R&B star Ciara was among those who performed in honor of Diana Ross at the Kennedy Center Honors show which aired yesterday on CBS. The 22 year old singer performed a medley of Ross’ classics ‘I’m Coming Out’ and ‘Upside Down’. Not an obvious choice for the tribute, I thought Ciara did pretty well.

What do you think of the performance?

Yawn. Sorry, but nothing John Legend has put out from his sleep-inducing sophomore album ‘Once Again’ has managed to keep my attention long enough. Case example, this his latest video for new single ‘Show Me’. I must say that the vid, which was filmed in Tanzania back in October, is kinda different – yet it’s still a bore to me.

What do you think of the video?

Things seem to be taking an unexpected turn in the Brandy-car accident episode. According to TMZ, Brandy may actually be a victim and not the one in the wrong. Check out their report below:

TMZ has learned the hang-up in deciding whether to file vehicular manslaughter charges against Brandy is that Brandy may have been a victim, not a culprit.

A CHP source tells TMZ the woman who died in the car accident involving Brandy actually struck the vehicle in front of her before Brandy made any contact. The law enforcement source says Awatef Aboudihaj, the woman who died, struck the car in front of her — which was going 65 mph, and then slammed on her brakes. We’re told the sudden stop caused Brandy to hit the dead woman’s car.

What’s more, L.A. County Coroner spokesperson Captain Ed Winter tells TMZ that toxicology reports show Aboudihaj had “slight traces” of marijuana in her system at the time of the crash.

The L.A. City Attorney has until the end of the business day on Friday to decide whether to file criminal charges against Brandy — that’s when the one-year statute of limitations runs out. Sources tell TMZ there is significant division in the City Attorney’s office, and a decision still has not been made. The problem for the City Attorney: if they file manslaughter charges, they have to prove Brandy did something negligent — and we’re told that could be difficult if not impossible.

After a disappointing debut on the charts last week (#11 with 107,146 copies sold), ‘Face Off’ – the collaborative album by Bow Wow and Omarion – doesn’t look to be doing all that great. Still, a second single in the form of ‘Hey Baby (Jump Off) has been released – the video for which premiered today. Put simply, neither the song or the video are anything other than ‘ok’. If anything, this is a step-back from their decent-yet-forgettable ‘Girlfriend’ release IMO.

What do you think of the video?

Our friend DJB over at BBC 1Xtra – one of the UK’s premier Urban radio stations – recently caught up with R&B star Kelly Rowland. The ‘Like This’ singer spoke in detail on a number of things including the ‘Ms. Kelly’ re-release, the initial lack of support her label gave her, working with Gym Class Heroes and her 2008 tour plans. It was a great interview and should kinda come as good news for Kelly fans; the label really seem to be behind the project this time around.

What better time to announce than now; DJB will be joining the That Grape Juice team early 2008 as a contributor. Keep it locked on That Grape Juice for that in the weeks ahead.

Your thoughts?

As of January 1st, Def Jam will longer be presided over by Jay-Z; the rapper confirmed that he will be stepping down from his President role at the label. Check out the rapper’s statement below:

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have served as President of such a culturally-defining label as Def Jam over the last three years,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “During that time, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many of the world’s most dynamic artists and many of the most dedicated and talented executives in the music business today, including Antonio “L.A.” Reid. But now it’s time for me to take on new challenges.”

Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, took over as President of Def Jam in 2005. Under his guidance, the rapper signed his former rival Nas to Def Jam and oversaw the release of hit records by Kanye West, Rihanna and Ne-Yo.

Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid said that Jay-Z felt it was time to take on “different challenges in his life.”

Jay-Z will continue running and recording for his Roc-A-Fella imprint, which is distributed by the Island Def Jam Music Group. The mogul is rumored to be making a transition to the urban division of Sony Records with Rick Rubin. {Read full article}

Ciara premiered the video for her new single ‘That’s Right’ today as a special Christmas gift to her fans. Can’t say I’m a fan of the song, but the video turned out pretty good. Monica makes a cameo in the vid too.

What do you think of the video?

Sorry for the lack of updates people. The time of year has been a busy one for me, as I’m sure you can identify with. Anyway, check out the video for Ne-Yo’s latest single ‘Go On Girl’, which premiered recently:

Irrespective of how good the song/video is (neither are all that great IMO), I can’t help but feel that the handling of Ne-Yo’s second album has been a mess. After the success of the single ‘Because of You’, none of the chosen singles have made much sense to me. ‘Make It Work’ has ‘single’ written all over it, yet it seems to have been shafted in favor of lesser songs – considering ‘Go On Girl’ is likely the last single to be released from the album. Saying this…

What do you think of the song / video?