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Michelle Williams – Thank You

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listen: Crazy Wonderful

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Your thoughts: Hit(s) or Miss(es)?

Rapper Lil’ Wayne brought embattled singer Chris Brown out as a surprise guest during his set at ‘America’s Most Wanted Festival’ in Virginia. As well as performing his part on Weezy collabo ‘Every Girl’, Brown also gave an impromptu tribute to his idol the King of Pop Michael Jackson, who died in June (still cannot believe I just typed that…), moonwalking to ‘Billie Jean’, while Lil’ Wayne proclaimed him the new King of Pop.

I guess it kinda goes without saying that Wayne was probably sipping on that syrup when he spouted that line, because there is and never will be no other King of Pop. Yes, new talent will emerge and become great, but that title is for one and one only.

About Chris, it’s good to see him getting out there again on the music tip, something someone should really recommend to Rihanna – as opposed to the constant paparazzi shots of her parading up and down. As much as it may pain some to hear this, life goes on. Whether Chris reaches the dizzy-heights of success he was very much on the brink of pre-ChRihanna-gate remains to be seen, yet the fact he’s getting on with things is commendable.

This week’s classic From The Vault video is Notiorious B.I.G’s 1997 posthumous smash ‘Mo’ Money, Mo Problems’ featuring Puff Daddy, Mase and Kelly Price. Check it out:

Tidbit: Diddy’s dancing forever cracks me up LOL.

In news that hardly comes as a surprise considering the recent drama, reports are mounting that the Pussycat Dolls are offically over as a group:

I’m guessing a formal announcement is imminent. That said, the writing really was on the wall for these girls as a group a long time ago. I mean folks just weren’t feeling the group dynamic (1 singer and the others nameless extras) this go round – and rightfully so. Having Nicole at the forefront ALL THE TIME, when an able and arguablly better vocalist in the form of Melody was doing a whole lot of nothing in the background was unjustiable. Also a mess is the fact the other chicks (whose names elude me) didn’t get a chance to shine or develop either. It’ll be real interesting to see how this one plays out…particularly Nicole’s solo project – which is what seems to be at the heart of the drama. In the meanwhile, check out a recent Twitter post from member Melody which heavily suggests the end is nigh for PCD:

Ouch…wonder who she was referring to? Whatever the case, these are not the words applicable to the what their PR team will undoubtedly call an ‘amicable’ or ‘peaceful split’. Hmmm…

BET 106 & Park resident host Rocsi opened up to the audience yesterday about her battle with anorexia and almost killing herself. A very interesting and insightful watch.

Some the That Grape Juice faithful who visted the site yesterday would have noticed the brief posting about being able to preview LeToya’s new ‘Lady Love’ LP on Amazon. Well it turns out it was a glitch on Amazon’s part, so big that not only were folk able to preview the whole album…they were able to but it too!

Thankfully for LeToya, who we’re big supporters of here at That Grape Juice, the damage seems to be limited with little of anything floating around the net from the record. That said, the full version of ‘Lazy’ did ‘surface’. I’m really liking this one, it’s a mid-tempo with that ‘knock’.

Seemingly one of the few who got to preview the album, I’m kinda on the fence. Perhaps due to LeToya’s Destiny’s Child beginning, I have been itching for a bit more variety in terms of her tracks, most of which on this album seem very much to be mid-tempos about very similar topics. With LeToya evidently being able to do her thing on the uptempo tip (See: ‘All Eyes On Me’, ‘Tear The Club Up’, ‘I’m Good’), I’d definitely love to see her go down that route a bit more, for she’s risking being typecast as the soppy mid-tempo balladeer. Nonetheless, I’m still anticipating ‘Lady Love’ (due August 25th via Capitol/EMI).

The very puclic spat between Mariah Carey and Eminem continues to escalate, with the Detroit rapper dropping a new diss track aimed at Mariah titled ‘The Warning’ today. In what is a very interesting listen, ol’ Marshall goes all the off on Mimi. I guess he didn’t like the ‘Obsessed’ video, eh?

{Reaches for my popcorn…}

Shakira debuted the video for her much hyped new single ‘She Wolf’ today. Put simply, this was very much a hit and miss affair…although it did kinda win me over in the end. While Shakira oozes sex appeal here and really brings the song to life via the clip’s performance, it’s her ‘trademark’ moves that left me both hot and cold. There really wasn’t any middle ground; she either nailed the at-times awesome choreography or looked like she was having a seizure. Really though, some of that choreography was hot steaming mess. I’m kinda on the fence about the song too; the production is fire, but the vocals and the fact that I can barely understand a word she’s singing is by no means hot.

That said, for the simple fact I’ve seen no one these days bring the ‘uniqueness’ Shakira does to her performance, both she and the video (overall) get a thumbs up from me.

As Madonna gears up for the release of her Greatest Hits compilation ‘Celebration’ (due September 29th), the LP’s title track has surfaced. Produced by Dance hitmaker Paul Oakenfold, the track can quite frankly be summed up as ‘blah’. I say this not because the genre isn’t my usual forte, but simply due to the song sounding cheesy and dated. What’s more, with the lead singles from ol’ Madge’s more recent efforts ‘Hung Up’ and ‘4 Minutes’ being undeniable winners, I feel she dropped the ball with this one.

The video for the Sugababes new single ‘Get Sexy’ premiered literally moments ago. ”Sexy’ serves as the first single to be lifted of the ladies as-yet-untitled US label debut (on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation). While the song has grown on me considerably since initially hearing it, the video looks like it cost less than a KFC Bargain Bucket. Not the business. I was expecting a whole lot more from the clip considering the US label they are now in partnership with, but I guess everyone – including Roc Nation – are feeling the effects of this recession.

Since the tragic passing of the King of Pop Michael Jackson last month, I have made a particularly conscious effort to not indulge in the media circus and exploitation of what is a very sad situation. For this reason, the rumour of Michael having an unknown child wasn’t reported here.

However, in an interview with NewsOne, the ever-controversial Joe Jackson revealed that the child (now a man) in question is in fact Michael’s biological son!

While I will reserve judgement until the facts surrounding this surface, this really is quite shocking.

Check out Beyonce’s latest promotional shot for her and her mother’s ‘Dereon’ clothing line. This particular campaign is for their new ‘Sasha Fierce Is Dereon’ range.

Say what you will about the clothes, but Beyonce looks great here.