..::That Grape Juice.net::..

18th May

Janet To Perform On Ellen; LUV Next Single?

Janet Jackson’s appearance on the Ellen Degeneres show airs tomorrow. Check out the show’s description as per Ellen’s website:

The Queen of Pop, JANET JACKSON will drop by! We’ll talk about her new world tour. There are rumors of a possible Jackson 5 reunion — I’ll have to ask about that. Plus, she’s gonna treat us to her new hit, “LUV!” And we will be giving away tour tickets to our audience, and on our website we’re giving away a pair of tickets to each of her upcoming shows! Plus, I’ll have an “Extra” bonus.

Hopefully this will mark the (re)start of Janet’s promotion for the ‘Discipline’ project. I’m guessing ‘LUV’ may in fact be receiving the full single release this summer; rightfully so, IMO it’s the best song after ‘Feedback’ on the record. Either way, do be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for the goods tomorrow.

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18th May

New Song: Keri Hilson – Energy (Snippet)

Having already enjoyed a very successful year with high profile features on efforts by Usher, Chris Brown and mentor Timbaland, Keri Hilson’s debut ‘In A Perfect World’ looks set to drop within the next few months. A snippet of what appears to be her first single ‘Energy’ (released to iTunes on May 27th) has surfaced. Unlike Keri’s material heard thus far, I’m not entirely sold on this. Though by no means poor, the song sounds doesn’t really offer anything new in comparison to a lot of what dominates the radio at present and does little to separate Keri from the masses. Still, I’m real optimistic about Keri delivering with the album.

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18th May

Usher Performs ‘Love In This Club’ On Saturday Night Live

Usher was the featured performer on the season finale of Saturday Night Live last night. As well as performing current single ‘Love In This Club’ with Young Jeezy, the Grammy winner performed another cut from his forthcoming ‘Here I Stand’ album called ‘This Is Sex’:

Love In This Club

This Ain’t Sex

Good stuff.

What do you think of the performances?

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17th May

50 Cent To Sign $300 Million Dollar Deal?

Despite 50 Cent’s plummeting popularity, reports are claiming that the G-Unit leader is set to sign a new ‘360’ deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation which is said to be worth a whopping $300 Million. Check out the report via Contact Music below:

The In Da Club hitmaker is in final negotiations with Murdoch’s News Corp firm – which owns social networking site MySpace – for a large stake in all aspects of the 50 Cent brand, including music, concerts, books and his label G-Unit Records.
If the agreement goes ahead, G-Unit Records and its roster of artists will move under News Corp’s MySpace Records umbrella.
According to reports, half of the $300 million deal will be in stock, potentially making 50 Cent – real name Curtis Jackson – one of the biggest News Corp shareholders.
However, the deal is not expected to be finalised until next year (09) – allowing the star to fulfil all of his contractual obligations with his current label, Interscope Records.

Unless 50’s music career has a turn-around soon, News Corp will be buying into a sinking brand IMO. The ‘Kanye Chart Battle’ episode reinforced that. Yes, he’s still a relatively big seller, but it speaks volumes that after the much hyped ‘battle’, ‘Curtis’ dropped like a rock on the charts. With every release since his 2003 debut, 50 has sold less and less. I guess time will tell if this works out…

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17th May

JD Celebrates Janet’s 42nd Birthday

Hit-maker Jermaine Dupri uploaded footage of Janet Jackson’s 42nd birthday celebrations yesterday night to his Youtube Blog. Check out the clip below:

It’s always good seeing Janet out of her media-ready element. 42? Kudos to her; she looks a hell of a lot younger.

Your thoughts?

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17th May

MTV’s 2008 ‘Hottest MCs In The Game’

After last year’s hotly debated ‘Hottest MCs In The Game’ countdown, MTV aired the 2008 edition of the special yesterday. Check out the list below of who the network’s panel (MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust) consider to be the top 10 MCs right now. The main criteria when compling the list was simply MCs who have been prominent within the last year. The list…

10. T.I. (#2 in 2007)
9. André 3000 (#4 in 2007)
8. Young Jeezy (#6 in 2007)
7. Lupe Fiasco (not on 2007’s list)
6. 50 Cent (#8 in 2007)
5. Snoop Dogg (not on 2007’s list)
4. Rick Ross (not on 2007’s list)
3. Lil Wayne (#1 in 2007)
2. Jay-Z (#7 in 2007)
1. Kanye West (#5 in 2007)

Hmm…I personally feel they generally have the right(ish) set of names on the list, however the individual charting of the MCs is definitely questionable…

What do you think of the list?

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17th May

New Song: Beyonce – ‘Should Have (Now I Know)’

The full version of the new Beyonce snippet, ‘Should Have (Now I Know)’, which was posted yesterday has surfaced. Said to be produced by Ryan Tedder, the Synth-Pop ballad is fantastic on many a level. With it’s fresh sound and Beyonce’s trademark near-flawless vocal delivery, this one is definitely a winner. After hearing this, I’m kinda optimistic about the potential of her new album.

Hit or Miss?

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17th May

Mary J. Blige Performs ‘Stay Down’ On Oprah

R&B songstress Mary J. Blige stopped by the Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday to perform the latest single to be lifted off her ‘Growing Pains’ album ‘Stay Down’. Check out the performance below:

Mary nailed it! The band definitely add an extra element to the track and it helps that Mary was on her ‘A Game’ vocally too. ‘Stay Down’ is hands-down my favourite Mary track since ‘Be Without You’, so it’s great to see the song get the single/performance treatment.

What do you think of the performance?

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17th May

New Song: Solange – ‘I Decided (Freemasons Mix)’

Though Solange’s new single ‘I Decided’ was released digitally a while back, it is this, the Freemasons remix, that will be released as her official first single over here in Europe (it is being touted as the ‘Part 2’). Having worked their magic with Kelly Rowland’s ‘Work’ earlier this year, the ‘Masons really came through for Solange; I’m actually liking this mix more than the original. What’s more, considering the music that is dominating the charts on this side of the pond, Solange may just have a chance of doing big things on this side of the pond also.

Hit or Miss?

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16th May

The Game – ‘Game’s Pain’ (ft. Keyshia Cole) Video

The video for The Game’s latest single ‘Game’s Pain’, featuring R&B songstress Keyshia Cole, premiered on BET today. I’m really feeling both the song and the accompanying vid too. ‘Game’s Pain’ is the first single to be lifted from the California rapper’s forthcoming album ‘L.A.X'(due July 1st) via Interscope.

What do you think of the video/ song?

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16th May

New Song: Pussycat Dolls – ‘When I Grow Up’

After a brief hiatus, the Pussycat Dolls are back on the music scene with their blazing new single ‘When I Grow Up’. Produced by Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins, the uptempo song is definitely one for the clubs. Interestingly, it seems that it’s not only Nicole on vocals this go round. Good stuff.

The girls are set to perform the song for the first time on Jimmy Kimmel Live next week Tuesday (May 20th) and at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards on June 1st. Their sophomore effort is set to hit stores in the summer.

Hit or Miss?

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16th May

New Song: Jennifer Hudson – ‘Spotlight’

The long-awaited debut of Jennifer Hudson’s first official single is over; ‘Spotlight’ surfaced earlier on today. I’m kinda on the fence with this one; it’s certainly not what I expected. Is it me or does Jennifer sound kinda like she’s holding back vocally? I’m here waiting for her to belt like we know she can, yet she doesn’t. I’m guessing those calling for her to stop ‘over-singing’ will be appeased. Saying that, I do feel the song has ‘grower’ potential. Hudson’s debut album is set to hit stores in September via J Records.