Search Results for: grammy

Among the many things complicated for Avril Lavigne – stuff like new romances and pronouncing the names of rock legends – performing onstage isn’t one of them. The 18-year-old rocker said that “being up onstage is the best part of being a musician” and “everything else is annoying” in a recent online chat. When her first North American headlining tour begins April 11 in Montreal, fans will see for themselves how performing in front of thousands can put a smile on her face. Twenty-two shows are lined up for the trek thus far, according to Lavigne’s publicist, with a few… Read more »

Celine Dion will be part of the pre-game festivities at the Super Bowl. She’ll sing “God Bless America” before the game on Jan. 26. The Dixie Chicks will sing the National Anthem. “Anyone who tells you there’s no pressure to sing the national anthem live to one of the biggest television audiences on the planet is not telling the truth,” group member Emily Robison said Wednesday. The trio was nominated for four Grammy Awards this week, including album of the year for “Home.” They already have four other Grammys. The Grammy- and Oscar-winning Dion is to appear at Caesars Palace’s… Read more »

Ground control to Avril Lavigne: It’s David Bowie, like doughy – not Bowie, like Howie. That’s how the 18-year-old Canadian singer pronounced the veteran rock star’s name when the Grammy nominations were announced Tuesday. Lavigne was helping announce the nominees for best male rock vocal performance at Madison Square Garden when she made the gaffe, pronouncing Bowie’s name like “Howie.” When an Associated Press reporter told her afterward that she’d flubbed Bowie’s name, Lavigne said: “Oops! I knew that was going to happen, I knew I was going to pronounce someone’s name wrong.” Lavigne – that’s pronounced luh-VEEN – received… Read more »

In more bad news for the music industry, album sales declined for the second straight year in 2002, down 10.7 percent from the previous year. Nielsen SoundScan reported this week that 2002 album sales fell from 763 million in 2001 to 681 million. Overall music sales in 2001 had been down 5 percent – the first decline since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. Hilary Rosen, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, blamed the decline mainly on illegal downloading of music off the Internet. “There’s no question that the availability of free music on the… Read more »

Hip-hop phenomenon Eminem trounced all comers in 2002 and tentatively claimed top album of the year honors after selling more than 7.4 million copies of “The Eminem Show” (Interscope/Shady) in the U.S., according to figures released Thursday by Nielsen SoundScan. The album’s performance defied a sharply downward trend in the industry as a whole, as CD album sales tumbled by 9% to 624.2 million for the year through Dec. 22. In fact, Slim Shady beat his nearest rival, Universal Music Group label mate Nelly by more than 2.6 million discs. Nelly’s “Nellyville” (Universal) shifted just under 4.8 million albums and… Read more »

A former member of the 1960s folk-rock group We Five, who also produced a major Billy Joel album, has died. Michael Stewart was 57. Stewart, who produced Joel’s breakthrough album “Piano Man,” died Wednesday in Sacramento after a long illness. We Five had a hit in 1965 with its song “You Were on My Mind,” and the group earned a Best New Group Grammy nomination that same year. Stewart moved into producing albums and singles for Joel, Tom Jones, Kenny Rankin and Amad Jamal. Stewart is survived by his wife and three children.

A modest, 1 1/2-story house in a rough-edged neighborhood of this Detroit suburb is up for sale on eBay for a minimum bid of $120,000, though city records show it’s worth about $47,000. What the records don’t show is that the house is the boyhood home of rap and movie star Eminem. Todd Nelson, Eminem’s uncle, recently sold the house for $45,000 to lawyer Sebastian Lucido and his partner, Macomb County commissioner and real estate developer Roland Fraschetti. Lucido and Fraschetti put it up for sale on the Internet auction site Thursday. Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St.… Read more »

The Blasters’ singer and guitarist Phil Alvin speaks like the band plays: short, fast and furious. “My father was very upset when I quit school,” he said, trying at breakneck speed to make his words catch up with his thoughts. “He took the neck of my guitar and screwed it to the dustpan. Then he scooped the dog crap with it, and left it in the garage. Every time I turned on the light on, I’d have to walk past it.” But Phil ignored his father’s exhortations, and with the help of his younger brother Dave, formed one of the… Read more »

Music legend Ray Charles was honored at the 20th annual Media Access Awards for raising awareness about disability issues in the entertainment industry. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists presented Charles, 72, with the Disability Awareness Award at a Universal Studios ceremony on Saturday. Charles, who lost his sight at age 7, has won 13 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982 and was one of the original inductees to the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1986. Classic songs include “I Got a Woman,” “What’d… 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 »