Music’s biggest night is finally here! Numerous celebrities are arriving for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Check out all of the action below:

Lady GaGa

(more…)

As with all the major awards shows, That Grape Juice will be providing live on-the-minute coverage of the Grammy Awards 2010, which take place this tomorrow (January 31st) live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. News, commentary and of course performances, That Grape Juice will be the spot for them all!

This year’s Grammy’s will boast performances from the likes of Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Maxwell, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Lil’ Wayne, Pink, as well as an all-star 3D tribute to Michael Jackson, which will feature Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, and Taylor Swift.

Your thoughts?

R&B singer Omarion has vented his frustrations at not being included in this Sunday’s Grammy tribute to the late, great King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The former B2K front-man opened up to VIBE about the matter; peep an extract from the piece below:

The R&B singer tells VIBE that a tribute without himself, however, wouldn’t be the same. “If I’m not a part of that, then that’s not… I’m not gonna say it’s wack,” he says. “But I’m just saying, everyone knows what I do, so if you gon’ have an MJ tribute…”

Still, a lighthearted O, who recently released his solo album Ollusion, acknowledged that since so many artists were influenced by MJ, the options are plenty. “I take that back because Stevie [Wonder] did an MJ tribute. Everyone loved Michael. I’m not gon’ say that,” he says. “I’m just meaning the performance [aspect]. How you gon’ have a Michael tribute without the playboy? [Laughs]. That’s my only thing, and I mean this in the humblest and the most competitive way. I’m competitive — that’s what the game is about.

“Especially after Mike passed away, I feel like the stage, it’s more important now. It’s a responsibility to me when I hit the stage to not play with it,” O continued. “If you walk back and forth that’s cool, too. If that’s how you entertain, that’s cool, but for the performances and for the dances and for the people that look up to Michael in the fashion I look up to Michael? I hope they bring it. Because if they don’t, then I will.”

LMAO!

It goes without saying that Omari is gifted. However, moaning about not being selected just makes the fact he was overlooked that much worse LOL. I mean, for as political as the industry can be, if he was meant to be picked, he would’ve been…and he wasn’t. The end. What’s more, with the tribute song being ‘Earth Song’ and seemingly more a vocal / theatrical affair – with the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Usher, and Celine Dion performing in it – I can’t see how ol’ Omari would have fit the bill. Oh well…

Your thoughts?

MTV’s Hope For Haiti Now telethon in ongoing as I type. The charity fund-raiser will feature performances from the likes of Beyonce, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake.   As ever, That Grape Juice has you covered for all the performances – as the show is on!

Check out the performances below (keep refreshing as they will be continually updated!) and be sure to let us know what you think.

Alicia Keys

Shakira – I’ll Stand By You

Stevie Wonder – Bridge Over Troubled Water

Christina Aguilera – Life Me Up

John Legend – Motherless Child

Mary J. Blige – Hard Times Come

Justin Timberlake – Hallelujah

Jennifer Hudson – Let It Be

Beyonce – Halo

Madonna – Like A Prayer

Jay-Z, Rihanna, U2 – Stranded

In keeping with the trend of featuring music’s most talented artists, Rihanna has been added the Grammy Awards lineup. The world renowned vocalist joins Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Celine Dion, Usher and Jennifer Hudson among others. The Grammy Awards ceremony airs on Sunday, January 31st. {Source}

This is great news! I woke up this morning and thought to myself that the Grammy ceremony was lacking some serious talent this year. None of the listed performers have Rihanna’s vocal skill or her ability to entertain the millions who will be watching. So imagine my relief when I heard that the true diva Rihanna was going to demonstrate her amazing voice on the Grammy stage. We all know that everybody in the industry wishes that they had her dial tone vocal range. I’m so excited to watch her perform! *insert sarcasm here*

Thoughts?

An extensive list of celebrities are scheduled to lend their support to Haiti during a benefit concert this Friday. The ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ event will air commercial-free on over 12 networks including NBC, ABC, MTV and Vh1, starting at 8pm ET. Carded to make appearances are Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Rihanna, Shakira and host Wyclef Jean, just to name a few. {Source}

This is shaping up to be an event on the level of ‘Live Aid’. It’s great to see so many big acts doing their part to help Haiti in the best way they can. However, there is one person who many people have been calling to hit the stage at the event, and that’s Lauryn Hill. Certainly, it would be amazing to see her make a rare appearance to benefit the cause and sing in that way that only she can. After watching Rihanna squeal through ‘Redemption Song’ yesterday, it became only more evident how much Hill’s voiced has been missed over the years.

Thoughts?

With the 52nd annual Grammy Awards just around the corner, it has today been announced that the show will feature a spectacular, star-studded tribute to the late, great King of Pop Michael Jackson. For viewers at home, the segment of the show will air in 3D. Peep the report via Billboard after the jump…

(more…)

The 3rd Annual BET Honors were filmed last evening at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. The event commemorated the achievements of diva Whitney Houston, Hip-Hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and rapper/actress Queen Latifah. Guests were treated to performances by Jennifer Hudson, who sang Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ in tribute to the icon, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell and others. Check out more pictures below (courtesy of Rap-Up.com):

(more…)

Comeback queen Whitney Houston will be the the receiptitent of the ‘Entertainment Honour’ at the 2010 BET Honours, it has been revealed. The show, which takes place on February 1st (ironically a day after the Grammys who snubbed her), will see Houston tribute performances from the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Patti Labelle and Mary J. Blige. {Source}

It’s awesome to see Whitney getting her props where they’re due. Should her team keep up the great work with the handling of her ‘I Look To You’ project, I’d imagine the ceremony will coincide with the release of a new single or singles (fingers strongly crossed for a ‘For The Lovers’ release).

Your thoughts?

As a result of the lackluster reception of ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’, and Mariah Carey‘s indignation with the handling of the record, sources close to That Grape Juice have informed us that the songbird may just be ready to take flight to a new label. There is reliable word that Carey has been at logger-heads with label-head LA Reid for several months now.

The 39-year old diva has been signed to the Island Def Jam Music Group since 2002. The terms of the singer’s deal entail a minimum of 3 albums for the grand total of 22.5 million dollars, with her being named a joint partner with the Universal Music Group. Carey’s first LP released under the agreement was 2002’s ‘Charmbracelet’ which was followed by the 6x platinum ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’, ‘E=MC²’ and ‘Memoirs…‘, which was released on September 29th 2009.

If Carey decides to leave IDJ, I will not be shocked. The promotional efforts behind ‘Memoirs…’ reflect less than half of the energy that the label placed into the ‘Emancipation’ project. Has anyone else noticed that she has barely taken any new promotional pictures for this record with the exception of her single covers and the album booklet? Add that to Carey’s criticism’s of ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ being chosen as a single in place of ‘H.A.T.E.U.’, and it’s easy to understand why she might be preparing to ditch the label.

It is no secret that several labels have been itching to sign Carey since she left Virgin Records in 2001. Clive Davis (Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson) at J Records, for instance, tried to get her to join his team. The real question is: should Carey leave IDJ, where would she fit in? I personally think that her best move would be to go back to Sony, where she would be able to get the attention and funding she deserves; a plausible option now that ex-husband Tommy Mottola is no longer with the company. Either way, with a rare talent like hers, she would be an invaluable addition to any label’s lineup.

What do you think Mariah’s next move should be?

Your thoughts?