Boy, does it seem like some of the media invited to last night’s Def Jam music showcase didn’t care much for the ‘no recording’ rule which are always in place at such events. After the online surfacing of the new videos by Kanye West and The-Dream which premiered at the event, we now have a snippet of the new Mariah Carey single, which was also played.

Titled ‘Hate U’, the ballad was produced by Tricky Stewart and written by The-Dream. Judging from the small snippet, the track sounds pretty decent, head and shoulders above Mariah’s last outing with the production pair on ‘Touch My Body’. 

LA Reid confirmed at the event what That Grape Juice been reporting for some time now, that Mariah’s new LP ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ (LMAO, this still cracks me up!) will be out in late August. 

Footage from BET Soundoff Blog, who were at the Def Jam conference last night…

We have just received word from Usher’s team that the Grammy award winning star’s forthcoming album will be titled ‘Monster’. The LP, the follow-up to last year’s ‘Here I Stand’ has been confirmed to hit stores this fall.

Hmm…an interesting title; one which, off the bat, sounds a little more playful and less declarative this go round. I’m definitely looking forward to this one. After the first half of the year didn’t really seem to deliver much in the way of major releases, save for a few, the second half looks like the time the heavy-hitters are dropping records i.e. Mariah, Usher and co.

Anyway, you know where you heard the title first!

People.com have just released the cover art and details of the official re-release of Beyonce’s ‘I Am…’ LP, which is titled ‘Above and Beyonce Video Collection and Dance Mixes’. The set will hit shelves in a CD/DVD format in June:

Beyoncé is releasing a new remix album and DVD collection on June 16 called Above and Beyoncé Video Collection and Dance Mixes – and PEOPLE.com has your first look at the cover art.

Among the tracks included on the collection is a remix of her song “Ego” featuring a guest appearance by Kanye West. “The song is fun,” says Beyoncé. “It talks about someone being very confident and having this swagger when they walk and when they talk.”

As for nabbing West, well, Beyoncé says the rapper – known for his outsized personality – was a good match. Recounting her conversation with West, Beyoncé says he agreed to do it, telling her, ” ‘Okay, so you have a song about an ego and you want me on the record?’ He’s like, ‘I love it. I’ll do it.’ ”

Above and Beyoncé will be available at Wal-Mart everywhere and J&R Music stores in New York City beginning June 16.

Check out the official tracklist for the set below:

1. “If I Were a Boy” 5:03
2. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” 3:20
3. “Halo” 3:44
4. “Diva” 4:06
5. “Broken-Hearted Girl” 4:31
6. “Ego” (Fan Exclusive) 3:56
7. “Ego” (Remix Feat. Kanye West) 4:47
8. Behind the Scenes
9. Credits

1. “If I Were a Boy” (Maurice Joshua Mojo UK Remix)
2. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” (DJ Escape Club Version)
3. “Diva” (Karmatronic Club Remix)
4. “Halo” (Dave Aude Club)
5. “Broken-Hearted Girl” (Catalyst Remix)
6. “Ego” (DAC Remix)
7. “Sweet Dreams” (Karmatronic Remix)
8. “Ego” (Remix featuring Kanye West)

Where to start? The cover sure looks hot. But the tracklisting…not so much. I’m sure many were hoping for a full-on Anthology ala ‘B’ Day’, but I guess not this time. I actually detest them random-a** dance mixes artists seem to fling on their releases these days; it’s real baffling to see Bouncy do this as well, especially considering her core audience are are R&B/Pop listeners as opposed to Dance fans.

According to Billboard.com, Michael Jackson and his team have postponed the first 4 dates of his much anticipated ‘This Is It’ comeback concert:

Michael Jackson has delayed the opening four nights of his residency at London’s O2 arena.

The first show of the “This Is It” tour on July 8 has been pushed back by five nights. The other dates have gone back to March 2010.

An email from Ticketmaster and promoter AEG Live states: “Due to the sheer magnitude of the “This Is It” concerts at the O2 Arena promoters and producers AEG Live and Kenny Ortega, Michael’s directorial partner and creative collaborator have elected to move back a few of the opening shows in order to meet the challenges presented by such a massive and technically complex show.

“We wanted to ensure that all of Michael’s fans attending the concerts get the same quality in staging and level of entertainment.

“It is AEG Live’s sincere hope that those lucky enough to have purchased tickets will have enough time to change their personal schedules and travel plans if they are coming from outside of London.

“We do not want anyone to miss this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We understand the inconvenience this may have caused and for this reason we have secured some excellent hotel deals for Michael Jackson fans traveling to London on these rescheduled dates.”

Full refunds are available to those who can’t make the shows. There is no explanation for the delay.

Here’s the changed Michael Jackson dates:

8th July will take place on 13th July 2009
10th July will be moved to 1st March 2010
12th July will be moved to 3rd March 2010
14th July will be moved to 6th March 2010

Word has the show’s promoters AEG are claiming the scheduling of Madonna’s occupancy of the 02 a few days before MJ’s show was suppose to kick of, left the King of Pop will little-to-no time to rehearse. While the media will no doubt have a field day with this, I can’t say it’s that big a deal, the opening is just 4 days later. That said, I’d probably be humming a different tune if it was my August date that had been pushed back to next year. Ouch…

Approximately four minutes ago, Mariah Carey revealed the name of her 12th studio album on her official Twitter page. The LP which is due out in August is titled ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’. {Source}

What can I say other than: it’s very Mariah LOL. Lord knows, the title of the album doesn’t half interest me as much as whether or not the material on it is any good. Mariah didn’t deliver the last go round with the mediocrity of ‘E=MC2’, so she’s gonna need to serve up the hotness with this new album.

‘It’ chick of the moment Lady GaGa gave a rousing performance of her latest single ‘Love Game’ on last night’s finale of Dancing With The Stars. Great performance; there really is no stopping her is there…

Check out the hilarious trailer for Tyler Perry’s latest theatrical offering, ‘I Can Do Bad All By Myself’, which features Madea.

Funny stuff! The movie is due in theatres in the US on September 11th.

After being rested on the bench for a minute; our competitions feature is back! And what better way to re-start than with Ms. Sasha Fierce herself. That Grape Juice is pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Music World to give you the chance to win a pair of tickets to the official after-party for Beyonce’s first London date on her ‘I Am…’ tour. 

Sponsored by MTV and Choice FM , the event, which will be held at the Indig02 immediately following the mainshow at the 02 Arena on May 25th, will see Beyonce herself host, while Solange and her band perform tracks from her critically acclaimed ‘Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’.

To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question correctly:

Pop superstar Janet Jackson recently celebrated her 43rd birthday. To commemorate the occasion, the singer’s hitmaker boyfriend Jermaine Durpi got the above tattoo, which stretches right down his torso.

Wow…