R&B singer Maxwell took the stage at ‘The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!’ last evening. The smooth performer did a rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Lady In My Life’ which he did in tribute to the late King of Pop. Maxwell received 6 nominations at the event including ‘Song of the Year’ for his smash hit ‘Pretty Wings’ which dominated the Hip-Hop/R&B charts for 14 consecutive weeks.

Maxwell is without a doubt one of the best male vocalists in the game right now. The way in which he is able to seamlessly transcend into his falsetto without sounding forced or strained is a prime example of what sets him apart from his contemporaries. He is even outshining many of the girls in the industry! This man is just too smooth.

Thoughts?

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards show will take place on January 31st 2010, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. You can check out the full list of nominations which were announced a few moments ago in a special telecast on CBS.

Beyonce and Taylor Swift lead the pack with Ms. Knowles-Carter receiving 10 nominations and Swift 8. Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, and Maxwell earned 6 nods, while Lady GaGa, David Guetta and Jay-Z scored 5 noms a piece.  Whitney Houston, who was a strong favourite, received NO nominations (WTF!!!)

Update: My girl Kelly Rowland received a nomination! Go Kelly.

Album of the Year
Beyoncé – I Am… Sasha Fierce
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Lady Gaga – The Fame
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
Taylor Swift – Fearless

Record of the Year
Beyoncé – “Halo”
Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”
Kings of Leon – “Use Somebody”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”

Song of the Year
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
Kings of Leon – “Use Somebody”
Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”
Bon Jovi – “We Weren’t Born to Follow”
The Fray – “Never Say Never”
Daryl Hall & John Oates – “Sara Smile”
MGMT – “Kids”

Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Eminem – “Beautiful”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
Mos Def – “Casa Bey”

Best Rock Album
AC/DC – Black Ice
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood – Live From Madison Square Garden
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
U2 – No Line on the Horizon

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Adele – “Hometown Glory”
Beyoncé – “Halo”
Katy Perry – “Hot N Cold”
Pink – “Sober”
Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
John Legend – “This Time”
Maxwell – “Love You”
Jason Mraz – “Make It Mine”
Seal – “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”
Stevie Wonder – “All About the Love Again”

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen – “Sea of Heartbreak”
Ciara & Justin Timberlake – “Love Sex Magic”
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat – “Lucky”
Willie Nelson & Norah Jones – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat – “Breathe”

Best Pop Vocal Album
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Colbie Caillat – Breakthrough
Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted
The Fray – The Fray
Pink – Funhouse

Best Dance Recording
Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”
David Guetta & Kelly Rowland – “When Love Takes Over”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Madonna – “Celebration”
Britney Spears – “Womanizer”

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Melanie Fiona – “It Kills Me”
Lalah Hathaway – “That Was Then”
Ledisi – “Goin’ Thru Changes”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Lions, Tigers & Bears”

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Anthony Hamilton – “The Point of It All”
Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
Musiq Soulchild – “Sobeautiful”
Pleasure P – “Under”
Charlie Wilson – “There Goes My Baby”

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain – “Blame It”
India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild – “Chocolate High”
Musiq Soulchild & Mary J. Blige – “Ifuleave”
Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters – “Higher Ground”
Calvin Richardson & Ann Nesby – “Love Has Finally Come at Last”

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Beyoncé – “At Last”
Anthony Hamilton – “Soul Music”
Boney James & Quinn – “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”
Ann Nesby – “Sow Love”
Calvin Richardson – “Woman Gotta Have It”

Best R&B Song
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain – “Blame It”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Lions, Tigers & Bears”
Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Pleasure P – “Under”

Best R&B Album
Anthony Hamilton – The Point of It All
India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
Ledisi – Turn Me Loose
Maxwell – BLACKsummers’night
Charlie Wilson – Uncle Charlie

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Beyoncé – I Am… Sasha Fierce
Jamie Foxx – Intuition
Pleasure P – The Introduction of Marcus Cooper
Trey Songz – Ready
T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz

Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Beastie Boys & Nas – “Too Many Rappers”
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack a Bottle”
Fabolous & Jay-Z – “Money Goes, Honey Stay”
Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say”
Kanye West & Young Jeezy – “Amazing”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyoncé & Kanye West – “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain – “I’m On a Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead and Gone”

Best Rap Song
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead and Gone”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna, & Kanye West – “Run This Town”

Best Rap Album
Common – Universal Mind Control
Eminem – Relapse
Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Q-Tip – The Renaissance

Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media
Miley Cyrus – “The Climb” (From Hannah Montana: The Movie)
Paramore – “Decode” (From Twilight)
A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash – “Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire)
Beyoncé – “Once in a Lifetime” (From Cadillac Records)
Bruce Springsteen – “The Wrestler” (From The Wrestler)

Click here to read the full list

What do you think of the nominees?

Controversial entertainer Chris Brown is featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of VIBE Magazine. In the release, the singer gives an interview where he discusses several issues including his new album and, of course, ‘the incident’ involving ex-girlfriend Rihanna. Brown’s new LP, ‘Graffiti’, which was first exclusively reviewed here on That Grape Juice, hits stores on December 8th.

This cover is sure to stir up a slew of controversy! However, regarding the question of whether or not people are “still down” with Brown, it’s clear that many would respond with a resounding “yes!” His album has thus far received generally favourable reviews from the critics and several predict that he will enjoy decent first week sales. Now it’s time to see if consumers are willing to support his project. You can peep the alternate cover of the issue featuring rapper Drake below:

Thoughts?

The legendary Stevie Wonder broke down while performing ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ (with John Legend), as a tribute to the late, great Michael Jackson at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s 25th Anniversary yesterday. Seemingly shaken quite early on in the song, Wonder completely lost it at about the 1.36 point. Check out the video above.

Michael and Stevie not only shared a deep, mutual respect for each other musically, they were great friends; a fact which makes this all the more harder to watch. Kudos to Stevie for soldiering on and finishing the performance.

In keeping it 100% real with you, I’ve yet to fully come to terms with the fact that Michael is no longer with us. With his music being what birthed my interest in music full-stop (hence the eventual emergence of this very site), my swallowing of the idea that he’s left this earth will take much more than a movie (which was great BTW) or the countless tributes assembled. Put simply, I’m yet to be ‘OK’ with the fact Michael Jackson is dead. Hence, (tell me if it’s the same for you) I periodically find the whole fact he’s gone hitting me and thinking ‘Damn’. I guess we should all find comfort in the fact that what he did achieve and leave (us with) will live forever – hence so will he. Long live the King…

Your thoughts?

Check out episode 6 of Monica‘s BET reality show ‘Still Standing’ (below), which aired last night. I’m watching it now…what you waiting for?! LOL. Enjoy.

(more…)

R&B singer Amerie recently spoke to our good friends over at Rap-Up.com about the poor performance of her latest LP ‘In Love & War’. The 31 year old stunner isn’t ‘sweating’ sales, because she apparently sees ‘the bigger picture’. This despite, the album (her Def Jam debut) selling just 12,500 in its first week and only managing a lowly #46 peak on the Billboard 200:

On The Album’s Sales

“It’s a very weird time. I didn’t worry about it ’cause I felt like it’s not about the first week. I knew when the album came out, it wasn’t coming out with a big hit ’cause we just went to radio with the ‘Pretty Brown’ record two weeks before the album came out, so we already knew it was going to be one of those over time things vs. a first week thing, which is cool.”

On not setting expectations of herself due to unpredictability of industry

“There’s no way to tell right now. I was actually curious ’cause I kept saying, ‘This is interesting, going to radio with a song and two weeks later your album is coming out.’ I’ve never really done it like that before.”

On the iTunes error which saw the album not available on the leading music outlet

“That was weird. I don’t know what happened with that. The people at iTunes are really cool. I just thought that was so odd. They tried to fix it as fast as they could.”

Though I feel both the album and Amerie herself are criminally underrated, I’m sure hoping she was putting on her media/political ‘face’ on when giving this answer. For, if not, her ramblings would be denial personified. Having interviewed her for this very project, she came across very intelligent to me, so I’d lean more towards the notion of her knowing internally that her label screwed all the way up and that she’s putting on a brave face.

The whole situation is such a shame, as had Def Jam paid even a fraction of the attention they paid to Rihanna (yes, I went there), I’m sure Amerie would be performing a lot better than she is. Not to be confused as me taking a pop at Ms. Fenty (which I’m legitimately not, it’s in no way her fault), it’s oh-so-annoying seeing a label pump money into a less talented entity, when they have a performer of Amerie’s calibre on their roster. If we’re talking aesthetics too, Amerie is equally if not more stunning – but that’s just my opinion. In any case, it seems like this album is done. SMH…

Your thoughts?

R&B singer Alicia Keys promoted her new album during a benefit concert for World AIDS Day yesterday on Youtube. The event, which was held at New York City’s NOKIA Theatre, featured the debut of new material from Keys’ upcoming ‘The Element of Freedom’, as well as special guest Jay-Z. ‘The Element of Freedom’ hits stores on December 15th. Peep the performances below:

‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’

‘Distance and Time’

‘Fallin’

‘No One’

‘Wreckless Love’

‘Empire State of Mind (Ft. Jay-Z)’

What do you think of the performances?

A couple weeks ago, That Grape Juice provided you with ‘Hot Shots’ of the Black Eyed Peas performing at the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Now that the show has finally aired on CBS, you can peep performances of the group performing their monster hits ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and ‘Meet Me Halfway’. See below:

‘Boom Boom Pow’

‘Meet Me Halfway’

What do you think of the performances?

Legendary diva Whitney Houston‘s comeback LP ‘I Look To You’ has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, her team announced today. Important to stress is that the critically-acclaimed album, which was released in August, achieved such a feat for sales in excess of 1 million in the US, and not just shipments (there’s a difference folks). {Source}

Congratulations are most certainly in order for Nippy! Factoring in the current climate (aka downloading era) and the sparse promotional spots Ms. Houston has done for the record (pacing it out), selling a million in 3 or so months is an amazing accomplishment. Go Whitney!

Your thoughts?

The incomparable Lady GaGa features in the January 2010 issue of Elle Magazine. GaGa, 23, talks in the magazine of the stress of working so hard, sexuality and her romantic future. Check out the insightful excerpts from the piece below, as well as more pics:

On bodily reactions to stress: “I get all the symptoms of a pregnant woman. I get headaches, I get tired, I get blurred vision sometimes during a really intense session with [her creative team] the Haus.”

On a recurring theme in her work: “I feel that if I can show my demise artistically to the public, I can somehow cure my own legend. I can show you so you’re not looking for it. I’m dying for you on domestic television—here’s what it looks like, so no one has to wonder.”

On being a former waitress: “I was really good at it. I always got big tips. I always wore heels to work! I told everybody stories, and for customers on dates, I kept it romantic. It’s kind of like performing.”

On using her sexuality: “My album covers are not sexual at all, which was an issue at my record label. I fought for months, and I cried at meetings. They didn’t think the photos were commercial enough…The last thing a young woman needs is another picture of a sexy pop star writhing in sand, covered in grease, touching herself.”

On her romantic future: “In eight to 10 years, I want to have babies for my Dad to hold, grandkids. And I want to have a husband who loves and supports me, just the way anyone else does. I would never leave my career for a man right now, and I would never follow a man around.”

Great pics and an even better read! Stan-ish as it may sound, I become more of a supporter of ol’ Crazy with each passing day. Ironically enough, it’s largely because, despite all the wackiness and hoo-haa, she distinctly comes across as…dare I say it…normal (shock horror lol). That and course the fact she’s immensely talented. More power to her!

Your thoughts?

Check out these adorable shots of Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and her 3 month old son David Otunga Jr, which were shown during her appearance on Oprah’s Holiday Music Extravaganza earlier this week. Speaking of his first Christmas, Jennifer said:

“I’m going to go crazy. He’s very aware but he’s so young and it’s his first Christmas, so you have to go all-out. I kind of want to get him his own Santa Claus and just have like a toy store in the house, full of things.”

I’m so-so-so happy for Jennifer!

Your thoughts?

Rapper 50 Cent visited the ‘The Tyra Banks Show’ to promote his new album, ‘Before I Self-Destruct’, recently. The music mogul took part in a hilarious discussion with the former supermodel and her guests. 50’s LP debuted on the Billboard 200 with over 160, 000 units, an occurrence that he blamed on album leaks. I don’t want to give anything away but his ” voluptuous apple” booty comment was erm…yeah..

Sam’s 2 pence: Is it me or is anyone else shocked at the 180 ol’ Curtis seems to have done on the personality tip? He came across really well, yet almost seemed like an entirely different person….

Thoughts?