Search Results for: grammy

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 »

Kanye West and Amy Winehouse each have had a rough year. He weathered the death of his mother last month, and she has been battling health issues that forced her to cancel scores of shows. But West and Winehouse may at least get some good news at Thursday’s Grammy nominations, where industry insiders predicted they were likely to garner multiple nods. Grammy-nominated producer Sean Garrett said West was a sure bet. The rapper’s third album, “Graduation,” had the year’s biggest debut, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, an amazing feat during the industry’s current struggles. Winehouse, though… 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 »

Word on the street was that Justin Timberlake was sick, but MTV News found out another one of the night’s big performers was also under the weather. So who used to perform Lionel Richie songs at talent contests, and what exactly did Christina Aguilera say about private parts? Check out what we discovered by poking around backstage where the cameras didn’t go at the Grammys: · The night before the big show , Justin Timberlake was feeling chatty during Grammy rehearsals and sat down at the piano to treat everyone in the room to an impromptu, slowed-down rendition of “Di–… 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 »

The Police came one step closer to confirming a reunion tour on Tuesday (January 30) when it was announced that the trio will kick off the February 11 Grammy Awards telecast. The group, led by Sting, has reportedly been rehearsing for a summer tour, and their opening slot at the 49th annual awards show seems to confirm that the announcement of the full-fledged reunion is on. As recently as last week, a spokesperson for the band – which also includes drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers – would not confirm the tour. The trio, which won five Grammys in… Read more »