Showing posts with label Grammy Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grammy Awards. Show all posts

Sunday, February 8, 2009

What's Up With Chris Brown & Rihanna Acting Like Ike & Tina Turner?

Sure J-Hud Sang Great & Now Has A Grammy And Oscar,
But These Two Are The Story

Grammy day was supposed to be about Jennifer Hudson's triumphiant return. It was. it was suppose to let the world know that Whitney Houston was back in the house. It did. It was also suppose to be a glittery affair for R&B's reigning "it" couple, Chris Brown and Rihanna. Well, two outta three ain't bad!

About the time Brown was scheduled to be singing "Forever" onstage at Los Angeles' Staples Center, he was instead detained by police, being questioned for allegedly roughing up Rihanna.

Brown, 19, turned himself in at the LAPD's Wilshire station around 6:30 p.m. and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of four years. The case will now be sent to the district attorney's office and further charges could be filed. He was released from jail after posting $50,000 bail.

"He was very professional and didn't appear to have injuries," said Sgt. Bridget Pickett, adding, "He's a good looking young man."

While Brown appeared unscathed, sources tell E! News that the alleged victim was Rihanna, 20, and that she suffered visible bruises on her face during an early morning confrontation. Both in turn balked at scheduled Grammy appearances.

A spokeswoman for Brown's label declined comment and calls to his attorney, Mark Geragos, weren't immediately returned.

Meanwhile, Rihanna's publicist, Amanda Silverman, said the "Disturbia" singer "is well. Thank you for concern and support."

Per department policy, police declined to identify the alleged victim in the incident, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. in the Hancock Park area, apparently as the two were heading home from Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy bash, where they had been all smiles.

In a statement, police say Brown and his companion "became involved in an argument. After stopping his car, Brown and the woman got out and the argument escalated. The woman suffered visible injuries and identified Brown as her attacker."

By the time officers arrived on the scene, Brown had split.

Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, decided against singing a medley of "Disturbia" and "Live Your Life" at tonight's awards. Likewise, Brown scrapped his scheduled performance of "Forever."

"We're sorry she is unable to join us this evening," said the Recording Academy. A virtually identical statement was issued for Brown's absence.

Brown and Rihanna were up for dueling Pop Collaboration With Vocals awards, Brown for his duet with Jordin Sparks on "No Air," Rihanna with Maroon 5 for "If I Never See Your Face Again." Brown was also contending for Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Take You Down." Neither Brown nor Rihanna won anything.

After the ceremony, Recording Academy President Neal Portnoy told E! News that he first learned of the situation "pretty late in the afternoon," about three hours before showtime.

"Musicians are no different than anybody else. I'm not judging. I'm sorriest that they weren't there for their moments on stage," he said, adding that he's never had to deal with replacing two segments at the last minute.

"I'm hoping that [the awards are] the story and should not be eclipsed by this part of business," Portnoy said. "I think the story is...the music that went on stage."

Backstage, Anthony Hamilton, winner of the Traditional R&B Vocal Grammy with Al Green, said his pal was pressed into emergency service "about an hour and a half before the preshow."

Green crooned "Let's Stay Together" with assists from Justin Timberlake and Keith Urban.

Asked if old-pro Green really was able to take the stage on such short notice, Hamilton suggested the R&B icon was practicing last night.

Said Hamilton, "He knew something could happen."

E! Online

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

MAJOR GRAMMY DRAMA: BEYONCE, QUEEN ARETHA IS NOT AMUSED!!!

Franklin Slams Beyonce's Grammy Intro Of Tina Turner

When the undisputed "Queen of Soul" is unhappy, she's one Black woman that ain't afraid to check-ya! On Tuesday, mama slammed Miss Bey's intro of the legendary Tina Turner at Sunday's Grammy Awards, in which Knowles called Turner, not Franklin, "The Queen." GIRL FIGHT Y'ALL!!!

"I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyonce," Aretha Franklin said in a statement issued by her publicist. "However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."

In the first few seconds of Knowles' intro to Turner's performance, she name-dropped Franklin and a long list of famed female singers. Then the "Crazy in Love" chanteuse focused on Turner. "There is one legend who has the essence of all of those things: the glamour, the soul, the passion, the strength, the talent," said Knowles, strutting in hot pants. "Ladies and gentlemen. Stand on your feet and give it up for the queen."

At a party later that night, Knowles called Turner her "ultimate icon." Still, Franklin ended her brief criticism on a gracious note, thanking the Grammys and the voting academy and saying, "love to Beyonce anyway."

Known for such hits as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools," Franklin tied with the Clark Sisters for best gospel performance trophy for her duet "Never Gonna Break My Faith" with Mary J. Blige.

E-mails to Knowles' publicist Yvette Noel-Schure and calls and e-mails to Recording Academy spokeswomen Jaime Sarachit and Barb Deghan were not immediately returned. [AP]

Rapper Nas & Kellis Take Nigger To The Grammys, While MSNBC's Suspended Reporter Finds It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp!


Can't Wait To Hear Your Thoughts On This One!

And while we're at it, what about MSBNC's Pimp Daddy David Shuster?

"Winehouse Grammys Honor Drug Addiction and Incarceration", Natalie Cole Speaks Out


Sunday Amy Winehouse nearly "ran the table" with her 5 Grammy wins. Herbie Hancock surprise win of best album of the year stopped Amy one short taking all six of the major awards. But now singing legend Natalie Cole wants to stop the Winehouse party all together. Ms. Cole wants to focus on Amy "the convicted felon" and Amy "the known drug addict" and have her give the damn Grammys back. It seems sex, drugs and jail are not to be celebrated. Natalie a former addict herself may have been a little hypocritical when she said...

"I don't think she (Winehouse) should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business, the ones who are trying to do it right and really trying to keep themselves together," said Cole, 58. "We have to stop rewarding bad behavior."

Of Winehouse, 24, who is currently in rehab in England, Cole says: "I'm sorry. I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together."

In the shadows of the recent overdose death of actor Heath Ledger, Natalie went on to say, "I mean, she could die. This isn't something that's cute and fun just to throw around in the press. The girl really has a problem, and I think for those of us who have been in the business long enough, we know the sacrifice it takes. This is about discipline and hard work, and you don't get to just do your drugs and go onstage and get rewarded."

OK, Natalie you are now age 58 and it is showing. We know you were able to turn your life around, but we're not too sure you weren't in the middle of your own addictions when you won some of your awards. I for one know you were still "in the life" when I plunked ddown serious cash to see you in concert with Lou Rawls, back in the day. But considering the recent crack/heroin induced pictures we have seen of Amy lately... you might have a point.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Black Music Legend Herbie Hancock Brings It Home With Surprise Album Of The Year Win


You The Man Herbie!

While Amy Winehouse won five Grammys, including record, song of the year, and Kanye West won best rap album, it was one of the music industries "OG's" that everyone's talking about.

And the winner is ... Herbie Hancock?

That's right, Hancock was provided the shock on the night going home with the coveted Album Of The Year Grammy Award. The brotha also won best contemporary jazz album for his "River: The Joni Letters" masterpiece.

Amy Winehouse, Herbie Hancock and Kanye West didn't provide quite enough drama to enthrall television viewers. Preliminary estimates Monday indicate the Grammy Awards telecast was watched by 17.5 million people, making it the third least-watched Grammy Awards show ever if later estimates confirm that number.

On a night filled with nods to the show's 50-year history, the most trophies went to Winehouse, a 24-year-old singer known for her old-soul voice. The most sought-after prize, for album of the year, went to veteran jazzman Hancock for his Joni Mitchell tribute disc.

Both Winehouse and the 68-year-old Chicago native were dumbstruck by the honors, fumbling for words and thank-you lists, respectively. "I can't believe I've won five awards," Winehouse said. She coyly sang "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" via satellite link from London, then dedicated her record of the year trophy to her hometown, parents and jailed husband, "my Blake, my Blake incarcerated."

Hancock, whose "River: The Joni Letters" won album of the year, said after the show Sunday night at the Staples Center that it was "immeasurable how surprised I am."



Presenter Quincy Jones seemed even more excited for the 11-time Grammy winner, throwing his hands wide after reading Hancock's name. "Aaaahhh! Unbelievable. That's unbelievable, man," Jones exclaimed.

Industry observers had expected either Winehouse's "Back in Black" or West's "Graduation" to take the prize. There was speculation the two may have split the vote of younger, more pop-centric National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voters, leaving the door open for Hancock.

That result left the typically outspoken West in no mood to share his thoughts. West won four trophies, but after losing out once again in the album of the year category he'd made no secret of coveting, he skipped post-show interview rooms to instead pose for photos with his fiance and members of his entourage.

"I'm good," he said quietly, in response to questions about how he felt. It was a subdued echo of the exuberant call on his "Good Life," which won for rap song.

Memories dominated West's performance of "Hey Mama," a once-exuberant song from his 2005 album "Late Registration" that he has transformed into a somber tribute since his mother Donda's sudden death last year. "Last night I saw you in my dreams. Now I can't wait to go to sleep," he sang in the night's most emotional performance.

Accepting the award for rap album, West spoke to his mother: "I appreciate everything and I know you are really proud of me right now and I know you wouldn't want me to stop and you'd want me to be the No. 1 artist in the world."

Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen took home three Grammys, including best rock song for "Radio Nowhere." Chaka Khan picked up two trophies, including one for best R&B album for "Funk This."

Politics were a subtle backdrop to the evening. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won an award for spoken word album, for the audio version of his book, "The Audacity of Hope." Presenter George Lopez took note of the historic nature of the Hillary Clinton and Obama candidacies, and will.i.am urged the crowd to vote after a strange free-wheeling freestyle billed as a "mash-up."

And finally, Hancock borrowed Obama's favorite campaign phrase, "Yes we can," when summing up the significance of a jazz artist winning album of the year. (The last was 1964's "Getz/Gilberto," a collaboration between Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto.)

"I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time," he said. "This is a new day, that proves that the impossible can be made possible. Yes we can, to coin a phrase." [AP/CNN]

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Check Out Alicia Keys, Usher, Beyonce, Ne Yo And Rihanna At The 2008 Grammys!

The stars were out tonight as Black music royalty stepped their game up to represent at this year's Grammy Awards. Beyonce was leaner with a shorter do'. We likey!

Musiq and Ne Yo both looked dapper, while Usher was making goo-goo eyes at his woman Tameka.

Alicia is playing that Lena Horne role, ain's she?
Rihanna was trying in her vivid blue high school prom dress. Developing...

AMY WINEHOUSE WINS BIG, BUT IT'S BEYONCE & TINA THAT WORK US AT THE GRAMMYS

Beyonce And Tina Turner Perform "Proud Mary"


So, those legendary legs and legendary voices united at the Grammy Awards and left everyone breathless.



Winners Kanye West and Amy Winehouse also performed, although Winehouse was other the other side of the pond via satellite. Rihanna, Feist, Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin are also on tap, although Barack Obama is stealing everyone's thunder.

You know my president in waiting also won tonight, not just beating Hillary Clinton in the state of Maine, but also in the Grammy audio book category. I am loving Black History Month right about now!

Running the show with her three Black British brothers in the background, it was definitely the Rehab star's night, winning 5 out of 6 nods.

Janet Jackson Brings Her Little Boy Out To The Pre-Grammy Parties... Oh, That's Jermaine Dupri!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

THE GRAMMYS,WHAT TO WATCH FOR: MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER


All you haters out there need not read this post because I want to talk about what was. I want to talk about what used to be. I want to talk about who was "the man" 25 years ago... Michael Jackson. This year celebrates 25 years since the release of the album THRILLER and it's string of number one hits including the song and landmark video by the same name. The big question, and I mean big as in huge, as in large, question is will the "gloved one" be performing at tomorrow nights Grammy Awards. Solid rumors abound as ...

it only makes since to have him there. Forget the plastic surgery and rare skin disease that all of you don't want to cut him some slack on. Forget the court cases and rumors of Michaels advances towards young boys, if you can. And I see no problem with him marrying Elvis's daughter or escorting Brooke Shields. Because I for one can't claim such conquest, can you? No let's go back 25 years when the record industry was in the doldrums. No one was buying music. Artists were loosing their contracts and if someone even approaching a million records sales was a big deal. Wait a minute, that sounds like the Dead On Arrival music industry we have been living through right now and for the last 5 years. Strange as it sounds we could use a dose of Michael Jackson right now.
You can go YOUTUBE and get all the retro Michael Jackson you want. For now let's have a smile with this Thrillicious Super Bowl Commercial staring hot super model Naomi Campbell.


Now check out these statistics on the album that single handedly rescued the music industry, catapulted MTV and video making, and got the people all over the world buying music once again:

The original Thriller spent an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at #1. Seven of the album's original nine tracks became Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 while Individual singles from Thriller reached #1 chart positions in the US, the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.

Thriller made history as the first and only record to be America's top-selling album two years running (1983 and 1984).

Thriller has been certified 27x platinum by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond Award status in the US. In addition, the album has achieved Diamond or Multi-Platinum status in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. In 1985, the Guinness Book of
Records named Thriller the Best Selling Album of All Time, an achievement which remains unsurpassed to this day.

In February 1984, Michael Jackson held a record-breaking 12 Grammy nominations, going on to win eight, which stands as the record for most Grammy Awards to be won by anyone in a single year.

For more MJ/Thriller, news, Release of the Anniversary Album, remake with Akon, check out CHINA.ORG Thriller Rocks

THE GRAMMYS,WHAT TO WATCH FOR: KANYE HONORS HIS MOM



Though he is nominated for eight Grammy Awards; for singer Kanye West, tomorrows awards are not about winning but all about his departed mother Donda. It hasn't been announced, but he will be one of the live performers tomorrow night. Kanye was reportedly seen rehearsing a version of his song "Stronger" at the Staples Center yesterday.

Donda, 58, died Nov. 10 following complications from surgery. Kanye may be singing about his mother but in fact he'll be singing for all of us who recently lost someone dear to us. So Kanye, thank you in advance for speaking for us, who also would like to be heard.


Monday, August 6, 2007

Annie Mae... er... Tina Turner Sings Them Songs, Again

Since the 1993's "What's Love Got To Do With It," a film about Tina Turner and how she rose to stardom with her now deceased ex Ike Turner and how she gained the courage to break free, people have often quoted the abusive Turner ("You gonna sang them songs Annie Mae!") and have pretty much seen Ike in that one light: abusive husband.

Viewers some time ago got a chance to see the musician-ship of Ike and Tina at the peak of their career when they performed in Holland in 1971 in a vintage special concert documentary called "Ike & Tina Turner Live in '71"."

Now 68-years-young, Ms. Turner still has the moves:



Beyonce & Tina Perform "Proud Mary" At The Grammys


Those legendary legs and legendary voices united at the Grammy Awards and left everyone breathless.