In an age where popularity and ‘hits’ trumps popularity and talent, the last seven years have seen Rihanna become a serious threat to performers far more gifted than she could ever be.

Kept afloat by her aesthetic, personality and the genius that is Jay Brown, Brand Rihanna‘s heart lies not in the skill that sees the likes of Beyonce and Justin Timberlake reign almost twenty years after their debuts, but the songwriters and producers that keep audiences across the globe enthused…when that voice fails to do the trick.

Now, after becoming the youngest artist to play France’s ‘Stade De France’, the Pop puppet has thanked her fans for making it possible while taking aim at her competition.

Fighting words below…

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Robin Thicke is currently riding the wave of success with his biggest hit yet, ‘Blurred Lines’. Yet, despite this, one nagging soundbite remains a constant — Justin Timberlake and his supposed “swagger-jack” of Thicke’s sound.

Notoriously cool, calm, and collected, the Soulful crooner has remained relatively mum on the topic. However, during a promotional stop at Hot 97 this week, the singer offered his sincere take on the “situation”.

Find out what he had to say after the jump…

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iHeartRadio OnDemand played host to exclusive plays of the scorching new tracks aboard Kelly Rowland’s fourth solo LP ‘Talk A Good Game’.  While fans are still bumping ‘Ice’ and its follow-ups ‘Kisses Down Low’ and ‘Dirty Laundry’, Rowland rolls out her hip hop heavy features including ‘Gone’ with Wiz Khalifa and now ‘Street Life’ featuring Pusha T.

As the latter got a live unveiling in Little Rock, Arkansas less than two weeks ago, now its glossy studio version has made its way to the net. Click below to get your first listen:

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Kanye West is weighing in again…but this time, it’s on himself.

Hitting the Governors Ball in NYC last night, the Rapper arrived at the event to debut new material from his forthcoming LP ‘Yeezus‘…and share his thoughts on why he no longer cares about selling records.

His words below…

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The McTwerk Team leader is back at it – this time on stage!

That’s right.  After your girl Miley Cyrus already unveiled her “love for twerking” via a viral Youtube video months ago, now the former Disney princess has taken to the stage to show off her twerk skills.

Joining rapper Juicy J for a festive performance of ‘Bandz A Make Her Dance’, ‘The Climb’ songstress climbed on stage and showed amateurs how to really get low and pick up it slow.  See all the action above.

P.S. – Before Cyrus dropped by to drop it, she released a new hip hop infused tune this week ‘We Can’t Stop’.  Hear it here.

Your thoughts?

Armed with intricate harmonies, soaring vocal displays, and an incomparable arsenal of melisma and vocal acrobatics, dynamic gospel girl group Zie’l have consistently wowed audiences since their mid-2000s debut ‘Genesis’.

Blasting onto the scene with a well-received, high-spirited remake of the Clark Sisters classic ‘Is My Living In Vain’, the Louisianian league of songstresses quickly earned praise amongst gospel’s leading performers – including the Sisters themselves.  Since then, a list of line-up changes and solo ventures may have temporarily halted the songbirds’ perch atop gospel charts, but now – with new tune ‘Redeemed’ – it seems the trio is ready to soar again.

Dishing on their new music, group changes, and so much more, click below to read one of gospel’s hottest girl group’s exclusive interview with That Grape Juice:

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As one of the most active online destinations for Urban Pop, things move at a rapid pace here at That Grape Juice. However, each week, there’s always select stories that resonate most amongst our millions of monthly readers. Happen to miss one of them? Fret not, you now have…The Refill!

No frills or trills, The Refill simply recaps the hottest topics on the lips of the TGJ faithful over the last seven days. The metrics used to compile the list weekly are comments, social media shares, and page views.  So without further adieu…

That Grape Juice’s Top 5 Stories Of The Week!

1) Beyonce Debuts New L’Oreal Commercial

2) Ciara Premieres New Song ‘Super Turnt Up’

3) Mariah Carey Announces Album Release Date

4) That Grape Juice’s Exclusive Preview of Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ LP

5) Foxy Brown Bares All

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Your thoughts?

Ever keen to broaden our musical scope, recent months have seen That Grape Juice venture into a number of new musical landscapes including, most recently, gospel.

Spearheaded by well-received interviews with gospel singers Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, and more, TGJ is now offering readers ‘The Overflow’ – a collection of the top gospel-themed news stories from the week.

Tuck in below for the latest news on Smokie Norful, Donald Lawrence, Forever Jones, and Livre’:

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Tamar Braxton may have just delivered a bouncing baby boy, but it’s business as usual for the ever vocal diva.

As she cradles her new bundle of joy, WE tv have unwrapped the teaser for season two of her show ‘Tamar & Vince’. The ‘Braxton Family Values’ spin-off debuted to solid ratings last year and looks set to expand on that this series when it returns this September; for, as per the trailer below, this season gives a window-peek into what folk really want to know about most  – her pregnancy and her rising solo career.

Check out the titillating teaser below…

Your thoughts?

Type the word ‘Twerk’ into YouTube this week and you may find the words ‘Nicki Minaj’, ‘Ciara‘ and ‘I’m Out’ appear as related topics.

Why, you ask?

Well, in using the popular dance to boost momentum for her new Ciara led single ‘Out’- as mentioned above- the Rapper has launched a competition that sees fans who are aged 18 and over submit videos of themselves ‘twerking’ to the single, to win a chance to meet the Grammy nominated star in person!

Now, ever eager to keep on top of what’s really going down in the world of entertainment, we’ve been on the hunt for some of the more ‘interesting’ entries and have them waiting for you below!

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That Grape Juice was in the house at Robin Thicke‘s exclusive playback in Paris, France this week, where the man himself previewed 6 songs from his upcoming album, ‘Blurred Lines‘. Preceded by its smash of a title track, the LP will march onto  shelves on July 8th. 

Two years later than it was supposed to, Ashanti‘s serially delayed ‘Braveheart’ album is apparently set to hit stores on July 30th.

And while the project’s trajectory has taught us to only believe its “release date” once it’s actually sitting on shelves, the singer herself seems to be convinced and has hit the promo trail (again) in support of the set.

The 32-year-old’s latest stop was HOT 97 radio, where she waxed honest on the project, her present-day relationship with former INC comrade Ja Rule, and her on-going role in Lifetime series ‘Army Wives’. One area Ms. Douglas wasn’t too keen to explore was her much-talked about relationship with Nelly. Hosts Ebro and K. Foxx would have none of the media-trained PC, though, and were persistent. Find out how Ashanti reacted after the jump….

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