Tag: Grammys (21-30 of 78)

Feb 1 2010 12:45 PM ET

Grammys: Was Stephen Colbert out of his element?

Well, yes, Walter. Of course he was. You need only watch Jay-Z’s Bish Please face at 0:38 during Colbert’s “Welcome, folks!” speech (embedded below) to figure that out. Colbert’s good-natured quips like “The Pink-Eyed Green Peas” fell flat with the cool kids, even though that one would have gone over great as a word puzzle with special musical guests on Sesame Street. Tough crowd for Colbert. It’s okay, though. No one really needs to “fit in” at the Grammys. And Colbert certainly doesn’t care. He is a GRAMMY WINNER; plus, his adorable teenage daughter finally thinks he’s cool. And anyone who’s prepared Lady Gaga zingers to fire off backstage is a Grammys winner in my children’s picture book. (For the alien visitor’s next outfit, Colbert predicted, “They’re just going to spray her down with glue and run her through a Build-a-Bear workshop.”)

A bit more jarring for me was the trotting out of random CBS TV stars to present awards to people in the music industry. I have nothing against Kaley Cuoco or Chris O’Donnell in theory, and Simon Baker’s glasses deserved Accessory of the Year, but I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when they came out. Like, ugh, I get it, CBS, TV on the Grammys, lame! Still, I’d rather hear Chris O’Donnell present an award 30 times than Quentin Tarantino pretend he’s a rapper and plug his own movie once. What about you?

Feb 1 2010 12:00 PM ET

War of the Wet: Whose performance was more fluid?

Hmmm. Choosing a side in this arbitrary pitting of singer vs. actor is going to be tough. Pink showered the Grammys swaybots (and hopefully Lady Gaga, who was dressed to complement rain in the audience) with water as she executed a mid-level Cirque du Soleil routine the Québécois are calling “tres mignon.” But in Jon Hamm‘s digital short on Saturday Night Live, the actor and reborn sax maniac emerged from the womb of Kristen Wiig and wailed on that instrument full force, because that’s what Sergio was put on this planet by homeless Fred Armisen to do.

Neither was quite naked — Pink seems to be revealing more skin, but there’s actually a lot of fabric involved there. Jon Hamm is wearing pants, but the sheer surface area of his glistening upper body and the ridiculous element of suspenders somehow makes him equivalent to three completely naked regular people. Does Sergio, who neither sang nor spun, ultimately get the edge for experimenting with different fluids? You decide.

Oh, and if you thought Pink’s performance deserved more than a C+, sound off in our Grammys Performances: We Grade ‘Em! photo gallery.

Read more:
EW.com’s complete Grammys coverage
‘SNL’ recap: Jon Hamm brings the funny

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

Feb 1 2010 07:31 AM ET

Grammy Awards: Who was that kid with Jay-Z last night?

Whoa, does Jay-Z have a kid? Well, if he does, it wasn’t the little rugrat he was sitting with at the Grammys last night. The boy Jay and Rihanna referred to as “Julez” while accepting the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy (see clip below) is Daniel Julez Smith, Beyonce‘s sister Solange Knowles’ 5-year-old son. So the kid in the “super fresh” tuxedo and Nike Dunks is Jay’s nephew, not his son. Jay and B are private, but that would’ve been a fairly massive secret for them to have kept so long . (Because they’re so private, wasn’t it kinda cool to hear Beyonce tell her husband ”I love you” in her acceptance speech for Best Female Vocal Performance? Also cool: Replaying it on my DVR and pretending she was talking to me.) My wife thought little Julez looked a lot like Mos Def, probably influenced a bit by the fact that he was just on-screen presenting the award.

“No THANKS.” Wow, cute and polite. Nice work, Solange.

So honestly, who wondered if that was Jay-Z’s kid last night?

Be sure to head over to EW’s Music Mix blog for full coverage of the 2010 Grammy Awards.

More Grammy Awards 2010:
Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year: Did the Grammys get it right?
Lady Gaga and Elton John’s Grammys duet: Did you think they were on fire?
Grammy Awards 2010: The winners list
Grammy Performances: We Grade ‘Em!
Grammys style: Rate 21 looks!

Mar 13 2009 03:53 PM ET

The Grammys' bizarre calendar change-up

Mia_lNot that I expect anything less from an organization as perennially out of touch as the Recording Academy — I’m looking at you, Herbie — but the new eligibility calendar they just announced for the Grammys is a puzzler. Next year’s ceremony will take place in January, a bit earlier than usual, and only music released between Oct. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009 will be counted for awards. Who cares about those dates? Well, as others have noticed, the new cut-off will basically eliminate the whole fourth quarter of 2009 from consideration. Considering how labels traditionally stack the fall and winter with high-profile releases to maximize holiday sales, it’s hard to see how this makes sense. Worst of all, that’s one less month that M.I.A. has to get pregnant in time to steal the show again. Not considerate, Grammys.

But hey, maybe this will lead to a 2010 Grammys broadcast that’s packed with wonderful (months-old) summer jams, and we’ll all agree that this was a good idea after all. Do you care about this change in the rules?

More on the Grammys:
EW Gallery: Best and Worst Grammy Performances ’09
EW Gallery: Best and Worst Grammy Style ’09
Live blogging the 2009 Grammys

Feb 14 2009 02:23 AM ET

Enter the Fray: Joaquin, the Grammys, and reality TV

Thefray_lIt’s Friday the 13th, but nothing spooky has happened yet (other than the fact that Tatiana Del Toro will continue on in the hopes of becoming America’s Next Top Model the next American Idol). I think I’ve dodged a bullet on the whole bad-luck day thing — until next month, that is. I hope you’ve all had good luck today, too. If not, ancient legend has it that reading this week’s top PopWatch posts will improve your fortune tenfold. Enter the Fray:

10. Annie Barrett will sleep happily with dreams of sequins and Maks now that ABC has announced the newest cast of Dancing With the Stars.

9. For those who worry that Joaquin Phoenix has gone off the deep end, fret not. The actor-turned-rapper has a history of befuddling behavior on late-night TV.

8. Finishing second in the Reality TV Show Host-turned-EW.com Blogger Comment-Off ’09 Round 1 is main Survivor guy Jeff Probst. Don’t worry buddy, you’ll get it next time!

7. Lynette Rice doesn’t think the Friday time slot Fox assigned to Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse bodes well for the new series (which premieres tonight).

6. The judges have spoken, and the American Idol top 36 are in. You know, until Hollywood week, I was totally okay with Tatiana. But it will be completely unacceptable, America, if I have to hear that shrill giggle come from my TV set for any reason other than her elimination next week.

5. Joaquin Phoenix’s barely-there Letterman appearance on Wednesday had Mike Bruno entertained regardless of whether it’s all an act or not.

4. Hip hop goddess M.I.A. performed ”Swagga Like Us” with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and T.I. at the Grammys while simultaneously balancing the responsibilities of being super awesome and being ready to give birth at any moment, but Mike Bruno was bummed she didn’t get to sing ”Paper Planes,” which ”Swagga” samples, instead.

3. And the Reality TV Show Host-turned-EW.com-Blogger Comment-Off ’09 Round 1 Champion is…Chris Harrison of The Bachelor! Come on down and collect your trophy bragging rights!

2. Chris Brown turned himself in to L.A. police Sunday night for questioning in connection with a police investigation into charges of a felony battery.

1. Intrepid EW music experts Simon Vozick-Levinson and Leah Greenblatt live blogged the Grammys ceremony.

Feb 10 2009 10:07 PM ET

Grammy performances: Watch them again! Here!

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Whether you missed the ceremony altogether, or are, like me, too poor and/or Luddite-y for Tivo/DVR-type shenanigans, you could spend hours trolling online video-sharing sites. Or! You could click on this PopWatch post and peruse nearly all of the night’s performances, without the pesky interference of commercials, special honors, and, you know, trophies and stuff.

Of course, we’ve already provided EW.com readers with a real-time blog of the event, a full list of televised winners, and answers to your burning questions, as well as photo galleries for both style and performance best and worsts, but there truly is nothing like the real (pixelated) thing. So even though I’ll be offering a roundup of my own personal bests and worsts from the show in the magazine this Friday, here you get to judge almost every one of them unexpurgated for yourselves. Here’s Al and Co. first, and then then 19 more after the jump…

AL GREEN, JT, KEITH URBAN, BOYZ II MEN

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 10 2009 01:04 AM ET

Dave Matthews Band's LeRoi Moore: Grammys snub?

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Leroimoore_lIt has been a hard couple of months for Dave Matthews Band fans, since the loss of saxophonist LeRoi Moore — and last night’s Grammy festivities didn’t make things easier. Moore, who died in August from complications stemming from an ATV accident, was left out of the Grammys’ "In Memoriam" segment (as was Stooges’ guitarist Ron Asheton).

Fans have been letting their grievances be known via various DMB message boards, including antsmarching.org. The band’s bassist, Stefan Lessard, wasn’t shy about his frustration with Moore’s omission, either. Last night, Lessard twittered, "It just goes to show you how full of s— the Grammys have become," and he responded to fans’ disappointment with, "You all make me proud…. Roi knew that, he loved you all."

Sure, the Grammys had time restrictions, and there were many names to be mentioned. But it does seem like a glaring omission: Moore was Grammy winner and a founding member of one of the most successful touring bands in the country. So the lack of recognition certainly doesn’t sit well. Being a huge DMB fan myself (39 shows and counting), I couldn’t help but get a little upset by not seeing LeRoi Moore get his due. What about you fellow DaveHeads? Did Roi’s omission hit a nerve? Should the Grammys apologize?

UPDATE: In a statement dated Feb. 10, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said, "Nearly 250 members of our music community have passed in the last year, and all of them have been listed in the program book for the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, including LeRoi Moore. For the ‘Encore’ segment of our annual GRAMMY Awards telecast, unfortunately we are unable to include all of the talented and wonderful people within the allotted timeframe."

Feb 9 2009 08:21 PM ET

Paula Abdul, Miley Cyrus, Jason Mraz, Adele, and more video from the Grammys red carpet

EW’s intrepid Whitney Pastorek, seemingly three months deep into covering Grammy week 2009, has delivered some pretty kicking video from last night’s Grammys red carpet. How often did Miley Cyrus rehearse her duet with apparent BFF Taylor Swift? What happened to (eventual) Best New Artist winner Adele’s thumbnail? How would (eventual) Best New Artist non-winners Lady Antebellum deal if they had won the infamously cursed award? Which former Sexiest Man Alive is starring in Juno director Jason Reitman’s next feature film? Is Jason Mraz intimidated at all by competing with Coldplay? These questions and more are answered in the videos below — first up, American Idol judge Paula Abdul tells us which season 7 contestant was convinced at the last minute not to sing Abdul’s classic "Rush Rush."

Feb 9 2009 04:57 PM ET

Blink-182 reunite -- to tour with Green Day? No Doubt!

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Blink_reunionLooks like Mark, Tom, and Travis have taken a page out of the Obama play book: Less than 12 hours after announcing to the world on the Grammys that they’d be reuniting after four years, Blink-182 already have their 2009 reunion site (pictured) set up. I, for one, am pretty excited. I caught their 2004 co-headlining tour with No Doubt — you kinda forget that Blink-182 was as big as, and sometimes bigger than, Gwen and Co. — which was worth the price of admission alone just for Travis’ extended drum solo atop a riser above the crowd. (Yes, Gwen’s back flips certainly added value, too.)

Their side projects over the years — Tom’s Angels & Airwaves, Mark and Travis’ +44 — demonstrated how talented each is in his own right, but mostly, they just reminded us that we’d rather be seeing and listening to Blink. So, while they didn’t stay together for the kids, they did get back together for them (even if most of the "kids" have mortgages and kids of their own by now).

No Doubt are also reuniting for shows this summer, for the first time since that ’04 tour with Blink. Rumors have it that Blink will be doing some dates opening for Green Day, which should be great — but for old time’s sake, maybe they could double up with No Doubt again, if for just one?

More on the 51st annual Grammys:
Carrie Underwood’s Grammys guitarist: Who was that?
Grammys: Best and Worst Performances
Grammys: Best and Worst Style
Full list of Grammy winners
Our Grammys PopWatch live blog

Feb 9 2009 04:34 PM ET

Carrie Underwood's Grammys guitarist: Who was that?

Many of you were wondering last night about the young woman who livened up Carrie Underwood’s performance of "Last Name" with a face-melting guitar solo. Who was that righteous axe warrior, anyway? Question answered: Her name is Orianthi, she’s a 24-year-old Aussie, and guitar heroes including Carlos Santana, Prince, and Steve Vai reportedly agree that she rocks. Check out Orianthi’s MySpace here, relive last night’s "Last Name" below (skip to around 1:50 for the serious shredding), and get ready: Orianthi is signed to 19 Recordings/Geffen Records, with a debut album in the works. Anyone else psyched to hear it?

More on the 51st annual Grammys:
Gallery: Best and Worst Performances
Gallery: Best and Worst Style
Full list of winners
Our PopWatch live blog

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