After a tumultuous year, spurred on by ‘the incident’ which reverberated around the world, R&B star Chris Brown is back and looking to reassert his place at the top with new LP ‘Graffiti’ (due December 7th in the UK // December 8th US). With the world’s glaring eyes fixated on the performance of the project, it’d be hard to deny that this is the most important record the 20 year old will ever release. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the album, Brown’s 3^rd, boasts production from some the industry’s most renowned hit-makers and artists alike.

The question on the lips of many, though, is: Does ‘Graffiti’ do enough to redeem Brown in the court of public opinion? I vote ‘Yes!’, albeit cautiously…

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R&B stars Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Mary J Blige all performed on Oprah’s Holiday Music Extravaganza which aired today. Each performed alongside an artist from a different music genre, the performances of which you can watch above (Jennifer Hudson and Sugarland Hudson – Silent Night) and below. They all did a wonderful job:

Alicia Keys & Tim McGraw – War Is Over

Mary J Blige & Andre Bocelli – What Child Is This

What do you think of the performances?

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Check out episode 8 of the hilarious ‘Cleveland Show’.

Enjoy!

With the release of Timbaland’s highly anticipated ‘Shock Value II’ on the horizon, a new song from the LP has surfaced. The track, entitled ‘Meet In The Middle’, features the multi-talented Brandy who unleashes her rapping alter ego, Bran’ Nu. Brandy guests on two songs on ‘Shock Value II’ which hits stores on December 8th.

The production on this one is c-razy! The piano and the beat mix perfectly or should I say ‘meet in the middle’. Additionally, this track shows how dynamic Brandy can be as an artist. In fact, she spit her verse better than Timbaland did! This only makes me even more excited to hear what she is going to put forward on her next release which will supposedly hit stores sometime in 2010. Great stuff.

Hit or Miss?

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Vocal power-house Rihanna (lol) took to the stage on the X-Factor a few moments ago to perform current single ‘Russian Roulette’. In being the fair site we are, vocally Ms. Fenty live did sound very similar to the track (take from that what you will…) However, I am sorry I just cannot agree with that voice. For much of the performance, I was wondering why she was holding the mic to her mouth when she was clearly singing out her nose.

Tidbit: Was anyone else thinking “when is she gonna get off that damn chair?” Ironically, the chair was more interesting she was on stage!

What do you think of the performance?

R&B star Alicia Keys performed a medley on the X-Factor a few minutes ago (see how quick we got you covered lol). The singer delivered a stellar live offering of ‘Empire State of Mind’, ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’ and ‘No One’. As host Dermot O’Leary pointed out, Ms. Keys really gave us much bang for her buck…wasn’t expecting a medley at all. Great performance!

What do you think of the performance?

It would appear Mariah Carey isn’t the only established act struggling on the UK album chart; Rihanna‘s much hyped ‘Rated R’ entered the chart at #16, with dismal sales of 32,000. Unlike Carey though, the 21 year old’s project was promoted heavily, with a Nokia sponsored launch event here in London, as well as healthy rotation of songs and videos on UK TV and radio.

Regular visitors will already know my stance on Ms. Fenty, but we want to ask you…

Why do you think folks aren’t checking for Rihanna?

Despite a high-profile appearance on the X-Factor last week, Mariah Carey’s 12th studio album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ has flopped in the UK, entering the official album chart at a disappointing #23. Meanwhile,  ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, the record’s lead single in UK after ‘Obsessed’ release was cancelled, barely scrapped the top 20 on the singles chart – debuting at a lowly #19. Ouch.

All pantomime banter aside, I actually feel a little sorry for ol’ Mimi. While nowhere near her best offering, ‘Memoirs’ – at the very least – deserved to perform better than some of her other poorly charting material (see: ‘Glitter’ and ‘Charmbracelet’). Instead, it stands as the lowest selling album of her career.

As reported, it wouldn’t surprise us in the slightest if Mariah’s next LP – whenever it drops – isn’t released under the Def Jam umbrella. I mean, at this point, it’s even doubtful this ‘Memoirs’ remix album will ever see the light of day either. For,  from a business standpoint, pumping money/promotion into an already dead and buried project makes no sense at all. At best, I envision an iTunes-only/for-the-fans type release for any kind of remix LP. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Oh Mimi…

Your thoughts?

Alexandra Burke gave a rousing performance of her smash ‘Bad Boys’ at T4’s Stars of 2009 event today at London’s Earls Court Arena. Sung entirely live and performed with much zeal, Ms. Burke is proving with each performance, not only why she won the X-Factor, but why she’s one of best talents to emerge on the music scene in long while. Great performance.

What do you think of the performance?

The new-look Sugababes took to the stage a few minutes ago at T4’s Stars of 2009 extravaganza at London’s Earls Court Arena. Put simply, their live big-spectacle showing of ‘About A Girl’ was probably their worst performance I’ve seen all year. I BS you not. Sloppy, sluggish and a sore sight, the performance really drove home of the fact that it really is curtains for this once credible group. Amelle looked like she’d rather be smoking a cigarette somewhere, Heidi was…Heidi (take from that what you will) and Jade didn’t come anywhere near as hard as she usually does – especially on the vocals. The addition of dancers to their act made the whole shabang even worse, as they only served to highlight how awful the ladies were at moving…

Hot Mess!

What do you think of the performance?

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While 2009 brought us much in the way of good music, it also served up great additions to the television spectrum – none more so IMO than ‘The Cleveland Show’.

A spin-off from popular Fox show ‘Family Guy’ (which I ironically have never watched a full episode of), ‘The Cleveland Show’ centres on the adventures of Peter Griffin’s neighbor Cleveland Brown. Many years ago, Cleveland (voiced by Keith Michael Richardson) made a promise to his old high-school sweetheart, Donna (voiced by Saana Lathan). After divorcing his wife, Cleveland, along with Cleveland Junior, move to Stoolbend, VA to start a new life with Donna and her two children – Roberta (voiced by Nia Long) and Rallo.

The show really is a must watch. Check out the series’ most recent episode above and let us know what you think. Would you like to see future episodes on That Grape Juice?

Your thoughts?