R&B veteran R. Kelly was interviewed by Skee TV recently and took a moment to address his detractors – seemingly taking particular aim at Trey Songz, who slammed him earlier this year. Say what you want about Kellz, but…really…Trey Songz?!

I mean,yes, this did come across like one big self-endorsement. Yet, in saying that, he wasn’t lying about anything now, was he?

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, Back In The Beat 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 20 year old Felicity from Maryland, who serves up her own rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Broken Hearted Girl’.  Check it out:

While I would have preferred Ms. Felicity looked at the screen while singing (eye-contact is very important), there’s no doubt she did a great job! Raw, emotive and an overall solid vocal, make this cover a winner.

For more on Felicity, check out her Youtube page

Your thoughts?

Rising diva Leona Lewis scored the lead single off the soundtrack to James Cameron’s adventure film ‘Avatar’. The track, entitled ‘I See You’, will be available with the rest of the songs on the project on iTunes on December 15th. ‘Avatar’ hits the big screen on December 18th.

For the first time time ever, Leona actually ‘saaang’ on a track! With powerful and unbridled vocals, the UK singer soars over the epic instrumental, seemingly leaving her inhibitions in the wind. Leona is definitely one of the most technically skilled vocalists to emerge in the industry for a very long time. However, a prime complaint from critics is that her voice is devoid of any emotion. Well, it’s safe to say that this time she shut. it. down.

Sidebar: Do you think that ‘I See You’ is Academy Award material or does Mary J Blige’s ‘I Can See In Color’ have it in the bag?

Hit or Miss?

For those who missed it, check out Chris Brown‘s much hyped interview on ABC’s 20/20 which finished airing a few moments ago. The Robin Roberts fronted interview was underwhelming to say the least (he spoke on nothing new!) I say he should have just performed on Good Morning America as planned (a gig which was cancelled in favour of yet another interview). Sigh.

He’s lucky his album (‘Graffiti’) is actually good, and that he talented enough to sell it through performance etc. I say this because I can’t see how all these interviews are doing what I’m sure his team are intending they do – garner sympathy and show remorse. Instead, I feel it’s starting to have an adverse effect. Here’s hoping the focus is kept on the music now. The ‘incident’ won’t fade if its continually prodded at (yet never elaborated on). It’s time to move on…

Your thoughts?

According to reports, Mariah Carey is supposedly planning a US tour in support of her ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ LP at the top of 2010. Said to be titled ‘The Angels Cry Tour’, the 39 year old diva’s first stop on the trek will apparently be her upcoming New Years Eve  concert at New York’s Madison Squared Garden. {Source}

Hmm. Sounds like someone in Mimi’s camp (or elsewhere) is likely a) blowing hot air or b) not quite understanding the magnitude to which she belly-flopped with this ‘Memoirs’ project. From a business stand-point (my new favourite line lol), major tours are usually launched off the back of a moderate-well performing album. Setting off on any kind of trek in support of ‘Memoirs’ would potentially yield even more embarrassment for Mimi than the album’s actual sales (the lowest of her career). I mean, put simply, if folk weren’t checking for your album, why in the blue hell would they buy a ticket to see you live?! It’s like her staging a tour after ‘Glitter’ sold triple copper. It just doesn’t make any sense.

If anything, I’d imagine her team will do spot dates in select States ‘for the fans’. Billing it as any kind of full-fledged tour, at this point, doesn’t make any sense IMO (hence making me strongly doubt its validity) – that is unless Mimi and her team don’t mind her playing to half-empty arenas. I say, she goes back to the drawing board and tours with her next project whenever that drops – provided it’s a bigger success than this  (which won’t be hard).

Tidbit: Strangely enough, ‘Memoirs’ is starting to grow on me now. Yet, it’s safe to say that with it not being accessible enough for the causal listener (something even quality music still can be!), it’s understandable why it failed to resonate with the masses. Yes, the promo sucked, but the actual record wasn’t anywhere near Mimi’s best, let’s be honest…

Your thoughts?

Following Rihanna‘s comments about wanting to “switch off” R&B singer Tiffany Evans (regarding Evans’ comments on RiRi and the Illumnati), Evans has taken to her Twitter page to respond. Here’s what she said:

I just wanna say that I personally do not have beef with Rihanna. Why would I have any beef with someone I don’t even know? It’s stupid. Whatever statements I made about the industry was not geared towards Rihanna in any type of way. What I said about RussianR was blown way out.

So to Rihanna as young woman with total respect I apologize for the huge misunderstanding.

Citing certain blog sites for fuelling the fire (not us of course, Tiffany is a TGJ fan), Tiffany hilariously rounded off by adding:

Oh one more thing,about her calling me out with remote thing on big boi LOL I thought is was funny. Too bad I can Sang!

LMAO! Tiffany kept it classy, yet got the undeniable in at the end! POW…lol

Tidbit: Reality TV personality Tila Tequila, who Ms. Fenty also called out in the interview, responded…levelling some truly SHOCKING accusations about against her. Click here to read what she had to say. Explosive! (Knowing Tila, it could all just be rubbish, but a fascinating read nonetheless!)

Your thoughts?

R&B singer LeToya is pressing on with the promotional efforts for her ‘Lady Love’ project, despite her label acting a fool (yes I said it!). The stunning 28 year old most recently stopped by The Mo’Nique Show to perform ‘Regret’ (which you can watch above), as well as talk to the comedienne about conflicting with the label over singles, her boutique Lady Elle and a whole lot more (which you can watch below).

Good performance, but great interview! I’m loving her media savviness and all-round go-getter nature…she was getting it when plugging Lady Elle!

Your thoughts?

Courtesy of Just Jared, check out these pics of Rihanna on the set of the video for ‘Hard’ – which is being directed by Melina. Ms. Fenty describes the vid as “couture military”. Ok then…

What do you think of the looks?

With the release of Alicia Keys‘ ‘The Element of Freedom’ LP drawing ever nearer, the hotly anticipated Beyonce collaboration from the CD ‘Put It In A Love Song’ has surfaced…and boy is it a winner!

Completely left-field to what I expected upon seeing its title, the pulsating, drum-driven cut packs a powerful punch. ”Love Song’ is sassy, attitude-heavy and  all-round the quality of track you’d expect from two artist of their calibre. That said, the chorus could have been stronger, however it doesn’t take away from what ultimately is one sure-fire hit – should it be released as a single (which it has to be!)

{Thanks Irvine!}

Hit or Miss?

Updated link!

With the decade drawing to a close, it appears Justin Timerlake is feeling somewhat remorseful about his after-antics following the much publicized Janet Jackson ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at the Superbowl 2004. When asked recently by Entertainment Weekly what his biggest regret of the decade was, Timberlake, 28, said:

“I wish I had supported Janet more (during the 2004 wardrobe malfunction Super Bowl controversy). I’m not sorry I apologized, but I wish I had been there more for Janet”

Hmm. While I definitely subscribe to the notion of folk deserving 2nd chances, I can’t help but think this a) comes a little too late and b) not on a large enough platform for all to hear. There’s no doubt about the fact that Janet’s career took a major hit after the drama surrounding ‘Nipple-gate’ (funny when looking at the current Adam Lambert hoo-haa), something I can imagine wouldn’t have been as severe had Justin stood united with her at the time of the accident/incident. In any case, moving forward, here’s wishing them both much success…

Drama aside, the performance itself was actually one of Janet’s best live showings IMO. Check it out below (la Janet was working it at the 4.26 mark!):

Your thoughts?

Our favourite Bajan model, Rihanna, performed a  special Myspace-sponsored show (‘The Release’) yesterday, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. The free show was held in support of her new LP ‘Rated R’ . If only her show’s were half as interesting as the pics would have you believe. Sigh.

Ms. Fenty and Def Jam label head LA Reid

What do you think of the pics?

Do you know which song spent the most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100? Do you know which song was the first to debut at the top spot? That Grape Juice has you covered! ‘Back In The Beat’ is our brand new feature, which each Friday takes a look back at the songs that topped the Billboard Hot 100 at this exact point in time in years of past.

Covered by me, Trent, it provides the opportunity to not only take a ‘trip down memory lane’, but remember some of the monumental songs that molded the present day sound of the music industry. So get out your pen and paper because class is officially in session!

Whitney ‘The Voice’ Houston ascended to the peak of the Billboard Hot 100 for the 10th time on November 28th 1992 with her astronomical hit ‘I Will Always Love You’. The song remained at the top spot for an astounding 14 weeks, a record that was not matched by another solo act until Mariah Carey’s 2005 hit ‘We Belong Together’. Written and originally performed by Dolly Parton, the David Foster-produced song also held the top spot on the Hip-Hop/R&B charts for 11 weeks. The record was the top song of 1993 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Outside of the US, the track hit #1 in 16 territories including the UK where it ranked as the top single of 1992. Critically, Houston’s version ‘I Will Always Love You’ largely outperformed the original, receiving several accolades including 2 Grammy Awards for ‘Record of the Year’ and ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’.

What a voice! Whitney was a star before this song but, as she said during her Oprah interview, ‘I Will Always Love You’ made her a global phenomenon. To this day, young singers try their hands at this track attempting to emulate her every inflection; trying to capture the magic of her wondrous instrument. It’s hard to believe how much her voice was changed (for obvious reasons) over the years. However, all anyone has to do is listen to this track to remember why she was once one of the greatest voices of our time.

Thoughts?