It seems JoJo’s record label rant last week has proved worthwhile, as news and new material from the immensely talented 18 year old has been coming thick and fast; the most recent of which is new track ’25 To Life’. Currently unknown is whether or not the track is the lead single from her ‘All I Want Is Everything’ LP, nonetheless it’s a winner! From the catchy hook, to the clever tempo changes, to Ms. Levesque’s stunning vocal delivery (as usual), I’m really feeling this. What’s more, it has me salivating for more new material from her. Great track.
The video for Cassie’s brand new Diddy-assisted single ‘Must Be Love’ premiered today. Put simply, the clip for this ‘Bad Boy Classic’ (Diddy’s words not mine) is ‘blah blah blah’. Besides the video lacking substance and featuring subtlety hilarious choreography by Cassie and Diddy, it really highlights the lack of direction with Cassie generally. A few months ago she debuted a radical new look, yet this song and video don’t match that and she comes off looking foolish. Contrived, contrived, contrived. Next.
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) Battlefield – Jordin Sparks
2) Big Spender – Adrienne Bailon
3) I’mma Be – Black Eyed Peas
4) Cause A Scene – Teairra Mari
Speculation has been mounting for several months over the relationship status of Usher and wife Tameka Foster. Well it appears the rumours have been validated, with the R&B superstar reportedly filing for divorce from his stylist wife today:
R&B star USHER and his wife are reportedly planning to divorce after almost two years of marriage.
The Yeah! hitmaker and stylist Tameka Foster have been living apart for the past year, according to U.S. publication In Touch.
Divorce papers were filed in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday morning (11Jun09).
The shocking news comes just four months after Foster suffered cardiac arrest during cosmetic surgery in Brazil.
At the time, Usher, who flew to be by her side, insisted he had no idea his wife was there for the procedure.
A source close to the couple says, “Usher’s primary concern is for his children. He is a great father and just wants to do what is right for them.”
The couple have two kids together, Usher Raymond V, 18 months, and Naviyd, six months. {Source}
Damn. While it’s never a good thing to see a once-happy couple divorce, this must surely be leaving Usher feeling kinda embarrassed, After all the defensive rants and raves. Here’s hoping they both act responsibly in the midst of this all for the sake of their kids.
Ousted ex-Girlicious member Tiffanie took to Youtube today to clear up the rumours and speculation surrounding her place in the group. Unsurprisingly she confirmed that she is no longer with the group; however her reasons make for a really interesting watch and kinda emphasise how shady the industry can be at times. Clearly the most talented in the group, Tiffanie deserves her shine IMO, hopefully this isn’t the last we hear from her.
In other Girlicious news, while still under the Universal Records umbrella, the girls have been moved from Geffen Records to Interscope.
Irv Gotti’s INC ship seems to continue its descent, with R&B singer Lloyd announcing that he has too left the once dominant label:
R&B singer LLOYD has parted ways with his longtime record label The Inc.- just a month after ASHANTI walked out of her contract at the music firm.
Ashanti left the label, run by music mogul Irv Gotti, in May (09) after years of reportedly frosty relations with The Inc. bosses.
And Lloyd has now followed her out the door after releasing three albums with the company – but insists the split was amicable.
He tells AllHipHop.com, “I’m ready for a change. There’s no bad blood. I just feel I need to take more control over my career and get a fresh start. Hopefully Irv can understand my position.”
Lloyd’s manager, Henry ‘Noonie’ Lee, adds: “Even though Lloyd is appreciative of the opportunity that has been afforded him by The Inc, he feels it’s time for him to move on and seek opportunities that will allow him to build and enhance his brand.” {Source}
Ouch. It really goes to show how you can be the hotness one minute and no one wants to touch you with a barge pole the next; The INC are seeing all their talent flock elsewhere, yet no good new talent are taking their place. About Lloyd himself, I feel as though we’ve yet to see the best of what he has to offer. Here’s hoping the future is bright for him.
Rap star Kanye West stopped by The View yesterday, to talk about a host of things. He also confirmed that he will be going on a joint tour with Lady GaGa! Peep the interview above.
In a recent interview with Billboard, hit-maker Pharrell Williams talked up Usher’s forthcoming ‘Monster’ LP:
The beatmaker divulged that Usher has chosen a new direction with his latest project.
“The Usher album is crazy. His album is the review of the mind of a monster,” said Pharrell.
“He’s somewhere else right now…like a whole different kind of R&B,” he added. “Its really great, its super edgy. He’s taken alot of time to really sit and study and we really built something that is like…it’s just…it’s mean.
Pharrell is also working on Rihanna’s upcoming album as well forthcoming projects from Shakira, Incubus, The Clipse and N.E.R.D.
Sounds real interesting. Will be checking for this one for sure…
Peep the official album cover for Jordin Sparks’ brand new album ‘Battlefield’. Put simply, no, no and no. One cannot shy away from the fact (IMO) that the cover is actually a hot steaming mess. It’s beginning to amaze me at how she can have such a solid song on her hands with ‘Battlefield’ – a great way to usher in the album – yet everything else i.e. the video, album cover etc are all missing the mark. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be giving the album a look-see when it drops.
As some of you may know, we announced a few months back that you can now follow That Grape Juice on Twitter! Adding to the ever-expanding ways to be apart of the That Grape Juice community, our Twitter page allows you to receive up-to-the-minute updates about the latest posts on the site as well as what’s happening in the Urban Pop Culture world more generally.
What’s more, you, as well as the thousands who have already joined, will be able to keep up with me, ‘Sam’, while I’m on-the-go. I’ll be making use of Twitter’s cool SMS feature which allows me to let you guys know what I’m up to via my mobile/cell. That means everything from checking in with you guys while on location at an artist interview to complete randomness from the wackiness that is ‘my world’. So what are you waiting for…
Superstar Beyonce is currently over here on our side of the pond on the UK leg of her ‘I Am…’ tour. During last night’s final show here, at London’s 02 (until November), she was joined onstage by none other than George Michael (random, ey?), with the two performing a duet version of ‘If I Were A Boy’ (even more random LOL). Pretty enjoyable I must say, despite uncle George messing up the words.
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Now, as some of you may know, That Grape Juice was in the house on Beyonce’s 2nd London date (May 26th). I had plans to do an in-depth review, however only remembered at the end of the show LOL. The show was that good, that captivating, that….ahhh!!! Ms. Knowles-Carter really showed why she is the best performer around today. Period.
Without turning this too much into a personal post, the day itself read like movie-script. From me racing down from one side of London with a friend to the other to make it in time – in a £60 taxi (BPT is ok sometimes, but it’s a recession people!) – and missing the opening act Shontelle (who apparently sucked LOL), to having my sisters, who are big Bey stans (shout-out to Beyonce World, where Miss Junior Grape Juice lives daily!) screaming down my phone about how ‘serious’ our seats were – first row of the 2nd stage (they were at the arena already), to Bey giving my sister her towel, to seeing Jay-Z. As you can probably tell from my awful grammar above (lol), we had amazing time – even better than The Beyonce Experience.
Check out some of the pics I took from the show below – That Grape Juice exclusives:
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The winner of our Beyonce ‘I Am…’ tour after party ticket give-away, which was hosted by Beyonce herself and saw performances from Solange, was 21 year old Omar from London. Peep his email after attending the show:
Hey Sam!
Just want to say thank you again for the tickets. We had a really good time and we managed to be front row!!! Beyonce was hot and Solange killed it. We saw Tina (Knowles) and Jay-Z along with Bey in the upper level and it was a great nite!
If ur going to the concert tonite has fun. I’ll b going on the 8th June! If u meet beyonce, tell her to call me, lol
Cheers again!
Good stuff. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for more competitions. UK’ers are gonna like what’s coming tomorrow (shhh…don’t tell anyone!)
Last week a video of JoJo venting her frustrations at her record label over their handling of her 3rd album ‘All I Want Is Everything’ hit the net. Interestingly, today an apparent 3 track sampler of the record surfaced on the net, featuring the tracks ‘Fearless’, ‘Touch Down’ and ‘Underneath’. Having really enjoyed JoJo’s last effort ‘The High Road’, with its effortless R&B/Pop fusion, much of this is sounding a little run-of-the-mill Pop (that would have been the business about 3 years ago). With the production credits on the album including Timbaland, Darkchild and Sean Garret, I was hoping for a more Urban-tinged Pop affair. That said, ‘Touch Down’ sounds like a winner.
*Update* JoJo released the following on her MySpace:
“Someone brought it to my attention that there are three songs floating around that people are claiming is a part of an “All I Want is Everything” album sampler. These songs are NOT ON THE ALBUM nor do they represent the sound or direction of this record. We are only considering one of those songs for the final finished product. Its just a bit frustrating when there has been such a long wait for new material, and then things that I wouldnt have put out somehow get out. I’ve also seen fake “tracklistings” floating around. These listings are completely inaccurate and i have absolutely no idea who created them. Once the official tracks for the album are chosen, you will be the first to know!”
You know the deal; That Grape Juice, once again, wants to see what you all are listening to. 
