Mariah Covers ELLE Diva Mariah Carey features in the latest issue of ELLE magazine. Check out quotes from her piece as well as her shoot via Mariah Daily:

On her past life:

“When I was in an unhappy place in my life,””I always wanted to be kidnapped. I just wanted a way out, but didn’t have one.” “He sort of kidnapped me and took me on a helicopter ride. Then he re-proposed.””They’ve been calling me Cinderella since I first started out, so, of course, being Cinderella…” “Most people would think, Okay, please! This doesn’t happen in real life.”

On her marriage to Nick Cannon:

“We really kept the whole relationship aspect of it quiet,” “Therefore, we didn’t really ‘date,’ you know what I mean? Because that would have been not quiet or private. I think we didn’t want to give people a chance to be like, ‘What are you doing? What are you talking about? This is so quick… are you sure?”

Mariah In ELLE Mariah In ELLE
Mariah In ELLE Mariah In ELLE

There’s no denying it, she looks great. Thoguh I must ask; is it just me or did her explanation of her ‘relationship’ with Nick Cannon sound like crap? Just a thought…

Any thoughts?

Keri Hilson - 'Kiss Me (Return The Favour) (ft. Timbaland)' (Snippet) As singer/songwriter Keri Hilson continues to prep the release of her long-awaited debut ‘In A Perfect World’ (due in September), a snippet of ‘Kiss Me (Return The Favour) – a cut from the LP – has surfaced. Produced and featuring a feature from mentor Timbaland, the track is one of the better cuts I’ve heard from Keri thus far. Definitely has me anticipating ‘In A Perfect World’ all the more.
Hit or Miss?

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Kanye West Teams Up With Louis VuittonThe self-titled ‘Louis Vuitton Don’ Kanye West has collaborated with the fashion house to produce his own line – for both men and women. Check out the report via NME:

The rapper showed up at the Vuitton show in Paris’ Jardins de Bagatelle on Friday (June 27) and told wwd.com ”I’m here for Louis” before revealing that he is working with the fashion giant on designed a men’s shoe line.

West, who was dressed entirely in his own clothing designs, also told the fashion site that he is working on a women’s wear collection which will debut this fall.

After all that free promo, it’s about time!

Any thoughts?

Janet & Jermaine Ready To Start FamilyAfter more than 7 years of dating, Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri have publicly expressed their desire to start a family together in the very near future. Check out what JD had to say in the matter when spotted at Nelly’s dinner party this past week end in West Hollywood:

“Yeah, soon. Right after the tour.’ Jackson recently announced she’ll be on the road this fall. The 42-year-old pop icon, who has been married and divorced twice, once quipped that she was ‘allergic to marriage.’ Dupri is reportedly so excited to procreate with Jackson, he doesn’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. ‘It really doesn’t matter, Janet would be a great mom. She was around so many brothers and sisters all her life, so she’s got to know what that is [like]. And her mom is a great mother.”{Source 1} {Source 2}

I’m assuming I speak for most when I say: ‘It’s about time already!’ LOL. On a side note, it’s doubtful, in view of this, that we’ll be hearing any new Janet material for a while…


Your thoughts?
That Grape Juice 2008 BET Awards Coverage As with last year’s show, That Grape Juice will be providing live on-the-minute coverage of the 2008 BET Awards which take place this coming Tuesday (June 24th) live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. News, arrivals and of course performances, ThatGrapeJuice.net will be the spot for them all. Things have been, somewhat, streamlined from last year show and will consist of three main post areas:
* Arrivals: Thorough red-carpet coverage.

* Performances:
All the show’s performances minutes (it’s hoped lol) after they’ve aired. Visitors around the time of last year’s show will know what I mean 🙂
* Your Shout: Here you’ll be able to express your thoughts on the show as it’s taking place. Anything and everything goes; randomness, observations, views etc.
So for ‘net’s most thorough live coverage of Urban entertainment’s biggest date on the calender, do be sure to keep it locked on ThatGrapeJuice.net!

Your thoughts / suggestions?
The Best You Never Heard: Rihanna, Amerie, Mario & LeToyaThe Best You Never Heard, this week, serves up little known gems by Rihanna, Amerie, Mario and LeToya. Do you have any suggestions for future instalments? Drop me an email at sam@thatgrapejuice.net

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Rihanna – Music Of The Sun

 

Though seemingly a distant memory, the Rihanna that burst on to the scene just three years ago had yet to have her Bajan roots (musically) diluted. A great example of this is ‘Music of The Sun’ the title track of her 2005 debut. With its Caribbean flavoured production and laid back feel, the track still stands as one of my favourite Rihanna tracks – not that that means much LOL

 

Listen: Music Of The Sun

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Amerie – When Loving You Was Easy

I’ve made no secret of my belief that Amerie’s last effort, 2007’s ‘Because I Love It’, was criminally slept on. Serving up a solid selection of box-fresh hits, it’s shame things didn’t pan out as they should have with the record. One of the album’s best offerings IMO was the C-Note produced ‘When Loving You Was Easy’. Raw, impassioned and boasting a fantastic vocal performance by Amerie, the track was one of my personal highlight’s from what is an awesome album.

 

Listen: When Loving You Was Easy

 

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Mario – Lay In My Bed

 

 

As with Amerie (above), Mario delivered with ‘Go!’ – his third studio album – one of last year’s most underrated LP’s IMO. Solid from start to finish, one of the record’s standout cuts is the Polow Da Don produced ‘Lay In My Bed’. In an industry which sees its veterans boast about being the pioneers of ‘Baby Making Music’, Mario definitely shows, with this one, that the young’uns can hang too.

 

Listen: Lay In My Bed

 

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LeToya – All Eyes On Me (ft. Pall Wall)
There’s no doubt LeToya’s solo success was one of the biggest stories to emerge from 2006. Indeed, the former Destiny’s Child star silenced the naysayers and critics, delivering a very solid debut, which spawned the smash ‘Torn’. It was the JR Rotem produced ‘All Eyes On Me’, though, that stands as my highlight from the record. The high-octane production – which LeToya rides effortlessly – is overly infectious. This is how a club banger should be done. Good stuff.

Listen: All Eyes On Me (ft. Paul Wall)

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Your thoughts: Hit(s) or Miss(es)?

Mariah Carey - 'Bye Bye (Remix) (ft. Akon & Lil' Wayne)' It would appear there are two official remixes to Mariah Carey’s current single ‘Bye Bye’ ; some of you may remember the Jay-Z assisted version that surfaced around the time the single first dropped. Well now, this version, which features man of the moment Lil’ Wayne as well as Akon, is being touted as the official remix as too.
In any case, the track is pretty good; despite Mariah not laying down any new vocals and the instrumentation largely remaining, Akon surprisingly kinda adds a new spin on the song, while Lil’ Wayne’s contribute is welcome.

Hit or Miss?

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Nas - 'Hero (ft. Keri Hilson)' With all the controversy surrounding the title of Nas’ forthcoming album (which is still untitled – due July 15th), one could easily be forgiven for forgetting about the actual music. The set’s first official single ‘Hero’ surfaced recently and it’s banger! Produced by Polow Da Don and featuring Keri Hilson, the cut manages to not stray from Nas’ stance in rap, whilst also being commercial enough to service to the masses. I’m really feeling this one. Random tidbit: Keri is everywhere these days. More power to her. {Many thanks to The Best of Both Offices}
Hit or Miss?

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Ciara - 'Supernatural'Some of you may remember that a snippet of this new Ciara track ‘Supernatural’ was posted back in April. The full version of the sensually smooth R&B cut, said to be the first single from her three-disc LP ‘Fantasy Ride’ has recently surfaced. Though I’m liking the track a little more after hearing it in its entirety, I still think it should be no more than album cut. If it’s a slower single she’s looking for, I’m hoping she channels something along the lines of ‘Promise’ or ‘So Hard’ from her last record..

 

Hit or Miss?

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Rihanna - 'Disturbia' ‘Disturbia’ is the next single to be lifted from Rihanna’s forthcoming ‘Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded’ re-release (due June 17th). At the risk of being labelled a ‘hater’, the Synth-Pop cut continues the mediocre tone set by its predecessor ‘Take A Bow’, offering little in the way of substance or originality. With much better tracks such as ‘Breakin’ Dishes’ and ‘Push Up On Me’ sitting unreleased on the album’s original track-list, it’s hard to understand why neither was released instead of this rubbish. Seeing as nearly everything her promo team she touches these days turns to gold, it wouldn’t surprise me if this one shoots to the top of the charts. SMH…

Hit or Miss?

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Tyra Covers The New York Times Supermodel turned media mogul Tyra Banks appears on the June 1st cover of The New York Times Magazine. In her feature, the talk show host describes herself in as a mixture of Oprah Winfrey with a dash of Martha Stewart thrown in.
Speaking on Tyra, NYT staff writer says: “Her brand, like her trademark ‘tough but still smiling’ smile, is consistent in all her shows: serious about the frivolous; empathetic and empowering, and always, always aimed at young women, across all races. It’s girly TV with a punch”.

Cool cover. It’s great to see Tyra garnering so much recognition outside of the modelling world. It goes to show that sky really is the limit. More power to her.

Your thoughts?

Mariah At Japanese Baseball Game Diva Mariah Carey threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the start of a Japanese baseball game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Rakuten Eagles at Tokyo Dome in Japan yesterday. At 38, there’s no denying ‘Ms. Cannon’ looks good, but…
Mariah At Japanese Baseball Game Mariah At Japanese Baseball Game Mariah At Japanese Baseball Game

What do you think of the pics?

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