Search Results for: grammy

Despite concerns that the Grammy Awards would become a forum for anti-war sentiment, most political messages were muted. “NO WAR” was written in silver letters on Sheryl Crow’s guitar strap as she performed, although her hair usually covered up most of the “NO.” Bonnie Raitt slipped in a four-word message, “let’s build some peace,” before handing out an award. And No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani wore a halter top emblazoned with the word, “love,” and combat fatigue hot pants. “I hope we all are in agreeance that this war should go away as soon as possible,” said Limp Bizkit lead singer… Read more »

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 »

Every year Michael Greene, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, stands onstage during the show he runs, the Grammy Awards, and delivers a speech about an issue that pertains to the music world. On the broadcast last week, however, he chose a strange way to make his point. The issue he addressed was the unauthorized trading of songs on the Internet. During the awards show he showed clips of what he said were three students downloading “as many music files as possible from easily accessible Web sites.” He added that in two days the three… Read more »

A remix of Dido’s most popular song, “Thank You,” by production duo Deep Dish was among the Grammy winners announced Wednesday (February 27). The new version won in the category of best remixed recording, non-classical; besting new takes on songs by Depeche Mode, Bob Marley, Sunshine Anderson, and Samantha Mumba. However, Deep Dish’s Ali Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi say that the strength of the new version was based not on the chorus of “Thank You” but on the verse that Eminem sampled in his own hugely successful “Stan.” Shirazinia explained, “We actually didn’t use the main chorus of the original… Read more »