She nailed it! With the undeniably huge audience that American Idol commands, this was, perhaps, Leona’s biggest showing in the US to date, so it was great to see her do us proud. After this, it wouldn’t surprise me if the song ascends to the top of the Hot 100 again. Great performance.

Random: UK’ers, Leona’s doing it BIG right now, does anyone remember Leon Jackson LMAO?!

What do you think of the performance?

It appears the release of R. Kelly’s forthcoming album ’12 Play: 4th Quarter’ may be sooner than we think; the video for the LP’s first single ‘Hairbraider’ premiered yesterday. For his sake, this had better be a buzz single of sorts, as it’s not cutting it as a lead single at all. With Kelly’s last few releases, it’s been the great singles that have compensated for, otherwise, lackluster records IMO; so, dropping this kinda has me wondering about what the album will be serving up.

What do you think of the song / video?

Fresh off the chart-topping success of Usher’s ‘Love In The Club’, ‘Part II’ has surfaced featuring Beyonce and Lil’ Wayne. New vocals, new production, new everything. I’m actually feeling this a lot more than the original. Awesome.

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SMH at Len Goodman calling them ‘the Strumpet and the Giggalo’. In any case, it’s good to see Mario doing his thing.

Any thoughts?

The video for Alicia Keys’ new single ‘Teenage Love Affair’ made its debut today. Inspired by Spike Lee’s movie ‘School Daze’, the video serves as one of Alicia’s best clips to date. The engaging concept captured the essence of the song’s lyrical content fantastically. Seeing the stunningly beautiful Alicia get her little choreography on, a rarity, was also nice touch. Great song, even better video.

What do you think of the video?

According to AllHipHop.com, super producer Swizz Beats and wife of four years R&B singer Mashonda are to divorce. The news comes just a year after the couple welcomed their first child Kassem Jr. Check out the report:

A representative for Swizz Beatz didn’t specify the reason for the separation, but stated the split was “on amicable terms.”

“Their union was one shared in love and deep admiration for one another. For the last seven months, the two have been working on establishing a formidable friendship, being great parents to their son, and remaining great supporters of each other’s careers,” a representative told AllHipHop.com. “The couple has asked that their privacy be respected at this time.”

Despite a looming divorce, the pair will move forward with their entrepreneurial and musical efforts.

Swizz is presently working on a follow-up album to his 2007 sophomore CD, One Man Band Man.

Mashonda is expected to launch an upscale swimwear line, a new venture in music, and hopes to found an arts-based school for children.

That’s a shame. Word has it that, despite the ‘we’re still friends’ statement put out, the split is in fact very messy. I’m beginning to wonder if industry relationships can actually last the distance…

Your thoughts?

That Grape Juice have teamed up with Wal-Mart Soundcheck to celebrate the recent Gold certification of Danity Kane’s awesome new album ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’. The ladies performed an exclusive in-studio set for the original online concert series earlier this month (click here to watch).

Email your answer as well as your full name, age, and *full* address to competitions@thatgrapejuice.net. Please be sure to put ‘Danity Kane Comp’ as the subject. Winners will be selected randomly from all correct answers. Competition ends Sunday 27th April. Good luck!

This Jay-Z assisted remix of Mariah Carey’s current single ‘Bye Bye’ surfaced just a few hours ago. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I’m not sold on the original version, but this doesn’t really do much for me. Unlike Mariah’s past remixes, which oft are equally as good, if not better than the originals, this is kinda blah. On a more positive note, the track is worth a listen, if only to hear Jay’s untouchable flow.

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Diva Mariah Carey, whose latest effort ‘E=MC²’ is set to top the US charts this week, spoke recently on the comparisons between herself and UK singing sensation Leona Lewis:

“Honestly, there has been so many, ‘This is the new her,’ and I’m like, ‘OK, show me the new her. Can she come and work for me and be my double?’ And I’m not particular talking about this girl Leona, because I only heard her once and I didn’t really hear a true similarity, particularly in the style of music. It is what it is and critics have compared me to so many people who are not really singers, and they’re certainly not writers”. {Source}

Is it me or does she come across kind of catty here? I mean, not for a long while has a voice like Leona’s risen to prominence, yet Mariah seems to see this as a bad thing. Yes, she’s worked incredibly hard to reach the status she enjoys today, but I’ve never been a fan of the whole veterans feeling threatened by the newcomers thing.

Your thoughts?