With Omarion‘s new LP ‘Ollusion’ set to hit stores tomorrow, it’s perhaps no surprise that the former B2K star picked today to debut the video for his latest single ‘Speedin’. Though rather glossy the clip is pretty much standard-fare. However, the song is good enough to warrant much chart success IMO – and certainly the most deserving of his recent material. Whether or not it does in actuality perform well will be interesting to see.

What do you think of the song / video?

The hotly anticipated video for soulful singer Sade‘s new single ‘Soldier of Love’ premiered today. Simple, classy and elegant, the clip is really befitting to both the song and Sade as an artist. I like.

Sade’s first album in over a decade, also titled ‘Soldier of Love’, hits stores February 8th in the UK and February 9th in the US.

What do you think of the video?

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Check out episode 11 of the hilarious ‘Cleveland Show’.

Enjoy!

Christina Milian enters new territory with her latest track to surface from her delayed ‘Elope’ LP entitled ‘I’m Sexy’. The song was written by her hit-making husband The-Dream and produced by Tricky Stewart. There is still no word on when ‘Elope’ will hit stores.

Though her vocals initially sound quite jarring in the midst of the beats, I sense that Milian has stumbled upon something very interesting with this one. The record is definitely different from anything put forward by her before and it seems that she has made a staunch effort this time around to distinguish herself from her peers (Beyonce, Rihanna). I am more than ready to hear the full album whenever it drops.

Hit or Miss?

Check out episode 1 of R&B star Fantasia‘s brand new VH1 reality series ‘Fantasia For Real’ below. Having just watched the show – which premieres on TV this coming Monday – I must say I’m already hooked! As well as the drama (namely the fact she’s taking care of six people financially) and the musical side of things, Fantasia has such a radiant personality that one can’t help but warm to her – and be certain to tune in to the next episode. Good stuff.

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Your thoughts?

Alicia Keys appeared on Saturday Night Live a few hours ago, helping the legendary show launch their latest season. As well as taking part in a hilarious skit, which you can watch above, the Grammy Award winner also performed current single ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’, as well as fan favourite ‘Empire State of Mind (Part 2)’ – both of which you can watch below:

Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

Empire State of Mind (Part 2)

She nailed it, as usual!

Alicia’s new LP ‘The Element of Freedom’ is available on iTunes and in stores now!

Your thoughts?

While it’s pretty much been common knowledge that all has not been well in the Pussycat Dolls camp for sometime now, the fine details of the apparent reality of the situation are starting to emerge.

We reported a few weeks back that member Melody has seemingly been ousted from the group. Well, today member Kimberly confirms the report as well as revealing that she too has been booted from the 5-piece – citing her and Melody’s frustrations at the preferential treatment lead Nicole Scherzinger was receiving over the other ladies. Check out the excerpts from her interview with in today’s News of the World’s Dan Wotten:

Long-time members KIMBERLY WYATT and MELODY THORNTON are about to be sacked – and more could follow.

The pair have paid the price for clashing with top doll NICOLE SCHERZINGER and are set to be replaced by much tamer kitties.

But today in an eXSclusive interview, feisty Kimberly reveals she wants set up a rival band with all the Dolls – apart from Nicole.

She told me she’d got sick of the special diva treatment given to Nicole, girlfriend of F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

She said: “I’ve been a Pussycat Doll for longer. She was one of the last to join.

“But we’d have to share a dressing room while Nicole would have her own.

“We’d be on the tour bus together but she wouldn’t come on and would get her own transport. I’m closer with the other girls because of the system that was in place.”

But it wasn’t just the buses which riled Kimberly – she was also fed up with never getting to show off her vocal talent.

She said: “It’s not true at all that only one of us can sing. Everyone in the group has a beautiful voice. We just weren’t showcased as much.”

Kimberly is now a judge on the brilliant new reality show Got To Dance, which airs tonight at 6pm on Sky1 and Sky1 HD.

I can reveal the shock changes to the Dolls will be announced once Nicole has done some solo work. Kimberly is already discussing a rival project with Melody and the other members JESSICA SUTTA and ASHLEY ROBERTS.

She explained: “When it was made aware to me there would be changes in the group I didn’t agree with it. I love the girls so much. That was my family.

“So I hope to continue the movement. I’m taking my future into my own hands.

“We are looking at ways to keep working together. We all want to. But when we do that we’re not allowed to call ourselves the Pussycat Dolls.”

Although Kimberly has not told her nemesis about her rival band plans, she said: “Right now there is a lot of controversy. I haven’t spoken to Nicole about it. She’s full speed ahead with her career.

“I always knew this sort of change was to come so there’s nothing to be bitter about.

As much as some may seem this as Kimberly being ‘messy’, I’m glad she’s not holding her tongue – yet remaining classy with what she says and how she says it. All their personal drama aside, it’s quite clear to see that Dolls’ creator Robin Antin‘s desire to emulate the ever-changing line-up formula the Pussycat Doll stage show has with a real-life Pop group just won’t work.

It really comes across as changes are also being made to the group’s line-up because their last LP (‘Doll Domination’) tanked. Yet surely, changing actual members isn’t the way forward. If anyone in their team actually hit up the blogs etc (IMO the best focus groups a label could wish for), then they’d see the public’s boredom with the group is less to do with the members in it, rather the explicit focus on one particular member. Though PCD are a more Pop collective, most girl groups (and most certainly the more successful ones) may start off with a sole singer, yet the parts become more spread out over time (see: Destiny’s Child). It’s called progression; perhaps Robin and co should look it up.

Your thoughts?

Holding true to our promise of keeping things fresh here at That Grape Juice (v.2.0 baby!), we bring you ‘Cover Star’. Completing our current feature-list (From The Vault, Original Articles etc), Cover Star will each week showcase regular folk’s rendition of your favourite tracks. Recent history has shown the web to be the place to discover new talent – talent which is undeniably out there in abundance. So what better way to give shine to undiscovered talent than on your favourite site and mine – That Grape Juice!

This week’s Cover Star is 21 year old waitress/retail sales associate Erin Paula. The Los Angeles resident turns in a fantastic rendition of Alicia Keys’ recent smash ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’: Check it out:

A tough song to sing, Ms. Erin certainly held her own on this one. Loving the power and tone of her voice. Great performance!

For more on Erin Paula, check out her Youtube page

Your thoughts?

The video for the Sugababes latest single ‘Wear My Kiss’, from their serially delayed ‘Sweet 7’ LP premiered today on T4.

Where to begin?! Clearly their label (Island Records) are still pumping plenty £££ into this project, if this video is anything to go by. In as much as it pains to say, this is probably the group’s best video to date – and yes, I’m taking into account all line-ups. That said, I can’t help but feel the grandeur (see: special effects etc) was almost too much for the ladies. Amelle, though looking quite stunning, didn’t exude much ‘umph’, while Heidi…yeah. Jade’s laugh-out-loud hair aside, Ms. Ewen nailed it in this clip! From the sass in her delivery of the choreography to her simultaneous  meshing with and overshadowing of the other two members.

Oh, and the song isn’t half bad either.

‘Sweet 7’ hits stores March 8th.

What do you think of the song / video?

Hip-Hop mistress Lil Kim was spotted in New York City yesterday. The Queen B made an appearance at ‘The Return of the Queen of Hip-Hop’ at the M2 Ultra Lounge while taking a break from recording her next studio album. Check out more pics of the rapper below:

What do you think of the pics?

New material from Omarion surfaced today. The heavily auto-tuned track, entitled ‘Sweet Hangover’, was produced by, you guessed it, T-Pain. Omarion’s ‘Ollusion’ LP hits stores on January 12th.

With the melody in the chorus and the cliche that has become the use of auto-tune, this song sounds remarkably similar to T-Pain’s ‘Buy You A Drink’. Though it is quite catchy and radio-friendly, I must admit that I am disappointed that Omarion did not provide the “fresh” sound that he promised with this album. Having listened to the entire LP, this track actually serves as one of its best songs. As an artist who is yet to establish himself as a major sales force on the charts, with the exception of ‘Ice Box’, it seems that Omarion has once again dropped the ball.

Hit or Miss?

As we indicated earlier this week, Rihanna’s camp has selected ‘Rude Boy’ as the next single from her ‘Rated R’ LP. Well, just a short while ago, the artwork for the single was released. AllAccess reports that ‘Rude Boy’ will officially impact radio on February 9th.

This is basically an alternate version of one of the shots in the ‘Rated R’ cover art (seen here). Nonetheless, it works well with the ‘sex sells’ theme that her label has been pushing lately. As one of the better songs on the album, I hope that her team is able to provide a strong video for the record like they did with ‘Hard’ and ‘Russian Roulette’, and avoid creating a toilet-worthy clip like ‘Wait Your Turn’.

Thoughts?