The prime suspect in the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew, William Balfour, was denied release from prison today by the Chicago authorities:

The man police have called a suspect in the murder of actress Jennifer Hudson’s family will remain in prison while investigators continue to investigate the triple slaying.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board ruled this morning that there was reason to believe that William Balfour, 27, had violated his parole. The major reason was that his girlfriend had said that she had seen him with a gun that matched the murder weapon, according to Jorge Montes, chairman of the review board.

In addition, the board said he had violated parole by being in places where drugs were sold. That stems from a June 19 drug arrest, but Balfour’s parole was not revoked at that time.

During the hearing, Balfour protested the use of the evidence that authorities presented to hold him, Montes said. Balfour was not represented by a lawyer. {Source}

The whole situation is still beyond sad. I hope this guy gets locked for life.

Your thoughts?

I’m liking the look of this one. The movie hits theatres in the US on October 17th.

Will you be going to see ‘The Secret Life Of Bees’?

I actually intended to make this post at the start of the month….anyway….

With the first half of the year having served up major releases from the likes of Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Usher etc, the second half looks set to be even bigger. The following are just some of the artists whose new projects are slated to drop in the second half of this year:

• Jennifer Hudson
• Ciara
• Beyonce
• T.I.
• Ne-Yo
• Whitney Houston
• Solange
• R. Kelly
• Brandy
• T-Pain
• Michelle Williams
• 50 Cent
• Keyshia Cole
• Keri Hilson
• Teairra Mari
• Monica

That Grape Juice wants to know whose releases you’re looking forward to most. Who do you think will succeed? Who do you think won’t (aka flop)? Drop your thoughts in the comments section…

Your thoughts?

The 2008 MTV Movie Awards went ahead as planned yesterday night, despite a fire that destroyed parts of Universal Studios in Hollywood, California (where the show took place). A host of stars made appearances at the show including Jennifer Hudson, Will Smith & son Jaden, T.I., Megan Good, Chris Brown and girlfriend Rihanna.

What do you think of the pics?

CBS aired the first annual Movies Rock! special yesterday. Taped at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, performers on the night included Beyonce, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown. Check out the performances below:

Usher – Singing In The Rain

More performances:

Fergie – Live & Let Die

Chris Brown – Jailhouse Rock

Mary J. Blige & John Legend – As Time Goes By

Nicole Scherzinger – Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend

Will.i.am, Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J & Eve – Theme

I really liked the concept of the show and enjoyed most of the performances – most notably Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson. Usher’s rendition of ‘Singing In The Rain’ was pretty good too.

What do you think of the performances?