Search Results for: Andy Black

Beyonce Knowles may be “Crazy in Love,” but she kept her cool Sunday at one of the more sober Grammy Awards shows in memory. She was the night’s big winner, taking home a record-tying five trophies to join recent Grammy queens Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Norah Jones with the most wins in a single year by a female performer. OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year, giving the eccentric Atlanta funk/rap group three wins, including Best Urban Alternative Performance and Best Rap Album. British band Coldplay took home the prize for Record of the Year for “Clocks,”… Read more »

Ozzy Osbourne has been many things throughout his multi-platinum career: lead singer of Black Sabbath, successful solo star and a veteran touring artist. But as Ozzy marks the 35th anniversary of his career, there is no doubt that his starring part in MTV reality series “The Osbournes” ushered in a most unlikely role for him: that of mainstream pop-culture icon. Much has already been said about Ozzy and his family in the saturation media coverage that followed the success of “The Osbournes,” which documents the lives of Ozzy; his wife/manager, Sharon; and two of their children, Kelly and Jack (the… Read more »

Robert Palmer, the well-tailored British rock singer who created one of the first iconic music videos with the look-alike models of “Addicted to Love,” has died of a heart attack. He was 54. A two-time Grammy winner in the 1980s, the star behind the hit “Simply Irresistible” died of a heart attack Friday at a Paris hotel during a stopover after a promotional tour in Britain, manager Mick Cater said. Sporting designer suits and a thick mane of hair, Palmer shot to fame in the mid-’80s with two videos featuring a “backup band” of dark-haired women in black miniskirts strumming… Read more »

The city school board has voted to fire eight part-time school police officers, including four who were moonlighting as bodyguards for rapper Snoop Dogg when an unknown gunman shot at his convoy in April. After a four-hour closed session, the board voted 4-1 to fire reserve officers Leslie Gaulden, Randy Robinson and Kenny Archer, all of whom worked for the rapper. Officer and Snoop Dogg bodyguard Marcus Thompson, arrested on weapons charges after an incident at the BET Awards show in Hollywood, was fired last week. Board members declined to comment on the decision, but interim school police chief Wesley… Read more »

Need a reason to go on a road trip? How about Bumbershoot? No, we’re not talking gibberish – we’re referring to the infamous Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA, which is taking place at the Seattle Center from August 29 to September 1 this year. From 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. each day, over 2,500 artists will be showcasing their various artistic and musical talents. The festival, which was originally dubbed “The Festival of ’71,” has been gaining momentum since its initial inception over three decades ago. Bumbershoot Festival-goers can enjoy poetry, comedy, acrobats, theatre, graphic art, film, painting, sculpture and… Read more »

Tuesday night (July 15), the original ’80s Duran Duran lineup (singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, guitarist Andy Taylor, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor) celebrated their 25th anniversary by playing Los Angeles’s 450-capacity Roxy nightclub as a warm-up for their much-hyped brief U.S. reunion tour, which officially kicks off tonight at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. Not only was this the group’s first Stateside performance in 18 years, but it also marked another homecoming of sorts, as the Roxy was the first American venue Duran Duran ever played back in 1981. Although Duran Duran have… Read more »

“American Idol” Ruben Studdard is lucky he has a healthy ego. Not only is “Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken beating the champ on the Billboard singles charts, but on the fifth stop of the “Idol” summer tour, the spiky-haired crooner proved that he’s winning the battle for the hearts and minds of “Idol” fans across the country. Even before the nine “Idol” finalists took the stage at U.S. Bank Arena Sunday night to perform a nearly two-and-a-half-hour medley of covers, the mere sight of Clay’s face on the two Jumbotron screens flanking the massive neon ballroom set was enough to elicit… Read more »

Sheryl Crow, an activist for recording artists’ rights, brought her own message against a possible war with Iraq to Monday night’s American Music Awards. Crow accepted her award for pop-rock female artist wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the message “war is not the answer” in black sequins. She had the V-neck shirt specially made. “I just think there’s a really vital, sweeping peace movement out there that’s not getting covered in the press, so I just kind of try to do my part,” she said backstage. “I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions… Read more »

Until recently, it seemed only kids – and music critics – could love Eminem. Politicians condemned his obscenity-laced and violent lyrics. Gay and women’s groups blasted him as a homophobe and misogynist. The Grammy-winning Detroit rapper had millions in album sales, but little love from mainstream America. Well, he’s still not America’s sweetheart. But some of the vitriol directed at Eminem has diminished – replaced not just by grudging respect, but by downright enthusiasm from some unlikely quarters. “The guy is funny, smart, and sometimes shocking,” author Stephen King gushed on his Web site. “Those are all things I look… Read more »

P.O.D. (“Alive” and “Youth Of The Nation”), Missy Elliott (“One Minute Man”), and Eminem (“Without Me”) scored six nominations each for the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, which were announced Monday (July 22). Shakira (“Whenever, Wherever”) and White Stripes (“Fell In Love With A Girl”) garnered four nominations. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Eminem, and Pink are among the artists set to perform at the event, which will be held August 29 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. More performers for the show, hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Jimmy Fallon, will be announced later. Here’s a… Read more »