Although it has been less than four months since the release of her Rihanna‘s ‘Rated R’ LP, fresh reports today are confirming that the model-turned-aspiring singer is set to release an entirely album ‘this summer’. According to insiders close to the project; after the tumultuous year the Bajan experienced during the recording period of her current LP (which was critiqued by some for being ‘too dark’), the 22 year old is keen to re-embrace a lighter-Popier sound, in the vein of previous hits ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ and ‘Disturbia’. {Source} {Source 2}

I can’t say I didn’t see this coming (a fact regular readers will know we’ve been calling out ever since ‘Rated R’ dropped). I mean granted ‘Rated R’ is probably Ms. Fenty’s best album to-date (which isn’t saying all that much), that dark (or as her folk would call it ‘edgy’) image she was trying to sell was just not cutting it with the masses – hence the so-so sales of the project despite 4 videos and an epic promotional push. I guess the current success of ‘Rude Boy’, the most playful cut on her record, has her label anxious to ‘go that route’ again. While I imagine they’re hoping it brings in the $$$, it kinda leaves me wondering still – ‘just what kind of artist is Rihanna?’ Four albums down the line and many still have not ascertained the answer to the question.

While I’m sure some will greet the news of more sheep-bleating on a CD with glee, I can’t say I share in that sentiment. Rushing through singles with the quickness and dropping a new album less than a year after the first was released (likely due to lukewarm sales) is on par with RiRi’s much critiqued re-release strategy (see: the 100 re-issues of ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’). I mean really. Saturation.com

To digest the absurdity of it all, one need not look further than Lady GaGa, who continues to enjoy chart-smashing success (BOTH ‘The Fame’ and ‘The Fame Monster’ are still in the top 10 on the Billboard 200), yet has only officially released one single since November – that being ‘Bad Romance’ – and has been on tour for the most part. I guess it goes to show folk will still buy records – if it’s worth their cash.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Your thoughts?

As the release of Kelly Rowland‘s hotly anticipated new album draws ever-nearer its May/June release, producer Rico Love has given fans a taster of what the LP will sound like. The hit-maker, who is co-producing Rowland’s entire project, previewed an instrumental of a confirmed album track on Twitter a few moments ago. Eager to get a feeler of what Ms. Kelly’s single is set to sound like? Check it out after the jump!…..

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The video for Monica‘s new single ‘Everything To Me’ premiered a few moments ago. Check it out above…

Wow! I really enjoyed the cinematic /narrative-driven clip. Directed by Benny Boom, the video is perhaps Monica’s best to date; Ms. Arnold looks stunning and the storyline has a great twist at the end. It’s always refreshing when at artist hits you with a concept you wouldn’t have expected. Great video!

Tidbit: That Grape Juice had an awesome interview with Monica herself last night. Look out for it tomorrow!

What do you think of the video?

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Initially set for release in November last year, the Sugababes’ ironically titled new LP ‘Sweet 7’ has been pushed back yet again. Re-scheduled to hit stores on March 8th, the record has been delayed by a week and will now be released on March 15th. No reason has been given for the delay. {Source}

Really, though; what more can be said when it comes to this project? All I can say is that it’ll be really interesting to see how the album goes on to perform considering all the drama surrounding the group, as well as the money that has been pumped into this particular campaign by their label.

Your thoughts?

Rihanna sat down with MTV News to talk about her plans for her next studio project. The Bajan’s latest released, ‘Rated R’, has already been certified platinum in the US and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Check out an excerpt from the interview below:

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Universal Motown‘s latest signee Kelly Rowland is currently wrapping up the recording process of her hotly anticipated 3rd solo album, and it appears the 29 year old has left the best till last. Following recent confirmation that she’s has been recording with hit-makers Ne-Yo and Danja, it has now been revealed that the Destiny’s Child star has also been working with Polow Da Don on the project in Los Angeles. {Source}

Rowland worked with Polow on her 2007 smash ‘Like This’; the then-little-known producer, real name Jamal Jones, went on to craft hits for the likes of Ciara (‘Promise’), Fergie (‘London Bridge’, ‘Glamorous’), Usher (‘Love In This Club’), Keri Hilson (‘Turnin’ Me On’), and Chris Brown (‘Forever’).

Kelly and her new team are NOT playing this go round. I love it! As we reported, the album’s first single is set to drop in April, with the album following in May/June.

Your thoughts?

Holding true to our promise of keeping things fresh here at That Grape Juice (v.2.0 baby!), we bring you ‘Cover Star’. Completing our current feature-list (From The Vault, Original Articles etc), Cover Star will each week showcase regular folk’s rendition of your favourite tracks. Recent history has shown the web to be the place to discover new talent – talent which is undeniably out there in abundance. So what better way to give shine to undiscovered talent than on your favourite site and mine – That Grape Juice!

This week’s Cover Star is Jeremy Crooks (Prodi-J). The 18 year old Rocklin, California native turns in a solid rendition of Chris Brown‘s 2007 hit ‘Take You Down’. Check it out below:

Though a little rough around the edges, I really enjoyed Jeremy’s take on the song. Vocally, he sounded a little similar to Brown, yet his voice also boasts a raspiness which actually works. Great performance.

For more on Jeremy (who also dances…..really well!), check out his Youtube page

Your thoughts?

Janet Jackson‘s former boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri, has opened up to MTV about the superstar’s forthcoming single ‘Nothing’, which is lifted from the ‘Why Did I Get Married Too’ soundtrack – the movie of which Jackson stars in. Check out what he had to say about the cut – which he produced:

Jermaine Dupri recently told MTV News he had produced a new Janet Jackson song for the upcoming Tyler Perry film in which the singer also stars, “Why Did I Get Married Too?”

According to the So So Def boss, the track is slated to be the first single from the movie’s soundtrack — the film is scheduled to arrive in theaters April 2.

“I watched the movie with [Jackson and Perry] and it’s incredible,” Dupri said. “I’m not married but married people go through what I seen in this movie. I think Tyler hit it on the head again. But the song is perfect for the movie and it’s a good record.”

The producer was tight-lipped about the track, only revealing that the title was “Nothing.” He promised, however, that the song will showcase a Jackson that fans haven’t seen in a while.

“I can say this — y’all haven’t heard her sound like this in a long time,” he teased.

Granted I’ve been punk’ed by many a producer touting how ‘amazingly different’ a song is going to be enough times to greet such promises with pessimism, I am admittedly uber excited about this. This really is Janet’s time to silence the naysayers and re-position herself as a musical force, which I’m confident she will if the material, label situation etc is right. In any case, ‘Nothing’ should be premièring any time from now…

Tidbit: A little birdy has informed us that Ms. Jackson’s new label, Interscope, will likely include ‘Nothing’ on her as-yet-untitled LP which is pencilled in for a May/June release – if it performs well.

Your thoughts?

Brandy’s music career has come to a halt. As one of the rising stars of the 1990’s, she seemed primed to be amongst the most successful artists of the 2000’s. Yet, since the release of her ‘Full Moon’ LP in 2002, her music career has been on a steady decline, with her impact on the charts diminishing with each subsequent release. The root cause of this decrease in sales, however, remains a mystery.

Despite achieving critical success with her ‘Afrodisiac‘ and ‘Human’ albums, both records represent the lowest sales in Brandy’s entire career. Indeed, the latter of the two projects sold little over 200k units since it’s release on December 5th, 2008 although she made several major promotional appearances. It seems that regardless of how good her material may be or how hard she tries to promote it, the general public hasn’t paid attention.

There is no denying that Brandy will always have a presence on television, thanks to the massive success of her syndicated show ‘Moesha’ and her upcoming reality show, but her notable absence on radio continues to baffle both her fans and critics alike. Her brother Ray J offered his perspective on the issue, asserting that a lot of her problems result from her label conflicts. Nevertheless, many contend that EPIC Records gave her substantial support during her ‘Human’ campaign.

So what is real reason for the decline of Brandy’s chart success? Is it really her label situation? Or is it something else? Her material could certainly find a place on contemporary radio as ‘Human’ had all the elements of a mainstream hit. It’s anyone’s guess why people just aren’t interested.

What do you think is the problem with Brandy’s

music career?

After a ten year hiatus, Sade has shot straight to the top of the Billboard 200 with new LP ‘Solder of Love’, it has been confirmed today. The album, which is the band’s 2nd number one on the chart, sold through a whopping 501,665 copies in its first week on sale. In doing so, ‘Soldier of Love’ is already certified Gold – after just one week!

Recession? What recession?! It really goes to show that people will still buy music if they feel it worthy enough to pay for. Much congratulations to Sade on an amazing feat!

Randomness: I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about which artists are truly in the best position in today’s musical climate. Interestingly enough, we agreed it’s artists like the Sade’s and Whitney’s, who may not get much radio play, yet maintain an older audience who will go to the retail outlets in their thousands to buy a CD; an audience who aren’t a part of this ‘iTunes / downloading’ era. What do you think?

Your thoughts?

Sabrina Washington is back! The former Mis-teeq singer has kept a relatively low profile since the trio, the UK’s most successful Urban group, went their separate ways back in 2005. All that is set to change as Washington releases her awesome debut solo single ‘OMG (Oh My Gosh)’ on March 22nd.

That Grape Juice chatted it up with the bubbly Londoner about everything from launching her solo career, to the comparisons to Lady GaGa, the real reason Mis-teeq broke up, whether she is indeed signed with Cash Money Records…and much more!  A great watch, I must say. Enjoy! {Special thanks to: S. Leopold, Seye Iizsik, and Mr Damaje!}

Part 1

Part 2

Your thoughts?