Music News: Coldplay Named Top Songwriters At ASCAP Awards

Coldplay‘s songwriting skills landed them the top honors at the 30th annual ASCAP Awards in London on Wednesday.

Bandmates Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman were named the Songwriters of the Year at the ceremony, while their “Viva La Vida” hit won them the Song of the Year award.

Other big winners included Taio Cruz, who picked up the ASCAP Vanguard Award for his record ‘Departure,’ and chart-topping Brits Scouting For Girls won the ASCAP College Award for “Everybody Wants to Be on TV.”

Another 20 song awards were also handed out during the event to honor songwriters – Paul McCartney‘s “Come Together,” U2‘s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and Phil Collins‘ track “In The Air Tonight” were among the tracks recognized.

News Source: Starpulse

Music News: Nicki Minaj & Jay-Z Win Big at the BET Hip-Hop Awards

Nicki Minaj doesn’t even have an album out yet, but she was one of the biggest winners at the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, which were taped on Saturday, October 2 in Atlanta for an upcoming broadcast. The Young Money rapper took home Rookie of the Year, People’s Champ, and Made You Look (style) awards, MTV News reports.

Fitted to kill in a black dominatrix-like outfit, NYC-ish blond bob hairdo, pink nails and lipstick, Minaj grabbed her awards and “ran.” Minaj made sure to thank her “Barbies” as she accepted the award for “Favorite By Fans.”

“Last year, I was here in anticipation of the cypher,” she told the crowd, referring to the artist rap freestyles that run in between the award presentations and performances. “Now I’m here in anticipation of my debut. [‘Pink Friday’, set for release November 23.]

“I’m paving the way for girls,” she continued. “I wanna thank all the girls of hip-hop.”

Jay-Z, who was not in attendance at the awards, was also able to bag three awards. Tied Minaj’s award total, taking home trophies in the categories of Perfect Combo (Alicia Keys duet “Empire State of Mind”), CD of the Year, and Best Live Performer. Other awards went to Rick Ross (Club Banger of the Year and Track of the Year for producer Lex Luger, both for “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)”), Salt-N-Pepa (I Am Hip-Hop), Diddy (Hustler), Swizz Beatz (Producer of the Year), and DJ Khaled (Best DJ).

Now let me remind you, the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards kicked off on quite the high note as Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, and Diddy opened with “B.M.F.,” one of the year’s biggest hits. To the surprise of those in the audience Ross‘ set then segued into an unexpected performance from MC Hammer, who danced frantically with a group of dancers as he performed ‘2 Legit 2 Quit.’

The 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards welcomed a number of newcomer’s including Alabama’s own Yelawolf who performed alongside Big Boi for their hit song “You Ain’t No DJ.”

“I feel overwhelmed, you know, coming out with Big Boi from OutKast and doing our record. I never thought it would lead to here, but I’m taking it in. I’m happy and I’m honored to be a part of it,” Yelawolf explained to The BoomBox.

The Hip-Hop Awards cypher’s proved yet again to be one of the highlights of the show with a number of artists taking part in this Hip-Hop Awards staple. Kanye West gave folks a taste of G.O.O.D. Music with a cypher that featured verses from himself, Common, Big Sean, Pusha T, and Cyhi Da Prynce.Ice Cube and Rev. Run kept it all in the family with a cypher that consisted of performances from Diggy Simmons, JoJo Simmons, OMG, and Doughboy.

More images from the performances below and after the cut.

This year’s 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, hosted by Mike Epps, will air Oct. 12 at 8 P.M. on BET. Will you be tuning in? Which award categories are you most looking forward to seeing televised?

Source: B.E.T.com

Music News: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to Perform together at the VMA’s

There’s much anticipation of Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” album release and benefit concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on September 11. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are set to perform at the 26th Annual MTV Video Music Awards. They will be performing the ode to New York single “Empire State of Mind” for the first time. The show will air live from Radio City Music Hall on September 13 at 9 p.m.

Source: Rap-Up