Search Results for: GRAMMYs

The Grammy Awards return to New York for the first time in five years on Sunday, with songs influenced by the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on the city in the running for the music industry’s top annual prizes. Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and country singer Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” are both nominated for Song of the Year. Young singer and pianist Norah Jones with her mellow mix of jazz, blues and country song and album “Come Away With Me,” is among eight stars most frequently mentioned by music critics as… Read more »

Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music group, has canceled its expensive post-Grammy Awards gala this year – with the reasons reportedly ranging from everything from economic woes to fears of fights between rival rappers. The Los Angeles Times and several other papers reported Tuesday that the company pulled the plug on the gala New York event scheduled for right after the Grammys on Feb. 23 because of concerns that violence might erupt between rival rappers. But a source close to the company said, “It was canceled for a variety of reasons and a lot of it has to do… Read more »

California lawmakers want the Grammy Awards to stay in Los Angeles, where they have been held for 34 of the last 44 years. A resolution formally making that request of the Natl. Academy of Recording & Sciences has been unanimously approved by the State Assembly’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet Media Committee. Its backers plan to push the measure through the State Legislature prior to the Feb. 23 Grammys, being held this year in New York City. “Los Angeles is renowned worldwide for its entertainment industry, and it’s appropriate that the Grammy ceremonies remain there,” said Assembly member Rebecca… Read more »

Instead of visiting a bounty on any single artist, the nominations announced Tuesday for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards were sprinkled around in an unusually equitable manner-eight musicians tied for the most nominations with sounds as diverse the elegiac rock of Bruce Springsteen, the gossamer, jazzy blends of newcomer Norah Jones and the whipsaw rhymes of Eminem. In year’s past, a glut of nominations would push as single artist such as Lauryn Hill or Carlos Santana above the fold, but this year the flattened field presented more subtle story lines amid the sprawl of 104 categories. Among those themes: The… Read more »

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has tapped veteran label executive Neil Portnow as president – a post that had been vacant since the former chief, Michael Greene, left amid a swirl of controversy last spring. Reporting to Recording Academy chairman Garth Fundis, Portnow will guide the music organization’s biggest public event – the Grammy Awards – as well as other awards shows and charity efforts, including the Latin Grammys, MusiCares and the Grammy Foundation. The NARAS board settled on Portnow after a four-month search inside and outside the organization; Portnow himself has extensive background on both sides.… Read more »

C. Michael Greene has resigned as the head of the organization that hands out the music industry’s most prestigious award, the Grammys, following an emergency board of trustees vote to remove him from office. Greene resigned Saturday night at an emergency meeting attended by more than three dozen trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Greene, 52, had three years remaining on his contract and will receive a severance package of $8 million, much of which will be covered by insurance and includes his bonus from the CBS Grammy contract. He is… Read more »

For the first time in five years, the Grammy Awards will be held in New York. The Grammys’ return to the Big Apple was announced at a press conference Wednesday (April 3). The 45th annual Grammy Awards will take place at Madison Square Garden on February 23. Recording Academy President/CEO Michael Greene and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer were among those on hand for the media event. The awards ceremony and Grammy Fest – a monthlong series of events leading up to the Grammys that features performances, exhibits and workshops – are expected to draw $35-$40… Read more »

Forget J-Lo’s naval and Eminem’s foul mouth. The 44th annual Grammy Awards Wednesday had weightier issues to contend with as artists and performers sought to soothe the nation with humor and song after a year of turmoil within the music industry and in the United States. From heightened security, to performers’ songs and to host Jon Stewart’s jokes, the devastating attacks on America of Sept. 11 hovered in the background of the music industry’s most glamorous night. When Stewart came onstage at the Staples Center, he walked through a dummy metal detector, which gonged off and sent huge security guards… Read more »

Will U2 find what it’s looking for on Wednesday, when it competes for eight Grammy Awards at the music industry’s biggest bash of the year? Or will the Irish rock quartet be rattled by folk musicians, soulful R&B divas and tireless troubadour Bob Dylan? Nothing is ever certain about the Grammys, whose industry voters frequently stun music fans with oddball choices, including last year’s album of the year prize to semi-retired jazz-rock recluses Steely Dan. In the past few years the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which organizes the event, has tried to improve the awards’ image by… Read more »

Bob Dylan, OutKast and Joshua Bell are among the latest confirmed performances for the 44th annual Grammy Awards telecast Feb. 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink will perform their cover of “Lady Marmalade” from the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack, with Missy Elliott joining them onstage. These performances join the lineup of previously announced artists including Alan Jackson, Alicia Keys, Alejandro Sanz with Destiny’s Child, the Dave Matthews Band, ‘N Sync with Nelly, Train and U2. Bonnie Raitt, Ja Rule and Michael W. Smith have been added to the list of presenters, which… Read more »