer Brandy took to Youtube to offer her own rendition of The Wiz classic ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’.

Disclaimer: As regular visitors will know, we love Brandy around these sides…

However, for as good as she sounded, I couldn’t help but think she over sung the song. Too much rifting and ad-libbing (literally on almost every word). Nonetheless, Ms. Norwood gets a pass; after all these years in the game, she is still stands as one of premier vocalists in the industry.

What do you think of Brandy’s performance?

So sad:

The fiance of Kandi Burruss, a cast member on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” was killed Friday evening at a northwest Atlanta strip club, according to WSB Atlanta.

Burruss’ fiance, A.J. Jewell, died from a head injury sustained in a brawl at the Body Tap club, located at 1271 Marietta Blvd.

Burruss’ publicist Lisa Nelson confirmed to WSB that the actress has been informed of the incident and said the family asked for privacy.

Police said it’s unclear what prompted the fight. No arrests have been made. {Source}

Just this week I had been watching Kandi doing the media rounds for the show talking about him, and now this. People, please, stop the violence. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kandi and AJ’s family.

Your thoughts?