You can now preview all of the tracks from Rihanna‘s forthcoming ‘Rated R’ LP (due November 23rd).

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Judging from the clips…

Hit or Miss?

Undeniably the two biggest females in the industry at present, Lady GaGa and Beyonce are further looking to prolong their new-found partnership. According to the ever-reliable GaGa Daily, the next single to be released from GaGa’s ‘The Fame Monster’ LP will be ‘Telephone’ (with a video set to be shot shortly).

Not to be confused with the pair’s last collabo, the song and video for Beyonce’s ‘Video Phone’ extended version (which is rumoured to be premiering on November 23rd), this will be an entirely new clip.

Having not even heard the song yet, this definitely was a wise move on the part of both of their teams. Besides the excitement generated by the fact they are such great artists by themselves, Bouncy and Crazy command such a wide audience reach that combining the two will no doubt spell “hit, hit, hit”. Can’t wait!

Your thoughts?

The video for Diddy’s Dirty Money new single ‘Love Come Down’ premiered a few moments ago. Lifted from his forthcoming LP ‘Last Train To Paris’, the song borders on the fine-line of ‘good different’ and construction work noise. Yet, it still works kinda-sorta-ish. About the video, I’m actually liking this one. Clearly there was a few more $$$ pumped into this one compared to their last video ‘Angels’, which didn’t really go anywhere.

Speaking of not going anywhere, as much as this release and video are very much serviceable, folk just don’t seem to be ‘locking in’ (as Diddy would say) to this Dirty Money movement. I say, at the risk of sounding rather abstract, that it’s to do with the aftermath of the Danity Kane scenario. Diddy P’ed off a lot of folk with the handling of the Danity Kane scenario, and as did Dawn by joining him (although I’m sure most folk would do the exact same thing she did). Whether Dirty Money will be successful remains to be seen.

Tidbit: Diddy knows he’s wrong for them grills. He’s 40 years old for goodness sake. LMAO!

What do you think of the song / video?

As we reported last week (one of the first to do so too), Janet Jackson will be taking to the stage at the American Music Awards on November 22nd. Today, the performance, which will air live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. has been officially confirmed, with it also revealed that Ms. Jackson will be opening the show with a special 8-minute medley!

Speaking on Janet’s performance, American Music Award producer Larry Klein said:

“We’re thrilled about having Janet Jackson open this year’s show. She is an incredibly dynamic performer, and I think the audience will be excited to see what she has in store.” {Source}

With previously announced performers including Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Shakira, Lil’ Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, the Black Eyed Peas and Kelly Clarkson, this show already seems to be the definitive award show to watch this year. Next Sunday couldn’t come any sooner!

Your thoughts?

According to ever-reliable Teairra Mari fansite – Teairra Fans, the R&B starlet’s sophomore LP ‘At That Point’ has been pushed back yet again; this time to February 2010. To-date the project has spurned 3 poorly (or non)charting singles and videos. Teairra is heading back into the studio to record more songs; this despite the finished album getting rave reviews during listening sessions earlier this year. Confused.com

It’s very tempting to greet this with the proverbial side-eye, after all we’ve seen this happen with many an artist, only for them to come out and still sell triple wood. However, in being fair to Ms. Mari, she has been serving up straight fire with her material this go round. Previous singles ‘Cause A Scene’ and ‘Hunt 4 U’ are great tracks, as well as ‘Sponsor’, which surfaced (and I’m sure some of you have heard already) back when the site was down for maintenance in September. Here’s hoping her new label Warner get their ish together and do right by this immensely talented young lady.

In the meanwhile, for the folk who haven’t heard ‘Sponsor (ft. Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy), you can listen to it below:

Your thoughts?

Continuing along the promotional trail for their latest single ‘About A Girl’, the Sugababes stopped by GMTV this morning to perform the song. Unlike the stripped back version they performed on Radio 1 yesterday, this live showing saw the ladies move a lot more.
As mentioned yesterday, the Keisha scenario was the final ‘no-no’ as to taking the group that seriously, however with each performance of this song, it’s hard to deny they are actually doing a great job. I mean, yes the choreography was minimalist; but with it being the Sugababes that was kinda-sorta expected (though judging by this Jade really is the best dancer). Vocally, they were very solid. Great performance.

Tidbit: Jade was getting that choreography (though it wasn’t demanding). Watch her legs compared to the other two and you’ll see what I mean.

What do you think of the performance?

The full version of Mariah Carey’s ‘100 Percent’ has finally surfaced. The song was produced by Carey, Brian Cox and long-time collaborator Jermaine Dupri. Initially considered to be the theme song for the critically acclaimed film ‘Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire’, the track was replaced by Mary J. Blige’s ‘I Can See In Color’.

If you want to know why she is considered to be one of the best voices in recorded music ,then just listen to the last vocal run on this track. Mariah’s voice has so many different colours that it can adapt to almost any melody that a producer can develop. However, one thing that many critics have noted is her inability to translate her musical prowess and talents into raw emotion. That notion is exemplified perfectly in this song. Although I am certain that she tried her best to captivate the passion of the film with her vocals, I felt a bit bored for the majority until the final  few seconds. Hence, I sense that the producers made the right choice by selecting the Mary’s record as it channels the pain of the characters more effectively.

Hit or Miss?

Check out this extended preview of Rihanna’s video for ‘Russian Roulette’, which is set to premiere this Friday. I’ve seen a similar video floating around a few other sites, however this is a much longer taster of the video. I’ll reserve full judgement until seeing it in its entirety.

Tidbit: Interestingly Chris Brown’s video for his new single ‘Crawl’ also premieres on the 13th.

Your thoughts?

The video for LeToya Luckett’s latest single, the Ludacris-assisted ‘Regret’, premiered on BET’s 106 & Park a few minutes ago. In all honesty, the clip is pretty much standard-fare, and there’s little to scream about (although LeToya does look stunning!). That said, the very fact the song has a video, granted the label drama LeToya is experiencing at present has me wishing her much success with this particular release.

Tidbit: Tank features in the video.

What do you think of the video?

Diva Mariah Carey is currently here in Europe promoting her current LP ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’. Tonight she performed ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ on Italy’s version of the X-Factor.

Oh Mimi! I legitimately am a supporter of hers, but she’s making it oh-so-hard to defend these performances. While the beginning of the performance started off rather inoffensively, by the middle she sounded like she’d been gargling concrete, yet miraculously she is belting out her trademark notes at the end (see: lip-synching). 2009 Mariah’s inconsistency on the live performance tip is really damaging her legacy IMO. A big statement, yet one I stand by. Yes, the lambs and industry pundits will forever remember the Mariah whose voice soared to sonic levels unachievable by her peers. Yet, to your average listener, she’s only as good as her last performance; and if this is anything to go by….you get my point.

Contrary to popular belief I do believe there is some serious greatness left in Mariah, yet I just wish she’d pace out her releases and performances much more, so as to ensure she delivers the best every time. As hard a pill as it is to swallow for some, at 39 and after such a lengthy career, Mariah cannot keep up (neither should she be expected to) with today’s best vocalists such as Beyonce. Hence, in working with what she’s got left, I think the less is more approach (in terms of performance and album frequency) may just be ol’ Mimi’s best bet.

Your thoughts?

Peep this behind the scenes look at the making of Lady GaGa’s epic video for ‘Bad Romance’. A great watch, I must say.

Hand-down the best video of the year, Lady GaGa really took to another level with this Francis Lawrence directed clip. Many an artist harp on about wanting to be an ‘Icon’. Well, here’s hoping they are taking note, because ‘this’ (aka marching to the beat of your own drum and doing it so well) is how to go about achieving it. Go GaGa!

Your thoughts?

5 octave songbird Mariah Carey was seen leaving her hotel in Milan, Italy recently. The singer will be performing on ‘The X Factor Italy’ later this evening so keep your eyes on ThatGrapeJuice to see all the action!

Rihanna and her close personal friend Melissa were spotted on there way to JFK International Airport, New York yesterday.

The amazingly talented Black Eyed Peas were photoed heading to a ‘Fun Radio’ event in Paris, France last evening. I still have their album on constant repeat.

R&B singer Monica attended the launch party of Jemaine Dupri’s new watch line in Atlanta, Georgia last evening.

Finally, Letoya was seen leaving MTV Studios in New York yesterday. Good to see she’s still hard at work.