R&B singer Bobby Valentino has expressed his feelings over Def Jam’s special treatment of label-mate Ne-Yo. Speaking to SOHH.com, the ‘Anonymous’ singer had the following to say:

“I think Ne-Yo’s the face of the label and, of course, by him being the face of the label, he gets a little bit more. I see he gets a lot of extra support, a lot of bells and whistles. Sometimes, people need those things to put them over the top.

“My album, you know what it is,” he continued. “When you see me at the shows, you know what it’s about. There’s nothing sugar-coated about me. Not saying that there’s something sugar-coated about Ne-Yo, but, it’s all good.”

Considering I felt Bobby’s current album ‘Special Occasion’ was pretty good, I agree with him about getting lost in the shuffle. Despite releasing two great singles – ‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Anonymous’ – the album hasn’t shifted many units. I don’t recall there being much promo and there were next-to-no performances. Still, there may be hope yet with upcoming single ‘Rearview’ which features Ludacris – although I doubt it.

Do you agree with Bobby?

It has been confirmed that ‘That’s What U R’ will serve as the first official US single from Amerie’s new album ‘Because I Love It’. Current single ‘Gotta Work’ will be for the European market only. ‘Because I Love It’ – the singer’s third album – will see its US release this summer; the CD is out now in Europe and other territories.

Though ‘That’s What U R’ isn’t the best track on Amerie’s new album, I’m liking the fact it was chosen as a single. It doesn’t sound like a rehash of her biggest hit to date ‘One Thing’ – whilst ‘Gotta Work’ arguably does. I’m hoping the song gives her the recognition she deserves; she’s a star over here in Europe, yet she struggles to crack the US.

What do you think of the single choice?

R&B star, Kelly Rowland stopped by MTV studios in New York yesterday to co-host TRL. She was looking on-point. As expected, she also plugged her new solo album ‘Ms. Kelly’ which hit stores in the US yesterday too.

What do you think of the pics?

That Grape Juice has teamed up with Electronic Arts (UK) for our first video games give-away. Beginning this week, two copies of a particular title will be up for grabs – all you are required to do is to answer the given question correctly for a chance to win. {Please be aware that due to technological variances, some titles will only be available in certain territories. You will be made aware of this when this is the case.} This week’s title is:

The Sims 2 is the sequel to the biggest selling computer game of all-time. Allowing you to create, control and care for your own ‘Sims’, the game has attracted millions of players worldwide. With the release of ‘The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Funstuff’ pack, you can now dress your Sims in the latest fashion from the world-renown high-street chain.

Email your answer as well as your full name, age, and address to competitions@thatgrapejuice.net. Please be sure to put ‘EA Comp – Week 1’ as the subject. Winners will be selected randomly from all correct answers. Competition ends Tuesday July 10th. Good luck!