Search Results for: grammy

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 »

He had one of the biggest opening sales weeks of 2008, and now, Lil Wayne is the year’s most-nominated Grammy contender. Wayne and his latest LP, “Tha Carter III,” lead the pack with a total of eight nominations, while one of the year’s other biggest sellers, Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” garnered seven nods. Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West each earned six nods, while Alison Krauss, John Mayer, Robert Plant, Radiohead and Jazmine Sullivan received five each. Adele is up for four – including Best New Artist – as are Lupe Fiasco and T.I. The… Read more »

Herbie Hancock won the coveted album of the year Grammy on Sunday, becoming the first jazz instrumentalist to win the honor in more than 40 years and causing Hancock to remark “it’s a new day” at the Grammys. Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters,” an all-star tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was a surprise victory at the 50th annual Grammys, beating out other nominees Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” Kanye West’s “Graduation,” rock band the Foo Fighters’ “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” and country singer Vince Gill’s “These Days.” “Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, thank you so much,” said… 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 »

“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin added another jewel to her illustrious musical crown on Friday night when she was honored at the annual MusiCares dinner, a Grammy-related event that raises money for musicians in need. “There may be a debate about who is the president, but there is no debate on who is the queen,” said civil rights leader Al Sharpton, one of many luminaries on hand to pay tribute to the 65-year-old Franklin. The singer, who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a career spanning four decades, will perform this Sunday at the… 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 striking Hollywood writers guild said Tuesday it will refrain from picketing the upcoming Grammy Awards, possibly allowing the music ceremony to escape the fate of the wrecked Golden Globes show. The guild’s board of directors has yet to grant the music industry show a waiver that would allow union writers to work on the ceremony, but the Grammys typically depend more on performances than scripted lines or comedy. The guild previously said it was unlikely to grant the Recording Academy a waiver for the Feb. 10 show, the music industry’s most important event, set to be broadcast live on… Read more »

Today it was announced that the Plain White T’s garnered their first-ever Grammy nod in the categories of SONG OF THE YEAR and BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS for “Hey There Delilah,” a song that grabbed the much-coveted No. 1 slot in the U.S. on Billboard ‘s “Hot 100” chart   as well as the No. 1 slot internationally on Billboard’s Euro Singles Sales chart (the song hit #1 in 9 countries) making it one of the biggest songs in the world. As reported in Entertainment Weekly, the band’s smash hit “Hey There Delilah” has… Read more »