A new song from Dawn Richard was released today. ‘Me, Myself & Y’ will be included on the singer’s upcoming mixtape, ‘A Prelude To #ATELLTALEHEART’, which is set for release on Dawn Richard Blog on February 7th. Listen to the track below via Global Grind:

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Pop forces Alexandra Burke and JLS stripped off to their bare essentials for this steamy new shoot. The stars, who rose to prominence on the 2008 series of the X Factor, posed it up to promote their new joint clothing line 2KX, which launched last year.

{Spotted over at Punchbowl}

Your thoughts?

It’s that time again! That Grape Juice wants to see what you all are listening to. Which 5 tracks have you got on constant rotation at the moment?

Remember, it doesn’t have to be limited to Urban music; could be something new, Throwback, religious, even something you made yourself! Drop a comment in the comments section. Mine and Trent’s are below – in no particular order:

Sam

1) On The Floor (ft. Pitbull) – Jennifer Lopez
2) Good Hit – Jennifer Lopez
3) I Look To You (Live)  – Whitney & Kim Burrell
4) Far Away – Marsha Ambrosius
5) So Right – Grace Obika

Trent

1) We R Who We R  – Ke$ha
2) Look At Me Now – Chris Brown
3) On The Floor (ft. Pitbull) – Jennifer Lopez
4) Illegal – Machel Montano
5) Wotless – Kes the Band

What are Your Top 5 Songs of The Moment?

Pop mannequin Rihanna unleashes her latest array of colourful distractions in the video for her latest single ‘S&M’.

The club destined cut serves as the 3rd release to be lifted from the aspiring singer’s 5th studio album ‘Loud’. Released in November, the Platinum certified LP looks set to outperform her past efforts (even though it consists of mainly filler).

In any case, check out the Melina directed video after the jump…

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On slow news days such as this, reaching back into the archives always yields some interesting tidbits. Case, point, example, Rihanna, Amerie, and Teairra Mari’s tribute to Destiny’s Child at the 2005 World Music Awards.

Beyond scratching my head at how 6 years have flown by so fast, it was also unbelievable to reflect on the path each of the ladies careers have taken. With Mari clearly billed as the main attraction and Amerie effortlessly making the part her own, who would have thought Rihanna and her mechanical whine would emerge as the most successful. Or have more number #1’s than the group she was tributing? Sigh.

At this point, it seems promo teams should be the ones getting Platinum plaques; for – as Rihanna’s have shown – folk will buy hot doo-doo on a platter. Just make sure it’s shined up real good.

Randomness: I miss DC3!

Your thoughts?

Chris Brown attended the 10th Annual Jack in the Box Celebrity Shoot out at Us Airways Center in Arizona this weekend. The entertainer participated in the basketball game alongside several celebrities including rapper Common. More images are available below via Necole Bitchie:

What do you think of the pics?

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Nicki Minaj was spotted as she arrived at JFK Airport in New York on Sunday. The rapper’s appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ alongside host Jesse Eisenberg was quite successful as she helped the show to achieve its 2nd highest ratings of the season. See more images below:

What do you think of the pics?

Check out the latest episode of ‘Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business’. The show’s ratings experience a minor decline last week by slipping to 0.781 million viewers compared to the 1 million viewer average observed earlier in the season. Look below for episode 8:

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Whitney Houston‘s much anticipated performance at BET’s Celebration of Gospel aired a few moments ago. The legendary vocalist joined friend and prayer partner Kim Burrell to serve up a rousing showing of her 2009 hit ‘I Look To You’.

Check out the performance after the jump…

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At the time when R&B music was arguably at its peak in the mid-2000s there was no other female artist as consistent as Alicia Keys. This week’s From The Vault selection, ‘Diary’, demonstrates the key (no pun intended) elements of her success during that era – soulful vocals, true musicianship and superb songwriting.

This live version of the track was filmed during Keys’ set on ‘MTV Unplugged’ and released as part of her ‘Unplugged’ on album on October 7th 2005. The collection set records on the Billboard 200 by becoming the 1st ‘Unplugged’ album by a female artist to debut at #1.

Watching this performance is a bittersweet experience. It depicts a time in Keys’ career when she was still relatively new to the industry and her sound was unique as well as quite refreshing. Today, however, her music is far less impressive as she has become rather redundant in her persistent quest to emulate the R&B/Jazz sounds of her idols, Sade, and make it her own.

Perhaps motherhood will inspire Keys to refocus her artistry and strive toward reviving the refreshing elements of her early career. Maybe that will help her to have both successful singles and albums instead of just the latter.

Thoughts?

Nicki Minaj rocked Saturday Night Live with another hilarious skit. Check out Minaj and fictional group, The Island Boys, in their debut music video for ‘The Creep’, below…

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Nicki Minaj proved herself a woman of many talents on Saturday Night Live tonight. Indeed, the rapper flexed her acting muscles in the latest ‘SNL Digital Short’.

Parodying the 1970’s Blaxploitation movie genre, Minaj and hosts Kenan Thompson and Jesse Eisenberg starred in ‘The Bride of Blackenstein’.

Peep the hilarity after the jump…

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