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.

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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?

Despite rigorous promotional efforts and a price cut to 99 cents, Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ has debuted with less than impressive numbers. As confirmed by HitsDailyDouble, the album only managed to ship 180, 198 units, placing it at #5 behind Susan Boyle, Andrea Bocelli, Adam Lambert, and Lady GaGa. Although the figure represents a personal best for the fashionista, it certainly is a far cry from the 669,843 copies that Boyle managed to sell with notably less promotion. Not only has the album failed to capture public attention in the US but the record also underwhelmed audiences in the UK where it debuted at #16, selling 32, 000 units.

Regardless of my personal opinions about Rihanna’s material, this outcome was definitely not foreseen. As one of music’s ‘it’ acts, many were expecting ‘Rated R’ to be one of the most successful releases of the year, especially given the additional attention she received from ‘the incident’ involving ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. The upset is only compounded by the fact that 3 singles were released to support the album.

It is quite interesting that the Island Def Jam’s biggest selling acts of 2008 – Mariah Carey and Rihanna – both had very disappointing releases this year. The real question here is: what went wrong? Is it that there is some form of underlying issue involving her label? Or is there some other reason for her low debut on the charts?

What do you think went wrong?

Super producer Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins released a special compilation mix to commemorate producing 50 smash hit singles. Hands-down my favourite producer (hence my excitement when hearing an artist is working with him), listening to this really drove home why he has sustained in this at-times fickle industry after 15 years. A poignant reminder of why Jerkins is the premier hit-maker of all hit-makers. A great retrospective cut.

LISTEN: Darkchild 50 Single Mix

In a December/January issue of Complex Magazine, Hip-Hop superstar Eminem delved into a discussion about his upcoming album release, his successful return to the charts and his issues with drugs. While elaborating on his past drug habits, the rapper noted several similarities that he observed between himself and the late King of Pop Michael Jackson. An excerpt from the interview can be seen below:

When the details of Michael Jackson’s death came to light, did you see any parallels?

“Oh, 100 percent,” Em said when asked about parallels between Jackson’s demise and his own hard times. “When you read things about Michael Jackson it’s hard to decipher what the f— is true, but there’s the story of how he woke up at whatever time and he needed something to go back to sleep because he has this or that and it didn’t work — that’s exactly what used to happen to me,” Em continued. “I would take a couple of pills and I would be up an hour later and I’d want more.

“It’s one of the pitfalls of fame,” he added. “I could just say, ‘Yo, I need this and this and this,’ and they’re going to give me whatever I want.” {Source}

It goes to show that the old saying is true: “with great power comes great responsibility” With seemingly unlimited financial resources and a team of well-paid ‘yes’ men and women at their sides, many celebrities lose touch with reality. Hopefully stories like Em’s and Michael’s, as well as those provided by the countless artists who have been consumed by the drug world, will inspire future and current generations to ‘just say no’. Eminem’s ‘Relapse: Refill’ hits stores on December 22nd.

Thoughts?