51st Annual Grammy Awards Recap

Here’s the my brief re-cap of this years Grammy awards ceremony.

Performances:

* U2 kicks the show off with their newest single “Get On Your Boots” off of the new album No Line on the Horizon.
* Al Green, Keith Urban, Justin Timberlake and Boyz II Men perform together in place of Rihanna and Chris Brown.
* Coldplay performed “Lost+”. Set starts off with Chris Martin at piano solo and later joined by Jay-Z to spit his verse. Chris cuts that song and goes to the stage and the rest of the band appears and they perform “Viva La Vida”.
* Carrie Underwood performs.
* Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus perform together.
* Jonas Brothers perform with Stevie Wonder.
* One of the performances of the night for me was “Swagger Like Us” with T.I., Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and a very pregnant M.I.A. The performance started off with M.I.A. doing a verse of “Paper Planes”, the sample of which “Swagger Like Us” came from. When she hit the words “…swagger like us”, out appeared the four gentlemen above. M.I.A.’s outfit was a bit out there, not my favorite, but I guess her style has always been out there that and add to the fact that she was due to give birth that very day.
* Paul McCartney featuring Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters on the drums. Performing The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There”, but Ringo Starr was not to be found on stage.
* Radiohead performance with the USC Trojans Marching band backing, probably one of the better performances of the night for sure.
* T.I. and Justin Timberlake perform “Dead and Gone”
* The Grammys honor and remember Motown legends The Four Tops, doing a medley of songs were Smokie Robinson, Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx and remaining member of The Four Tops, Duke Fakir.

Awards:

* Jennifer Hudson wins Best R&B album of the year. That was teary-eyed moment for me. She deserved it!

* Song of the year went to Coldplay for their song “Viva La Vida”.
* Best Pop collaboration went to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. WTF!!
* Blink 182 members come out together to announce they’re coming back to do work as well as presenting the Best Rock album, which went to Coldplay.
* Best New Artist award went to Adele.
* In another “WTF?” moment, Record of the year went to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. On the real, it beat out some deep competition.
* Best Rap Album went to Lil Wayne for Tha Carter III. Good for him, competition was a bit tough, I’m a fan of all the artists that were nominated under that category.

See a complete list of winners on www.grammy.com.

“One of my favorite moments was seeing M.I.A. perform on stage with T.I., Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, and Jay-Z. I have to tell you that performance gave me the chills. I was waiting to see if M.I.A was going to stop her performance in the middle of it all and say she was in labor. As a mother myself, that performance was the best. She told E! news in an interview on the red carpet, that she was yet to know what the sex of her baby will be. I think it’s going to be a boy. What are your thoughts?”

Video Below: M I A, T I , Lil Wayne, Jay Z, & Kanye West Perform “Swagga Like Us” At The 51st Annual Grammy Awards

Source: YouTube, grammy.com

Music News: Nas Confirms on Kelis’ Pregnancy and New Album

While his wife Kelis,  has one in the oven, Nas is cooking up an LP with Damian Marley. Nas is about to be a dad again. It’s official. The masterful MC told MTV on the red carpet of the Grammy Awards that he and wife Kelis are expecting their first child together. The couple will know the baby’s sex in a matter of days.

“Yeah, man, I find out what it’s gonna be next week, so I’m happy,” said the rapper, who has a 15-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. “I got another one coming in ’09, yeah! That’s what’s up!”

Last year, Nas and Kelis showed up to the Grammys walking the red carpet wearing the clothing emblazoned with the N-word, which Nas planned to make the name of his album. You already know about the controversy, the protest, the title change, the #1 chart debut and the critical praise.

A year later, Nas’ Untitled LP was up for Best Rap Album. And even though Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III wound up winning, we might just see Nas up for another award in 2010. He says he has another project in the cooker. This one will be a joint effort.

“Right now, I’ll tell you first, I’m working on an album with Damian Marley, and we tryin’ to build some schools in Africa with this one, and trying to build empowerment,” he said. “We’re tryin’ to show love and stuff with this album. So, the record’s … all about really the ‘hood and Africa also as well. That’s coming out real soon.”

No release date yet, but the rhyme legend is looking tentatively at this spring.

“Too early to tell the title or anything like that,” he said. “Shout out to my man Jr. Gong, we getting it in right now.”

Nas was a guest at L.A. Reid’s post-Grammy party.

Source: MTV

Breaking News: Chris Brown & Rihanna Update

New Details Emerge In Chris Brown, Rihanna Incident

New details have emerged over the alleged incident on Sunday morning between Chris Brown and a woman who authorities have not officially identified, but a source tells Access Hollywood is Rihanna .

The source told Access Hollywood that Chris Brown allegedly hit Rihanna with his fists and bit her during the alleged incident, which took place around 12:30 AM on Sunday.

Brown, 19, was arrested on Sunday and charged with felony criminal threats.

Brown, known in addition to his singing for his athletic feats of dancing – he has performed upside down – previously said he studied martial arts, according to the NY Daily News.

The LAPD is still investigating the alleged domestic violence felony battery and told Access that additional charges may be filed.

Authorities released information to Access Hollywood that Brown and a woman were arguing in a car in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles just after midnight on Sunday. Brown reportedly stopped the car, he and the woman got out and the argument escalated. LAPD reports the woman suffered visible injuries.

Following the incident, Brown reportedly left, leaving Rihanna at the scene.

Radar Online reported that a source inside Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Rihanna was reportedly taken following the incident, said the singer became emotional when two female “assistants” went to visit her at the facility.

” Rihanna was clearly very upset by what had happened and I could hear her screaming,” the source said. ” Rihanna was trying to get her point across about something, she sounded like she was crying as she tried to get… her point across.”

Brown turned himself in on Sunday evening. He was booked under a felony charge, posted bail and was released.

When contacted by Access on Sunday night, a rep for Rihanna said that the singer was “well.”

” Rihanna is well. Thank you for concern and support,” the rep said.

A rep for Chris Brown did not return calls from Access.

Video of Chris and Rihanna spotted out and about the morning before the fight that night.

Source: OMG
Video: YouTube

Just-In: Dancing With the Stars’ season 8 Line-Up

Dancing With The Stars, Season 8, is just around the corner and they have officially announced the line-up. An all-new cast of 13 celebrities hits the dance floor with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere! Monday, March 9 at 8/7c

Lil’ Kim: Rapper
Denise Richards: Actress
Shawn Johnson: Olympian
Jewel: Singer
Stephen Glover a.k.a. Steve-O: “Jackass”
Belinda Carlisle: Singer
Nancy O’Dell: Television Host and Entertainment Journalist
Ty Murray: World Champion Bullrider
David Alan Grier: Comedian
Lawrence Taylor: Former New York Giants Linebacker
Gilles Marini: “Sex and the City”
Chuck Wicks: Country Singer
Steve Wozniak: Apple Co-Founder

Tune In: T.I. – Road To Redemption

From Troublemaker to trouble-shooter, as said by the LA Times. The hip-hop artist aims to scare kids straight on MTV’s new reality show ‘Road to Redemption.’ But since he’s facing his own legal issues, is it just a good-guy pose for the courts?

It’s been hard to avoid the music of rapper T.I. over the last year, with his No. 1 hits “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life” blaring from nightclubs, iPod headphones and car stereos everywhere.

But starting Tuesday night on MTV, the hip-hop star will try out a new role as a sort of celebrity guardian angel who tries to scare kids straight.

In the reality series “T.I.’s Road to Redemption,” young people who’d usually be described as “at-risk” — troubled backgrounds, limited prospects, bad attitude — get a surprise visit from the rapper, who favors a carrot-and-stick approach to behavior modification.

In the premiere, an Atlanta street hustler with vague aspirations of becoming an actor gets a crash course in “Romeo and Juliet.” But to drive home the point, T.I. also guides him to the basement of a local funeral home, where an attendant has laid out the corpse of another young hood whose luck ran in the opposite direction.

“I think my reputation kind of speaks for itself,” T.I., who goes by the nickname Tip and whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., said in Hollywood last week.

Referring to the eight kids chosen for the show, he said, “They know I’m not speaking just from hearsay; I speak from experience. I’ve been through what they’re going through, I’ve done all the things they’re doing. And if they see I can make it to where I am, there surely is a possibility for them to make it to where they want to be.”

If that all sounds a bit noble for TV, let alone for a rap star, your skepticism is excused. Trying to make the world a better place is not something the so-called celebreality TV trend is often accused of; it would be hard to make such an accusation with a straight face when contemplating titles such as “The Simple Life” with Paris Hilton and the truly twisted dating show “Flavor of Love” with the incomparable Flavor Flav.

But the producers behind “Road to Redemption” — who, incidentally, were also behind “Flavor of Love” — say the series is part of a genuine self-reinvention T.I. undertook after a major brush with the law threatened not just his career but his freedom.

In 2007, the rapper was arrested and charged with federal crimes including illegal possession of machine guns and silencers. As a previously convicted felon — his rap sheet includes a series of busts for drug offenses and probation violations — T.I. at one point faced up to 30 years in prison.

His tribulations formed the basis of “Paper Trail,” the current album that has brought him his greatest mainstream success. In many ways, the TV show is intended as an extension of the album’s theme of spiritual rebirth (most clearly heard in his current hit “Dead and Gone” with Justin Timberlake).

T.I. was under house arrest in Atlanta when the producers came to visit him to discuss “Road to Redemption.” MTV’s original idea, the rapper recalled, was “putting cameras in T.I.’s house and watching him while he can’t leave. I wasn’t with that. I didn’t think that was significant enough.”

The creative direction evolved after Michael Hirschorn, a former VH1 programmer who left last year to form the production company Ish Entertainment, came aboard with his producing partner, Stella Stolper.

“We were talking about doing something that was really kind of a ‘Scared Straight!’ show for kids,” Hirschorn said, referring to the 1978 documentary about at-risk kids (personal disclosure: from 2000-01, Hirschorn was my boss at an entertainment-news website). T.I. “was going to go surprise these kids, scare the bejesus out of them and set them straight. And then after Stella and I went to visit him down in Atlanta, I was kind of struck by (the fact that) he’s a deep guy. There’s more to him than you’d think.

“So I think that in our heads the show started seeming a lot bigger and more psychologically interesting. What do you do if you’re at the top of the world but your past keeps dragging you down?”

In fact, that chapter of his story isn’t finished even for T.I. himself, which is what gives the show a perhaps unintentional layer of tension. The rapper is still under the eye of federal authorities, at least until his formal sentencing next month.

He is finishing 1,000 hours of court-ordered community service (the show was not part of the deal, the producers say). The interview for this article was conducted in the star’s trailer, along with the federal agent assigned to accompany him at all times.

Hirschorn said he understands the skepticism — mega-millionaire hip-hop musician hasn’t really changed his bad-boy ways but has merely figured out another canny way to cash in on them.

“He doesn’t need this really,” Hirschorn countered. “He doesn’t need the money. He doesn’t need the headache. He’s really the top artist in the country right now.

“If you think of the traditional rapper pose of being too cool for school, he’s not doing that at all. He’s really putting himself out there emotionally. There were people who told him not to do the show because it would undermine his edge, his credibility, to do what really is a feel-good show about helping kids.”

T.I., who during the interview was as cagey and reserved as his raps are personal and revealing, took a characteristically more direct view of things.

Speaking of the kids he’s trying to save, he declared, “If I can’t get through to them, nobody can.”

Check out, “T.I.’s Road To Redemption,” premiering Tuesday, February 10th at 9pm ET/PT on MTV. Here’s a preview below.

Source: LA Times
Video: YouTube