Search Results for: Grammys

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council has voted to waive more than $100,000 in fees associated with next month’s Grammy Awards despite a city budget gap of over $400 million. The council on Tuesday agreed without discussion to excuse the $124,163 in fees for the Grammys to be held Feb. 8 at the Staples Center Matt Szabo, spokesman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says the mayor supports the Grammys, but the “fee waiver policy is clearly broken.” The mayor doesn’t have jurisdiction over the waivers. Councilwoman Jan Perry, who sponsored the waiver, says the event generates about $45 million… Read more »

This year’s transformation of the annual Grammy Awards nominations announcement into a full-blown prime-time TV special could help provide a badly needed boost in sales at a difficult time for the music industry. But the December 3 “Grammy Nominations Concert Live!” telecast on CBS fell short of being a ratings winner. The one-hour show finished fourth in its 9 p.m. time slot, averaging 7 million viewers, behind NBC’s “Life” with 8.1 million, Fox’s “Secret Millionaire” with 8.1 million and ABC’s “Private Practice” with 7.8 million, according to Nielsen Media Research The audience for the nominations special was also less than… Read more »

Kanye West loves the Grammys. The rapper has never hidden his lust for awards or his pleasure in the shine of a ceremonial spotlight. At the 50th annual Grammys on Sunday night, West, as usual, made his presence felt. Accepting one of his four awards, West went so far as to say: “It feels good to be home here at the Grammys.” West had a leading eight nominations going into the ceremony and took home four: best rap album for “Graduation,” best solo performance for “Stronger,” best rap song for “Good Life” and best rap performance by duo or group… Read more »

Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse is the perfect poster girl for the current state of the music industry. Music isn’t her problem. Everything else is. That’s exactly the same situation that the music industry – faced with lagging sales, a lack of star power and defection from its biggest moneymakers – finds itself in these days. And when the music industry has problems, the Grammys – celebrating their 50th anniversary Sunday – do as well. Winehouse and her stunning R&B revivalist debut “Back to Black” (Universal Republic) are up for six awards; she’s the only artist nominated in all four… Read more »

Life just got a lot easier for the head of the Recording Academy. Last month, Neil Portnow vowed to stage a full-scale Grammy Awards show with or without support from the striking writers guild. He’ll find it a lot easier to live up to that pledge now that the Writers Guild of America has agreed to let its members work the show on Feb. 10. Portnow called the guild’s decision Monday gratifying, and promised a 50th anniversary show “with an amazing lineup of artists and performances.” With the guild’s board of directors deciding to sign an interim agreement for the… Read more »

The Grammy Awards, the music industry’s most prestigious event, are getting an early start on next year’s 50th anniversary with plans for a fashion line, coffee-table book, museum and TV specials, organizers said on Tuesday. Next year’s ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 10, although there might be remote broadcasts from such music centers as New York and Nashville, said Neil Portnow, the president of the Recording Academy. Talks are underway with Grammys broadcaster CBS to hold some specials later this year, so that next year’s awards show does not get too weighed down in nostalgia.… Read more »

Rick Rubin never having won the Producer of the Year Grammy was the musical equivalent of Martin Scorsese never having won the best-director Oscar. And on Sunday, two weeks before Scorsese is expected to finally get his prize, Rubin was at last honored – and then honored again and again and again. In the end, Rubin walked away (not literally – he did not attend) with five Grammys: for Producer of the Year; Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year for the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way; Record of the Year for the Chicks’ “Not Ready… Read more »

It’s no secret – particularly to various employees at Gambleversity.com, MyBookie.org and/or BetOnAnythingThatMoves.net – that we here at MTV News enjoy the occasional foray into the exhilarating world of wagering. Of course, the key word here is occasional. But with Sunday’s Grammy Awards on the horizon, we convened the MTV News Bet-ological Braintrust – which is really nothing more than a couple of writers and “Hammerin’ ” Hank Goldberg on speakerphone – and determined just which of the Grammy’s 108 categories are most ripe for some sweet speculation. While there are plenty of intriguing possibilities – the battle between Eddie… Read more »

Los Angeles – The 47th Annual Grammys on Sunday were long on tributes and short on controversy thanks to a self-censored performance by punk trio Green Day and Sheryl Crow ‘s peek-a-boo yellow gown, which covered just enough. The Grammys were carried live on CBS, the same network that drew fire and regulatory fines following Janet Jackson ‘s now-infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at last year’s Super Bowl. So Green Day’s performance of the group’s title song from its Grammy-winning and politically charged “American Idiot” was a potential flashpoint for controversy. But in a move apparently aimed to beat network censors, lead… Read more »

Ray Charles’ Genius racked up plenty of company in the form of gramophone-shaped statuettes. The late soul legend won a total of eight awards at the 47th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Genius Loves Company and Record of the Year for “Here We Go Again” with Norah Jones. Jamie Foxx, who is considered a lock for the Best Actor Oscar later this month for his portrayal of Charles in biopic Ray, took the stage with Alicia Keys for a tribute to Charles. Later in the show, Bonnie Raitt and… Read more »