After initially announcing that ‘Love Over Me’ and ‘One In A Lifetime’ were to serve as dual lead singles from Monica’s forthcoming ‘Still Standing’ LP, her label J Records have done a 180 and revealed that the track ‘Everything’ will instead now be the record’s first single. The decision was made after the 29 year old’s fans bombarded label execs with requests for the song to be the lead single, a want shared by Monica herself – as highlighted on her BET reality series also titled ‘Still Standing’.

While ‘Everything’ is undoubtedly a great track, it most certainly doesn’t strike me as single material in the slightest. It’s not because it’s not a good song (though the ad-libbing is a bit much and all over the place at times). However it just doesn’t possess that certain something Monica so clearly needs right now – a radio/chart-friendly track, which manages to sound contemporary, yet also incorporates her trademark sound. She’ll no doubt appeal to her fans with this one, yet as history has taught many an artist, sometimes  fans just aren’t enough to ensure a well-selling record. Ever-important to capture and convert is the casual listener. It’ll be interesting to see how this fares nontheless.

Hit or Miss?

Usher’s camp has provided his fans with a sneak peak of his new video for ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)’. The single, which features rapper Plies, has thus far peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #28 on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart. Usher’s ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’ LP hits stores on February 16th according to Amazon.com.

It looks like this is going to be an interesting clip. I hope that Usher isn’t going to focus the entire video around his sex appeal because as the song is going to need more substantial support to help it climb the charts. Usher has always found a way to include his dance skills into his work, so I am eager to see if he can do the same with this one.

Thoughts?

Yesterday, diva Mariah Carey’s ‘Angels Cry (Remix)’ surfaced on the web. Today, the ‘Up Out My Face (Remix)’ has emerged as well. The single, which will be released as part of a dual release with ‘Cry’, features rapper Nicki Minaj. Carey’s ‘Angels Advocate’ remix LP hits stores on February 23rd.

This track supports the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The original version was solid and served as one of the standout songs from the ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’. However, the addition of Minaj’s almost confusing lyrics over a completely unaltered production seems almost completely pointless. The rapper did not improve the song in any way. The hype of both their names will certainly guarantee that the song will get airplay but without the support of a strong video, I sense that this single will be quickly ignored in favour of the ‘Cry’ collaboration with Ne-Yo.

Hit or Miss?

In 2005, Destiny’s Child shocked the world when they officially announced their breakup while touring in Spain. Since then, the R&B trio have gone their separate ways in the industry, each embarking on successful careers in their respective fields. Beyonce Knowles has become, without a doubt, the premier act in R&B/Pop, Kelly Rowland has experienced phenomenal success in the European markets, and Michelle Williams has blossomed on the Gospel charts and on Broadway.

However, despite their various individual achievements, their fans continue to demand that Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle reunite. This encourages the following questions: would a Destiny’s Child reunion be plausible? Or have the parts become greater than the whole, with the former members becoming too musically dissimilar?

Having established themselves as the biggest selling girl group of all time, Destiny’s Child conquered the world of R&B/Pop in every way imaginable. After a short break in 2001, the group reformed in 2004 for their hit album ‘Destiny’s Fulfilled’, which depicted immense growth amongst the members; vocally, lyrically and in their performances. Nevertheless, since that time, they have each experimented with incredibly different sounds, diverging further away from their roots. Furthermore,  in conscious effort to focus on her solo career, Kelly has generally distanced herself from Mathew Knowles, the group’s manager.

Moreover, having finally created their own individual identities, many doubt that Kelly and Michelle would readily conform to the Destiny’s Child paradigm where Beyonce is undoubtedly the lead act. With Kelly primed to finally capture the success in the US that has long since eluded her because of incessant comparisons to her former bandmate, it would certainly damage any chances of her being considered a capable solo act without the crutch of Destiny’s Child.

Thus, with swirling speculation surrounding the chances of a Destiny’s Child reunion, there remain several possibilities that need to be considered. Either way, having created such substantial legacy, there is no question that a reformation of one music’s biggest groups would be remarkable.

Do you think that a Destiny’s Child reunion would

work?

That Grape Juice can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that the next single to be lifted from Whitney Houston‘s Platinum selling comeback ‘I Look To You’ will be….’Worth It‘!

While I was internally hoping for a ‘For The Lovers’ release, this Eric Hudson produced gem has ‘HIT’ written all over it. Loving it! Haven’t heard it yet…you can listen to it below. Remember who confirmed it first!

Hit or Miss?

Prior to now, there had unconfirmed reports that ‘Rude Boy’ was to serve as the next single from Rihanna‘s ‘Rated R’. It appears that such speculation has indeed proven correct, with All Access today confirming that the song is set to officially go to US radio on February 9th. {Source}

Though ‘Rated R’ didn’t particularly move me, ‘Rude Boy’ clearly stands head-and-shoulders above much of the material on the record and is most definitely the most instantly likeable. Hence, I have no qualms with its release – if anything it should have been released earlier. Good call by label.

Randomness: With the album having only been released on November 20th last year, already spawning 3 videos in less than 2 months, and now talk of yet another, I think it’s safe to say a ‘Rated R’ re-release is on its way. Why else would her team be seemingly racing through singles and accompanying videos?

In any case, you listen to ‘Rude Boy’ below…

Hit or Miss?

Hip-Hop/Soul singer Keyshia Cole has announced that she will be releasing a new album in 2010. The pregnant songstress, who recently got engaged on New Year’s Eve, revealed the news via her representative to US Magazine. Neither further details about the LP nor a concrete release date where provided.

Cole is one of the few singers in recent times who have consistently provided solid material with each release. She truly understands her market and how to reach it. Although her live vocal showings rarely compare to the standard that she puts forward in the studio, Cole remains far ahead of many of her contemporaries. I am eager to hear what she develops for her new album.

Thoughts?

With his new album on the horizon, yet another track from Usher has surfaced. The track, ‘Oh My Gosh’, features and was produced by Black Eyes Peas mastermind will.i.am. Usher’s ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’ LP hits stores on February 16th.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the electronic dance element of the Black Eyed Peas ‘The E.N.D.’, I find this track to be a bit perplexing. The productions, chanting and Usher’s vocals all work well but the lyrics are juvenile at best. “Boobies like wow wow!” certainly do not scream “Grammy favourite!” in the least. However, as is blatantly evident in today’s music, lyrical froth does not define a hit. That’s a damn shame.

Hit or Miss?

R&B star Fantasia stopped by BET’s 106 & Park to promote her new reality show ‘Fantasia For Real’, which kicks off next Monday on VH1. During her interview, the American Idol alum made a special request to address a few rumours about her private life. You can see what she had to say in the video above.

As regards our own interview with Fantasia, hold tight, it’s on it’s way. It’s simply a case of finding it a little hard to sync schedules. However, rest assured the interview is 110% confirmed and will be taking place place any time between now and late next week. You all were actually notified a little early so to allow fans to contribute questions (as is usual here at That Grape Juice). We really see it as  imperative to only conduct the type of interviews we’d like to read. Hence, no phoniness and rehashes of the same ol’ media-trained interview. Instead it’s about asking the questions you really want answers to and ones which make for a genuinely interesting read. Any way enough of my rambling; put simply, it’s coming! Thanks for your patience 🙂

Your thoughts?

The ‘it’ girl of the moment, Ke$ha, made an appearance on ‘Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’. The singer performed her #1 smash hit ‘Tik Tok’ from her new album, ‘Animal‘. The ‘Animal’ is projected to give #1 mainstay Susan Boyle a run for her money by possibly opening at the top spot with sales of 105-115k.

Although this song is quite catchy and definitely radio friendly, I can’t shake the image of Ke$ha as being nothing more than a rapping ‘Valley girl’, which, coincidentally, she is indeed. However, there is no doubting that she has some Pop sensibility and knows how to craft a hit. Whether or not she will b able to follow up the monster success of ‘Tik Tok’, however, will be quite interesting.

Thoughts?

Despite laying the smacketh down on him a few weeks back, Mary J. Blige was all smiles with husband Kendu Issacs at the 36th annual People’s Choice Awards last night at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre. Many other celebs hit the event, including Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon, Nicole Scherzinger, Queen Latifah and LL Cool J. Peep more pics below:

Your thoughts?

The Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul Mary J. Blige took to the stage at the People’s Choice Awards 2010 a few hours ago to perform ‘I Am’ – the latest single to be lifted from her well-selling ‘Stronger With Each Tear’ LP.

Though it’s pretty much standard-fare for Mary to nail her performances, she really did the damn thing with this one! The band were on fire and I literally was flapping my arms in approval when she started  taking it to church at the end (2.54 onwards). Great, great, performance!

What do you think of the performance?