Omarion Dropped By Label (Again) After Single Leak
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for R&B singer Omarion. After severing ties with Epic Records last year (aka was dropped), the former B2K star signed with Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money / Cash Money imprint in June – only to be let go yesterday after the leak of his lead single ‘I Get It In’:
Two months after being signed to Young Money Entertainment, Omarion has been dropped from the giant recording company. Spilling the beans about the matter is the label’s president Mack Maine on his Twitter which reveals that Omarion is fired because he has allegedly leaked his duet song with Lil Wayne.
“ATTN: Omarion is no longer Young Money … the song they leaked ft. Wayne is not official .. good luck 2 him in his future,” so Mack wrote. Shortly after that, one of Young Money’s artists Jae Millz re-tweeted Mack’s short message, apparently trying to emphasize that the news is not a rumor.
Omarion was previously signed to Epic Records before he joined Young Money Entertainment in June. He is currently working on his next studio album titled “A New Me”. Now that he is out of Young Money, it seems that the singer has to seek a new home to release the effort.
Up to date, Omarion hasn’t offered any comment concerning him being axed from Young Money. {Source}
Ouch!!! To say this is embarrassing would be an understatement. What’s more, with the nature of why O was dropped, it doesn’t bode well for his chances of being snapped up swiftly by any other label anytime soon. Never ones to kick folk while they are down though, we wish Omarion the best moving ahead. For despite his voice not really being to my taste, he is immensely talented as an all-round performer.
Your thoughts?

The much hyped video for ‘Run This Town’ premiered worldwide moments ago.
I’m off to do an interview at the Universal Music building (you know we keep em coming!), so have yet to check this one out.
Once you’ve watched it, let That Grape Juice know what you think in the comments section below!
What do you think of the video?

Does it live up to the hype?
Mariah Carey - '100%' (Snippet)
Check out this snippet of new Mariah Carey track ‘100%’. Produced by Jermaine Dupri, the mid-tempo ballad will not feature on her forthcoming ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’, instead can be found on the soundtrack for ‘Precious’, the critically acclaimed new movie Carey, 39, stars in alongside lead Mo’Nique.
About the track; it’s kinda busy sounding, yet judging by this snippet it certainly sounds like one of Mariah and Jermaine’s better offerings. Good stuff.
Hit or Miss?

The above video of Beyonce, Jay-Z and their bodyguard’s altercation with the Croatian paparrazi has been making the rounds on the net all day and intially went over my head. Check out the vid above and a more detailed description of what exactly went down below:
Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z have been working overtime lately, so the couple decided to take a vacation in Croatia. The singer took a hired yacht into the ocean and had a blast riding the water waves!
Unfortunately their vacation turned out to be not so fun when one of Beyonce’s bodyguards was hit in the back by a paparazzi with a camera stand! {Source}
According to TMZ, the bodyguard has now been charged with ‘destroying personal property’ and assault. Unfortunate, as I can’t say the stupid paparazzi guy didn’t deserve it.
Your thoughts?
Omarion - 'I Get It In (ft. Lil' Wayne)' (1st Single)
After a brief hiatus from the industry, Omarion is back. Having made the transition from Columbia Records to Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money imprint over at Cash Money, O is set to release ‘I Get It In’ as the lead single from his as-yet-untitled 3rd studio album. The single, which you can listen to below, features Lil’ Wayne, as expected.
About the track, I’m on the fence with this one. While it’s refreshing to see O switch it up musically and serve up a cut with some grittiness to it, the fact he is a ‘singer’ yet is talking on autotune all the way through is quite worrying. I mean this could easily have been a Lil’ Wayne track and sounded almost identical. Speaking of ol’ Weezy, these features are becoming kinda tiresome. Hell, at this rate even I will have a track out with Weezy!
Hit or Miss?

Report: Jackson Doctor To Be Charged With Manslaughter
With news and speculation on the Michael Jackson saga becoming a daily occurrence, today saw the first major actions taken since the King of Pop’s passing in June. Fox News are reporting that Dr Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died, is set to be charged with Manslaughter any day from now. Check out the report below:
Michael Jackson’s personal physician will be charged with manslaughter within the next two weeks, a law enforcement source told FOXNews.com.
The source initially said Dr. Conrad Murray could be arrested as soon as next Wednesday — but investigators have decided to execute one more search warrant, likely at a Los Angeles pharmacy, next week in an attempt to gather more evidence against him. The arrest is now expected the following week.
Murray isn’t the only doctor who faces criminal charges in connection with Jackson’s death on June 25. A law enforcement source told FOXNews.com that Jackson’s longtime dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, will be hit with charges related to medical malpractice. Investigators are still building their case against Klein, and he will not be arrested for at least another two weeks, the source said.
Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, denied that prosecutors had decided to charge Jackson’s physicians. “Until police complete their investigation and bring it to our office, there is no way to know what charges may be filed and against whom,” she said.
But the source told FOXNews.com that the DA’s office is currently in talks with investigators about whether they will offer Murray the option of surrendering in Los Angeles, or if he will be arrested in Houston, where he is currently staying.
Investigators initially had hoped to charge Murray with a more serious crime than manslaughter — a defendant may be charged with second degree murder in California without the presence of a motive — but prosecutors are concerned that a jury will be unlikely to convict without one, sources said. Unless a “smoking gun” is found in next week’s search, Murray will be charged with manslaughter.
Law enforcement sources previously told FOXNews.com that Murray admitted he gave the King of Pop the intravenous anesthetic propofol to help him sleep just hours before his death — and that propofol was at least a contributing factor in the 50-year-old entertainer’s death.
Putting my admitted Stan’dom to the side for a moment; while Michael had a part to play in his death, there are people – Dr Murray included – who were in positions to know better…and most importantly to act better. Had he been given the right treatment, as opposed to those facilitating his unfortunate addiction, he may still be here today.
It’s still so hard to swallow the fact that he is no longer with us. May his soul Rest In Peace.
Your thoughts?
Whitney To Appear On Oprah
With Whitney Houston apparently laying low less than 10 days before the release of her ‘I Look You’ LP, worried fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the 44 year old diva was today confirmed to have a sit-down interview with Oprah in the coming month. {Source}
Famed for her ratings-grabbing, straight-to-the-point interviews with the likes of Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise, there’s no doubt Whitney’s past struggles won’t be avoided with this one.
I guess there always was going to be that one definitive interview where Nippy has to address her drug problems of yesteryear, and it’s looking like this will be it. While folks are itching to accept Whitney back with open arms, it’s doubtful their embrace would be as genuine had she avoided the issue we all want to hear her talk about. From her team’s perspective too, Oprah equals major sales. Should Whitney play her cards right, it’s likely a win-win for all involved.
Your thoughts?

Looks like a winner. Jamie acting ability is so versatile. More power to him.

‘Law Abiding Citizen’ hits theatres October 16th.

Will you be going to see ‘Law Abiding Citizen’?
Trina - 'That's My Attitude' (First Single)
Following last year’s top-10 charting ‘Still Da Baddest’, Trina is back with new single ‘That’s My Attitude’ from her new album – tentatively titled ‘Amazin”.
In being one of the few who actually feels Ms. Trina is actually quite underrated, I’ve -for the longest – enjoyed the swagger she exudes on her tracks. Hence why, despite this track’s somewhat samey feel to what we’ve heard from the Diamond Princess in the past, I am liking it. That said, this is more street single, than first single material.
Hit or Miss?


Interesting. A shame the actual video didn’t come out as well…

Your thoughts?
Confirmed: Mariah's 'First' Single Is...
Showbiz 411 colunmist Roger Friedman, an extended member of Mariah Carey’s PR team, continues to serve up information about what to expect from the diva’s forthcoming ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ album – today confirming that Foreingers cover ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ will be the record’s ‘first official single’ (rolls eyes). Check out the report below:
Foreigner’s Mick Jones can start ordering caviar and Champagne again: Mariah Carey is releasing her own gospel-tinged version of his masterwork song, “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
It’s the first “real” single from her new album following the summer release of the witty “Obsessed,” which is also included on “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.” The album and the single hit the world on Sept. 29th.
I heard the Foreigner song yesterday along with all of “Memoirs” and let me tell you: Mariah’s got a hit on her hands along the lines of “Emancipation of Mimi “The hour-long CD is ballad-centric. Written and produced with The Dream and Tricky (I know, but these are their stage names), “Memoirs” boasts a lot of singles. Starting with the Foreigner song is a canny move in these uncertain times. By the time its run is over, a new generation will think “I Want to Know What Love Is” is a Mariah Carey song.
Mick Jones, who wrote it, should start picking out some nice new cars thanks to Carey. The money should come rolling in quickly.
The other songs on the album — these are the titles, although the running order is still being finalized: “Betcha,” “Obsessed,” “H.A.T.E.U.,” “Candy Bling,” “Ribbon,” “Standing O’s.,” “Impossible,” “It’s a Wrap,” “Inseparable,” “Up Out My Face,” “More than Just Friends,” and “Angels Cry.”
Several of these are radio ready. “Angels Cry” is an honest-to-god ballad a la “Vision of Love,” and should be a gigantic success. “Standing O’s” also has potential, as do “H.A.T.E.U.” — which stands for “having a typical emotional upset” — and “Inseparable.”
Def Jam’s L.A. Reid — who previewed the CD for the first time yesterday with a clutch of staffers — is playing with the order, to get it right. But he really can’t go wrong. Carey’s album, is, as they used to say, “what the kids want.” Plus, it’s got stuff for the slightly older crowd. I loved the doo-woppy “It’s a Wrap.” And the Foreigner track is so powerful, it’s going to be everywhere.
Good news, too: no more songs about Eminem. One was plenty.
So, by the end of September we’ll have new CDs from Whitney and from Mariah. They’re each top notch and different from each other enough that their fans should want them both. Maybe we’ll see a return to record stores (we have but a few in Manhattan now) and diva duels on radio if programmers are smart.
Hmmm. What I find kind of baffling about this whole ‘first official single’ nonsense, is that with the ‘Emancipation’ project the first single ‘It’s Like That’ didn’t perform that well, yet the label stood by it as the album’s first single. The record’s 2nd single ‘We Belong Together’ dropped thereafter and we all know what happened with that one. So why ‘Obsessed’ is being dubbed a ‘summer treat’ as opposed to a single is hella confusing.
I’m guessing the poor performance of Mimi’s last album ‘E=MC2’, particularly the singles (‘Touch My Body’ aside), has the label very worried about the success of this LP; so much so that they are distancing themselves away from anything that isn’t an undeniable smash hit i.e. ‘Obsessed’. All signs point to this album needing to be a hit for Mariah, otherwise things may take a turn for the worse. Labels pump money into projects and expect good returns – especially on major artists such as Mariah. Regardless of an artist’s status, if they aren’t making money for the label, then they are in danger of facing the axe. Simple as. With ‘E=MC2’ just about hitting Platinum status in the US, despite a #1 single, massive promotion and 2-3 more singles, it was a relative commercial failure. Hence why there is so much riding on this.
About the actual preview, ‘Angels Cry’ sounds intriguing, but thats about it. The line about the LP being ‘what the kids want’ doesn’t excite me – if anything, it has the opposite effect. Some of you may wonder why I seemingly go in on Mariah the way I do, but when an artist who has been blessed beyond belief with such a voice and delivers classics such as ‘Butterfly’ and ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ lowers herself to making audio-garbage such as ‘Touch My Body’ and ‘Obsessed’, one is justified in asking: WTF?!
I mean I really do want to support, but ol’ Mimi is making it oh-so-hard to…
Tidbit: Is it just me or is anyone else struggling to find the correlation between ‘ballad-centric’ and ‘for the kids’? Surely, these are opposing sounds?
Your thoughts?
Christina Lines-Up All-Star Cast For New LP
Pop star Christina Aguilera appears to be going all-out on her next album, enlisting a star-studded cast of the industry’s hottest movers and shakers for the record:

Christina Aguilera has confirmed some of music’s coolest artists will feature on her next album.

Santigold (formerly Santogold), M.I.A, Lady Tron, Goldfrapp and singer Sia will all appear on the star’s next disc.

In an interview with A.P.E Radio she said: “I think I’m most proud of this work than I’ve ever been, just because I worked with so many amazing and incredibly talented people.”

The Neptunes and Major Lazer are also rumoured to be contributing beats to the album.

Christina continued: “I really like to step outside of my own box. The result was just crazy magic. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy on the record. Lots of good stuff in store!” {Source}

Sounds exciting. Christina has yet to match ‘Stripped’, her most solid body of work to-date IMO, with her recent releases; so here’s hoping she serves up the hotness with her latest CD.
Your thoughts?
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