Search Results for: grammy

Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney set their recent troubles aside to steal the show Wednesday at the Brit Awards, the British music industry’s most prestigious prizes. Rockers Foo Fighters and British bands Take That and Arctic Monkeys were all double winners at Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys. Although she wasn’t up for any awards, troubled retro-soul diva Winehouse received a rapturous reception when she appeared to perform “Valerie” with Mark Ronson. She followed that up with the sultry ballad “Love is a Losing Game” from her breakthrough album “Back to Black.” Winehouse, who appeared composed and confident, urged the crowd… Read more »

Dave Grohl has been leading the Foo Fighters for 13 years and was part of another rather consequential band before that, but he acted like a thrilled newcomer at the group’s debut Garden performance Tuesday. “Goddamn, we’re playing Madison Square fucking Garden!” he exclaimed at the beginning of the evening. Grohl and company, touring to support their Grammy-winning “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” clearly are giving it all they have. “This is gonna be a long night, this is no In-N-Out Burger,” he promised before taking mock bids on the length of the show. “Do I hear one hour?” he… Read more »

Pink’s marriage was apparently not a feel-good time. The pop-punk princess and her husband of just two years, the motocross-racing, Surreal Life-starring Carey Hart, have separated. And by the sounds of things, rather amicably. “This decision was made by best friends with a huge amount of love and respect for one another,” said the singer’s publicist, Michele Schweitzer. “While the marriage is over, their friendship has never been stronger.” Indeed, in a post on her official site (pinkspage.com), Pink blames dueling careers for torpedoing the union. “The most important thing for you all to know, is that Carey and I… Read more »

Irish rockers U2 have hit the studio in Dublin to continue work on their next studio album with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. “We’re going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece,” Lanois told Billboard.com. “The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all charged up with a lyrical angle.” U2, Eno and Lanois have spent time working on new material on three prior occasions in France and Morocco. “There’s so much material,” he said, referring to speculation that the sessions could yield two new albums. “When you get Eno and I and those guys… Read more »

Hip-hop star Kanye West has signed a sponsorship deal with Absolut 100 Vodka for his North American tour, which begins April 16 at Seattle’s Key Arena. Absolut will sponsor after-parties in each tour city, a statement said. The tour, which wraps May 30 at Calgary’s Saddledome, will also feature Lupe Fiasco, N*E*R*D and, on most dates, Rihanna. West won four prizes at the Grammy Awards last Sunday, but failed for a third time to take home the coveted album of the year prize thanks to a shock win by jazz veteran Herbie Hancock. Nevertheless, West’s career haul stands at 10… Read more »

There are plenty of divas. But there can only be one queen. Aretha Franklin has lashed out at well-intentioned comments made by Beyoncé Knowles during the latter’s introduction of Tina Turner on the Grammy stage Sunday night. Franklin, 65, says she felt disrepected after Knowles referred to Turner as the Queen, while relegating Franklin to a brief name check in a long list of inspirational singers past, an act apparently tantamount to musical heresy. “I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé. However,… Read more »

People’s all-star, pre-Grammy concert with Timbaland ended with a resounding crash when the superproducer and rapper delivered a foul-mouthed tirade against the magazine because some of his friends were apparently left outside the venue. With a blinged-out cross dangling from his neck, a sweaty Timbaland addressed the crowd at the Avalon Club just after finishing a high energy set with longtime muse Missy Elliott, capping a night of performances from acts such as Chris Cornell, Grammy-nominated band Paramore and One Republic in front of a crowd that included Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Ludacris. “Next time I have one of… Read more »

Feist’s musical palette contains many emotional colors, but there’s something to be said for joy. More than anything, a playful spirit explains why this was the Canadian singer-songwriter’s breakout year – that, and a well-timed iPod commercial. She’s up for four Grammy Awards at the Feb. 10 ceremony, including best new artist. One of Feist’s videos shows her flying through the air and literally being pulled back to Earth by someone suspicious of her fun. Another depicts her dancing through fireworks in what one onlooker at the production told her “looks like what falling in love feels like.” Her clip… Read more »

It appears hot tubs can now be powered by green energy. On Dec. 8, newbie garage rockers Foxboro Hot Tubs launched its website with the six-song EP Stop Drop and Roll available as a free download. It didn’t take long for music junkies to realize this new band might not be so new after all. “The internet is ablaze!!!!” proclaimed celeb blogger Perez Hilton last month. “A band called Foxboro Hot Tubs has released an EP of six songs that has people speculating that it’s the Green Day boys experimenting with a new sound.” The songs were pulled a short… Read more »

Lily Vasquez, a marketing manager from Clifton, New Jersey, spent nearly eight years trying to break into the music business as a singer before she stumbled across SellaBand.com. The Web site is one of several where artists can have their albums funded by fans — a proposition that takes advantage of digital technology, online social networking and the current uncertainty in the established music industry. The sites are reinventing the relationship between artists and their fans, upsetting the traditional role of the record label as the tastemaker, promoter and distributor of music. “I didn’t really understand the site when I… Read more »