That Grape Juice can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that Whitney Houston will be taking the stage this season on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars.
The legendary diva, whose comeback LP ‘I Look You’ topped the charts last month, will be performing ‘Million Dollar Bill’ on an episode of the show to air in the next few weeks.
Speaking of ‘Milliom Dollar Bill’, due to Urban radio now showing the single more love, we can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that there will no be no new singles to be released from the album until next year. Confirmed. {I guess I’ll to keep my fingers crossed a little longer for a ‘For The Lovers’ and ‘Calling You Tonight’ dual release}
Keep it locked on That Grape Juice for more exclusive Whitney Houston news.
Peep the official album cover for Rihanna’s 4th studio album ‘Rated R’. Pretty much standard-fare and expected, granted the album’s title. The cover was shot by noted photographer Ellen von Unwerth.
One can only hope the record itself, due November 23rd, serves up better material than its first single, the lukewarmly received ‘Russian Roulette’, and follow-up single ‘The Wait Is Ova’ – which isn’t sounding like anything to scream about. As one of those who firmly believe Ms. Fenty’s success is a testament to nothing more than the power of the dollar (see: stylists, paid radio play, media-flooding), ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ was a fluke IMO. Hence, I’m rather cynical about the chances of this record sounding like anything other than a dying alley cat hollering over hot beats. That said, believe it or not, I’d love to be proven wrong.
After fronting major campaigns for Tommy Hilfer and Armani, Beyonce recently inked a deal to launch her very own fragrance:
BEYONCE has landed a multi-million dollar deal with fragrance house Coty to launch her own perfume.
The singing superstar is already the face of Emporio Armani’s Diamonds perfume and previously fronted the promotional campaign for a range of True Star fragrances for Tommy Hilfiger.
But the Crazy In Love hitmaker is now branching out with her own signature scent so fans can smell just like her.
She tells WWD.com, “For me, fragrance reflects a woman’s attitude and unique sense of style.
“While I love various perfumes, I haven’t found a scent that truly personifies me as a woman. Working with Coty, I was able to turn my ideal fragrance into a reality by creating an alluring and sophisticated fragrance; one that’s reflective of my inner power.”
The exact value of the deal has not been made public, but experts predict Beyonce could net as much as $20 million (£13.3 million) over the next three years.
The as-yet-unnamed fragrance will hit stores in spring 2010. {Source}
As we reported EXCLUSIVELY last week, Whitney Houston’s video for new single ‘I Look To You’ premiered as planned today. Said to be directed by Melina, the simple, concept-based clip really captures the essence of the message at the heart of the song. I would be lying, however, if I said I wasn’t just a tad bored…as ol’ Nippy is…erm…pretty much doing the same thing throughout the video.
That said, I guess no harm is done. With her comeback campaign off to a great start (album debuting at #1 with sales in excess of 300, 000), I can see this, along with the forthcoming ‘Million Dollar Bill’ video (16th September) and her much hyped Oprah interview, only adding to what is looking to be one of the most spectacular comebacks in recent music history. Go Nippy!
That Grape Juice can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that Whitney Houston will be premiering not one, but TWO new videos in the coming weeks.
The video for ‘I Look To You’ is set to debut September 10th. While the clip for ‘Million Dollar Bill’ will be unveiled on September 16th.
In other Whitney news, we have received confirmed word that she will be performing ‘I Didn’t Know My Own Strength’ on The Oprah Winfrey Show – at the personal request of Oprah herself.
Also, a televised special is being considered by Whitney’s team for later this year.
Word has it Oprah’s much hyped interview with Whitney Houston is one of the talk-show host’s best yet. Watching this and seeing Oprah herself filled with tears at one point really drives this home. I know where I’ll be come September 14th and 15th. You?
Tidbit:Sources including Billboard and Hits Daily Double are reporting that ‘I Look To You’ is set to debut at #1 with sales in the region of 275, ooo – 300, 000 in its first week. A massive achievement for an album with no accompanying music videos or many promo spots. With Oprah the week after next and the Melina directed videos for singles ‘Million Dollar Bill’ and ‘I Look To You’ set to premiere any day now, it looks as if maybe Arista may just have an a proper strategy in place to ensure the album has legs.
The big moment finally arrived for Whitney Houston’s masses of fans around the world today, as her big comeback performance as part of Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series aired today in the US on ABC. Prior to reading our take on what went down, peep the performances below of new single ‘Million Dollar Bill’, ‘My Love Is Your Love’, ‘I Look To You’ and the classic ‘I’M Every Woman’:
Regular readers of That Grape Juice will know just how genuinely excited we are about Whitney’s comeback. However in staying true to our stance on not sugarcoating ish, this was not Whitney’s best performance…not by a long shot. Clearly hoarse and exhausted, her vocals did little to alleviate the murmurings about her voice being at worst ‘shot’ and at best ‘only good in the studio’. Though she sounded better on the first two songs ‘Bill’ and ‘My Love Is Your Love’, I’d be inclined to agree with the latter, which – believe it or not – I feel is ok for Whitney considering all she has been through.
In so much as saying that then, the off-the-charts energy the stunning looking Whitney exuded (along with crowd) really drove home the message about this being about much more than a debate about whether or not her vocals are still as great as they once were, it’s about the emancipation of Whitney, the human being. Something, which after watching this and seeing how happy and radiant she looked, I feel should be celebrated. At this junction, and in Whitney’s best interest, I’d be more than glad to have more in the way of new albums, music videos and the occasional ‘big performances’, over touring and quite frankly any avenues for embarrassment. As hard a fact it is for some to digest, Whitney’s voice isn’t as it once was, so should be rested and honed to be the best it can possibly be.
A few additional points:
* With the concert being pre-recorded, the editors over at Good Morning America did a great job of editing the audio on ‘Million Dollar Bill’ and ‘I Look To You’ LOL (this I know having taken a look see at the fan recordings from yesterday). Shhh don’t tell anyone though!
* I spat out my tea (yes, how English lol) at ‘I got my baby, me and Bobby’s baby’. Loved it!
* Whitney broke down in tears while starting to sing ‘I Look To You’ to her mother, Cissy Houston, God and her fans. Very emotional moment.
* After performing the song, she actually apologised for the roughness of her vocals, revealing that she had filmed her much hyped Oprah interview the day before. She added that she spoke to the chat show legend for more than 3 hours.
In being fair, Ms Mariah didn’t get cut much slack for her ‘I was too emotional’ excuse at the Michael Jackson memorial, so unfortunately neither does/should/will Whitney. Whoever handles her scheduling needs to fix up, for as much as I wanted to steer away from saying this, 2009 Whitney is not Beyonce. Now before the stans tear me to shreds, I mean this in that Beyonce next to never falters on the vocal tip, despite performing like a machine day in and day out – due largely, I’m sure, in part to her age and the fact she hasn’t been through what Whitney has. Whitney on the other hand, and this is no secret, needs to rest her voice – especially considering the ‘changed’ nature of it at this point.
* With the Oprah interview interview being so long (unplanned), the interview will now air over 2 days – 14th and 15 September – both of which being full hour episodes! According to insiders, Whitney talked everything from her drug addiction to Bobby Brown and just about everything else we’ve been curious to hear her speak on. Commercials running for the interview, make it look like it’ll be a tear-jerker. Can’t wait.
After a 7 year hiatus, Whitney Houston is back with ‘I Look To You’ – an album billed by mentor Clive Davis as ‘the greatest comeback’. Yet with Houston’s personal hardships – which included stints in drug rehab, a messy divorce and dwindling album sales – being played out so publically, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘does Whitney still have ‘it’?’
If this new record is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes’.
Barely an hour has passed since we posted a 10 second snippet of Mariah Carey’s new single ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and the full version of the track has surfaced.
The million dollar question is ‘after all the hype, does the track actually live up to it?’ Unfortunately for Ms. Carey-Cannon’s fans and lambs, it doesn’t. Important to highlight, firstly, is the fact (IMO) that Mariah’s take on the Foreigners classic is by no means a bad effort.
My main gripe with this is the vocal arrangement, for Mimi sounds ‘ok/just there/unremarkable’ until the big key change where she really hits a home run. Yet the vocal acrobatics are so short-lived and abruptly ended that you feel kinda cheated by the end. Generally though, this just isn’t striking me as the undeniable hit her camp and media friends have been hyping it to be. A shame as she really had to nail it with this one to restore the mass interest in her serially delayed LP ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’, something I’m doubtful she has/will achieve with this.
I’m not one to pit artists against one another, but IMO Whitney has this won hands-down.
Tidbit: I can’t wait to see Mariah nail this live, as usual 😉
Barely an hour has passed since we posted a 10 second snippet of Mariah Carey’s new single ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and the full version of the track has surfaced.
The million dollar question is ‘after all the hype, does the track actually live up to it?’ Unfortunately for Ms. Carey-Cannon’s fans and lambs, it doesn’t. Important to highlight, firstly, is the fact (IMO) that Mariah’s take on the Foreigners classic is by no means a bad effort.
My main gripe with this is the vocal arrangement, for Mimi sounds ‘ok/just there/unremarkable’ until the big key change where she really hits a home run. Yet the vocal acrobatics are so short-lived and abruptly ended that you feel kinda cheated by the end. Generally though, this just isn’t striking me as the undeniable hit her camp and media friends have been hyping it to be. A shame as she really had to nail it with this one to restore the mass interest in her serially delayed LP ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’, something I’m doubtful she has/will achieve with this.
I’m not one to pit artists against one another, but IMO Whitney has this won hands-down.
Tidbit: I can’t wait to see Mariah nail this live, as usual 😉
The much anticipated lead single from Alexandra Burke’s new album ‘Bad Boys’ premiered moments ago on Chris Moyles BBC Radio 1 Morning Show.
I’m really on the fence with this one; yes, it’s catchy as hell, but it’s markedly a lot more Pop-ier than I ever would have anticipated. While I’m sure her team’s goal was to appeal to the masses, this Phantom Boyz produced cut doesn’t have much Urban appeal at all, despite the somewhat contrived Flo’Rida feature. Not entirely bad, I just expected something completely different. Who knows, it could grow on me like Whitney’s ‘Million Dollar Bill’ – which I’m loving right now, yet didn’t on first, second or third listen LOL.
