Fresh from wrapping a successful world tour, the 43 year old diva is already gearing up for a return to the charts. And so as to kick off her “comeback”, the Lopez features on the February 2013 cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
Taking to Twitter on New Year’s Eve, the stage blazer declared that the year is hers, beaming with excitement about “#Album10” – which hitmaker RedOne has confirmed he is working on.
As such, the stunning feature sets the wheels in motion for what should be an interesting “era” for the singer. For, despite “winning” on more fronts than losing in recent years (see: the millions wracked up via touring, endorsement deals, and American Idol), the fact remains that her albums and singles (sans ‘On The Floor’ and ‘Dance Again’) haven’t performed well since the mid 00’s.
Will this project right those “wrong” or will it take the Madonna approach and merely be used as a vehicle to mobilize the brand (touring, endorsements, media opps)? Time will tell.
In the meanwhile, peep more pics and quotes below…
Having blazed the UK charts last year, 2013 sees Rita Ora make a beeline for the US.
The last twelve months have seen the Londoner’s “brand” established on a global scale, thanks to a slew of promotional appearances, radio runs, and the widespread reach of the “net”.
Now, the Roc Nation priori is looking to use that footing to leap into worldwide success by breaking the notoriously tough American market.
Originally slated to release her ‘ORA’ album with bonus tracks last year, that idea has since been scrapped in favour of an entirely new LP.
Find out what the 22 year old had to say about the project, in a new interview with MTV, after the jump…
From myself (Sam), and all of us here at That Grape Juice, we’d like to wish you – our readers – a very Happy New Year!
It’s surreal to think that That Grape Juice is now entering its sixth year online. Oh how time flies when you’re having fun! It’s been such a blessed journey for us in so many ways; a journey we Thank You so much for joining us on.
We hope that 2013 brings you all that your heart desires and then some. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice as we have A LOT in store!
Check out this hilarious parody phone call between Reality TV Royal Kim Kardashian and Pop icon Beyonce, a tear evoking take on Kim’s attempts to pally up with the star.
For our last From The Vault of 2012, we salute an artist that has been a highlight of our year and one we anticipate will continue to be as we cruise into 2013, She’s a favourite among our readers and is often referred to as the Vocal Bible. Of course, our penultimate pick is Brandy and her infectious hit ‘What About Us?’
Unveiled exactly 11 years ago, ‘Us’ was chosen as the launching single from Brandy’s third album, ‘Full Moon’, which proved an excellent choice since it was a worldwide smash and is among the star’s most recognizable songs.
Concocted by the omnipresent Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins alongside Lashawn Daniels, and Bran herself, the cut climbed its way to the 7th position of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 3 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart; it reached #4 on the UK, #6 in Australia as well as #16 in Canada.
Sonically similar to Jerkins’ work on Michael Jackson’s final album ‘Invincible’ (which was released only a few months prior), the track was -at the time- considered cutting-edge R&B, and in many ways still is. Indeed, the numerous hiccups, blipping and other high-tech sounds garnished the song (and housing album) with a distinctive futuristic coating. A coating that would go on to encourage others to try their hand at fusing R&B with alternate sounds. Influential has many definitions – and ‘Us’ is one of them.
To bring the record to life, B-Rocka turned to the great Dave Meyers who created a surrealistic world where the R&B singer reigned supreme over docile men. Complimenting the song to a tee, the VMA nominated clip would usher in a slew of look-a-likes (see: 3LW’s ‘I Do’, Britney’s ‘Boys’ and Celine Dion’s ‘I’m Alive’).
The music industry may toss, turn, sway, and shake; yet Brandy has and continues to deliver. Opportunities aplenty have presented themselves for her to hop aboard bandwagons, yet – regardless of commercial performance – she has proven with impressive consistency that she is a pioneer and an undeniable vocal muse for singers of the R&B persuasion and beyond.
If ‘Two Eleven’ is anything to go by, the soon-to-be Mrs Press still has a lot to offer, both sonically and visually.
The above phrase, whoever you ask, is just as ‘used’ in the zeitgeist as the ever popular ‘birds of a feather…’ and Biblical ‘do unto others’.
However, upon being featured in the Rap song ‘The Motto’ by Drake, under the acronym ‘YOLO‘, the phrase grew another pair of legs if you will, penetrating contemporary culture in ways we doubt the performer himself could have imagined.
Unfortunately for him, the phrases popularity now sees in the heat of an intense ‘creative’ battle, after a number of retailers began selling ‘YOLO‘ merchandise, without his approval.
For many, Gwen Stefani’s short lived but well spent solo career marks one of Pop’s best eras to date.
Spawning two solo albums outside of ‘No Doubt‘, her time at the top saw her stand tall as one of her genre’s more talented it girls, inspiring the likes of Lady GaGa (see last scene of ‘Love Game‘ video) and Nicki Minaj (see Harajuku Barbie).
However, this month has seen Stefani question the authenticity of her run, in an interview with Spanish Vogue.
Winter 1990 saw Whitney Houston in full promotion of the most urban of her prime ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’. After wowing the ‘Tonight Show With Jay Leno’ audience with a stirring rendition of her #1 hit ‘All the Man That I Need’, the festive singer turned her soaring vocals to the Christmas classic ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’…as if she really had to ask. Because what we heard was arguably the best rendition of the song ever performed.
Her signature passionate vocals on lock with soaring melisma and power on command, Whitney sang this song like nobody’s business. Such not only left the audience in awe, but even took words away from the host himself. See Houston do what she did best (and arguably better than anyone else) in this amazing performance below:
Cheryl Cole turns up the heat in her new video ‘Ghetto Baby’, unveiled this morning by ‘Hunger TV‘ this morning.
In support of the Lana Del Rey penned jam, the video- though not the ‘event’ we were hoping for- does make for an interesting watch but is unfortunately…a little forgettable.
Unfortunate, considering the song and its supporting album could have benefited from a grander video.
Here at That Grape Juice we’re ever keen to ask the questions you really want answers to! As such, when we caught up with Ciara at VH1 Divas 2012 last week, it was almost obligatory that we quizzed the stage blazer on her ‘One Woman Army’ project and the next single(s) to be lifted from the hotly anticipated set.
True to form, Ms. Harris was super coy. However, we can vouch for her comments about “super exciting” developments next year. Watch this space.
The rapper’s debut album ‘Long Live A$AP’ hit the net a month ahead of its January 15th store date. However, in the spirit of pressing on, the MC – real name Rakim Mayers – has unwrapped the video for the LP’s title track.
Peep the Samantha Lecca directed clip after the jump…
