The Grammy Award. This trophy serves as a symbol of honour and prestige; the most coveted decoration in the music industry. From new artists to seasoned veterans, all musicians aspire to win in their respective categories, not just because of the associated bragging rights, but also to put the final touches on a year of hard work. To win a Grammy is to know that you are the best.

Nevertheless, it seems that the glamour of the Grammy Award has begun to fade; its golden glint slowly beginning  to rust. In recent years, the voters have conformed to the trend of choosing the nominees and winners based on  their popularity and power, rather than merit. As an implication of this, many of the best records released during the last decade have been shamelessly overlooked and uncelebrated.

Indeed, this phenomenon is blatantly apparent in the list of nominees for the 2010 Grammy Awards ceremony. With Beyonce and Taylor Swift receiving the most nominations, many wonder if they only achieved such attention from the voters because of their pervasive presence in the mass media. In fact, Whitney Houston’s ‘I Look To You’ album was shockingly ignored by garnering not a single nomination, including in the R&B categories.

Hence, various acts continue to get shut out in favour of their more popular or politically supported counterparts. Many wonder if the Grammys are drifting closer to the stature of the MTV Awards, a ceremony that Kanye West indicated is influenced by an intricate web of unpublicised politics. However, with artists such as Maxwell and the Black Eyed Peas receiving nominations in the major categories, it seems that quality may still have a place in the judgments after all.

Do you think that the Grammy voters play

favourites?

Today sees the release of Omarion‘s third studio album ‘Ollusion’. The record is preceded by singles ‘I Get It In’, ‘Hoodie’ and his new hit ‘Speedin’ (I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the juxtoposition of Omarion and ‘hit’ lol, but the song is very deserving IMO). In any case, the former B2k singer is releasing the LP on his own imprint StarWorld Entertainment, which has distribution via EMI Records

That Grape Juice wants to know….

Will you be buying Omarion’s ‘Ollusion’?

A husky-voiced Kelly Rowland hit stage at the PokerStars VIP Party at Paradise Harbour in Nassau, The Bahamas over the weekend. The singer performed her international hit ‘When Love Takes Over’. Rowland is currently working on her forthcoming studio album which hits stores later this year.

Clearly Rowland’s voice has seen much better days. It’s safe to say that her hard work in the studio is undoubtedly the reason for her vocal issues at the event. However, although she struggled through the verses, she handled the belting in the chorus quite well and engaged the crowd like a pro.

Sidebar: Is Rowland looking more muscular or is it just me? Looks like somebody’s been working on improving her game both musically and physically. I ain’t mad at you Kelly!

Thoughts?

Solange Knowles has started working on her next studio album. The singer has headed to Australia to team up with the alternative rock band Midnight Juggernauts and is reportedly planning to release the LP independently. No indication of when the album will hit stores has been confirmed. {Source}

Solange has been a mainstay on BET Centric for the since 2008 without showing any signs of slowing down. Her music has really gathered a strong following in the Neo-Soul and traditional R&B circles so I expect that this news will excite many of her fans. However, she will have to work twice as hard to get public attention without label support. Even with her father’s assistance, an artist without a label always has to fight an uphill battle if they hope to be commercially viable. Let’s see if she could pull it off.

Thoughts?

With new music popping up in every direction, Christina Milian decided to address some of her fans’ concerns about the status of her ‘Elope’ LP, which is yet to be given a release date. The singer revealed that she is currently considering some new material for the album and cleared up some misconceptions about the name of her song ‘Welcome To Vegas’. Here is some of what she said:

I was just taking a break but def not done! I think it’s important to find the right direction for the new stuff we do.

So I am, and will be, listening to some new stuff and discovering my growth thus far and apply that to the new album. W2V (Welcome to Vegas) is actually called ‘Elope’ and was the title track to the album originally. So… I will be back in the studio very soon. {Source}

Milian seems to be on point with everything this time around and is making sure that she covers all of her bases. Careful planning is crucial for an artist to have a successful record, and with her pregnancy and recent marriage to The-Dream, it looks like she has all of her priorities in order.  As long as she can create another track like ‘Elope’, I sense that this album will be her best to date.

Thoughts?

Music’s current ‘it’ girl Ke$ha made an appearance on TBS’s ‘Lopez Tonight’ recently. The singer performed her record-breaking #1 song ‘Tik Tok’ and was also interviewed by the comedian. Check out the interview below:

Thoughts?

After almost 3 and a half months, Mariah Carey’s ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’ has finally been certified gold by the RIAA. The record has shipped over 500k units in the US, earning the distinction of being Carey’s 15th gold LP in that country. ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’ was released on September 29th, 2009.

This news could not have come at a better time. Already being slated as the worst-selling studio album in Carey’s 20 year career, despite receiving better critical reviews than all of her albums in the last decade, many people were wondering if the album would ever receive a certification at all. It’s such a shame that far less impressive records (*hint hint*) are out-pacing the ‘Memoirs’ LP on the charts while its sales continue to decrease with each passing week (despite  achieving higher charts positions). Hopefully her ‘Angels Advocate’ tour would encourage interest in the project because at this rate, it is highly unlikely that she will reach platinum status.

Thoughts?

Despite hinting that she has already begun planning a new album, Beyonce has announced that she will be taking a break from the studio in 2010. The singer sat down with USA Today to discuss her plans to rest for at least 6 months in 2010. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

It’s definitely time to take a break, to recharge my batteries,” she tells USA Today. “I’d like to take about six months and not go into the studio. I need to just live life, to be inspired by things again.

I want to go to restaurants, maybe take a class, see some movies and Broadway shows.” She also plans to spend more time with her 5-year-old nephew, Daniel, son of her sister Solange. “He’s a wonderful kid, amazing, so smart. And I spoil him, so it’s a lot of work. He’s a 24-hour job.

It will be the hardest thing in the world for me to make myself not do an album and shoot a video and turn it in and say, ‘I’m ready!’” she confesses. “I already have all these melodies and ideas in my head. I have to tell myself, ‘Sit down! Sit down!’ {Source}

I sense that Beyonce has definitely made a wise decision. Her voice, name and face are everywhere ,and she is basically over-saturating her market. Taking time away would give her audience the opportunity to ‘miss’ her, thus building fresh interest. I can definitely think of a few other singers who should do the same (Mariah Carey, Rihanna).

However, don’t be fooled by her words. Beyonce is going to be featured in Lady GaGa’s upcoming ‘Telephone’ video, she is performing at the Grammy Awards later this month and she has a verse in Alicia Key’s new song ‘Put It In A Love Song’. Furthermore, having been able to create ‘B’Day’ in just two weeks, it’s more than likely that she could generate and release an entirely new project before the end of the year.

Thoughts?

Despite only recently surpassing 500k in US sales, Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ album has just been certified platinum by the RIAA. However, the LP has not sold 1 million copies at retail venues, rather it has shipped over 1 million units in the US and is expected to achieve that sales figure with retailers in the near future.

Congratulations are in order for Rihanna and her marketing team. Whether or not she is a gifted musician is unimportant. What is key is that they have managed to achieve a feat that many artists in the current sales climate are desperate to capture. Furthermore, with a repackaged version of the LP seeming to be a strong possibility at this point, I certain that she will pass the 1 million mark before the end of the year.

Thoughts?

In a recent interview with Pop Eater’s Mike Hess, Ke$ha shed some light on several issues regarding her rise to fame. Amongst the topics discussed by the singer, whose debut album ‘Animal’ is set to capture the #1 spot from Susan Boyle this week, were her constant comparisons to Lady GaGa. Here is an excerpt from the interview below:

There’s an article out this week saying you might be the Lady Gaga of 2010. Is that a comparison you like? You seem much more Blondie to me.

Any time you want to compare me to a successful woman, I’ll totally take that. It’s a good thing. I like to think of myself more aligned with the likes of Madonna meets David Bowie meets the Beastie Boys. And I loooove Blondie. {Source}

I sense that Ke$ha would not end her GaGa comparisons with her comments. In contrast, her statements only seem to fuel the speculations because the latter has gone on record several times listing both Madonna and Bowie amongst her biggest influences. Why people compare Ke$ha to GaGa is beyond my comprehension. Musically, they are completely different acts and other than the fact they both have blond hair, they look nothing alike.

Thoughts?

Kat Deluna has been struggling to find a hit to match the success of her club anthem ‘Whine Up’. This time around, the singer teamed up with Akon for dance-flavoured ‘Push’. The track will be featured on upcoming studio release, ‘Inside Out’.

This is the first track from Deluna that I enjoyed since ‘Whine Up’. The high energy rhythms and Akon’s verse create a synergy that define a hit. Hopefully Deluna can find her way back to the top of the charts again with this one because it is certainly some of her best work.

Hit or Miss?

Ashanti turned up the volume during a recent performance of the classic ballad ‘Home’. The singer performed the song on Friday evening at Mayor Lorenzo Langford’s inaugural gala at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. Ashanti is currently hard at work on her next studio release which reportedly will hit stores later this year.

Ashanti’s vocals have improved by leaps and bounds since her debut. When she first emerged on the scene in 2002, many compared her voice to that of Jennifer Lopez. However, unlike Lopez, Ashanti has continued to push her voice further and improve her vocal craft over the years. Hopefully, she applies this passion to her next album and create something edgy and fresh like she did with ‘Only U’.

Thoughts?