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Posts Tagged “grammys2008”

by the numbers

Public's Interest In Music-Related Television Waning Almost As Quickly As Public's Interest In Music

Not that the underlying thesis of this Ad Age story about the decline in ratings experienced by both the Grammys and American Idol should be a surprise to anyone—the piece cites the rise of music-related celebrities who are more famous for their personal lives than their songs and the "natural life cycle" of the now-seven-years-old Idol as two reasons for said shows' crummy numbers—but in case you were wondering just how little of MTV and its formerly "all-about-the-music" sibling MTV2's broadcast time was devoted to music videos these days, you now have an answer: "The cable nets have become cultural chameleons, with the original programming premise — music videos — now only comprising an average of 4.5% of MTV's and 14% of MTV 2's schedule, according to data supplied by the network." [Advertising Age]

5:30 PM on Fri Feb 15 2008
By Maura Johnston
414 views, 8 comments

Latest by jasonelias: @DustinR: The videos by and large aren't as interesting or well-made as they used to be. That could be because the music isn't either. Frankly there's less and less artists to even care about seeing a videos from. The very more »

Mathew Knowles has responded to Aretha Franklin's miffedness over his daughter calling Tina Turner "the Queen" during Sunday night's Grammy ceremony. Quoth the dad of Beyonce: "As a manager I am not taking something this ridiculous to Beyonce. Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as a 'queen,' ... not queen of gospel, queen of soul, queen of blues, Queen of England. I consider my wife a queen and sometimes call her that. Does Aretha have a problem with that?" Well, now that you mention it... [CelebTV.com]

5 comments

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of using pilfered passes to sneak into the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. And just in case you were worried about the threat to national security posed by this bit of theft: "Police believe the motive for the theft was a desire to see celebrities, not terrorism." Well, all right then! [Billboard.biz]

2 comments

Vince Gill on his "na na, I got a Grammy from a Beatle and you didn't" dig at Kanye West during Sunday night's Grammys: "He had said something about how he was gonna win Album of the Year later, and if not him, then Amy Winehouse was most deserving and not me or the Foo Fighters. So I decided to have a little fun. ... I just saw him out of the corner of my eye when I was up there, and I decided I had to do it. He took a shot at Gretchen Wilson when he lost Best New Artist to her a few years ago, and so us rednecks stick together." [MTV / Photo: AP]

15 comments

feuds

Aretha Franklin More Annoyed With Grammy Writers Than We Are

Those of you watching the Grammy telecast on Sunday night may remember the middle-school-caliber speech Beyonce gave as an introduction to Tina Turner, where she ran down all the icons of the past who she wanted to be like before instructing the audience to get on their feet* for Turner, who she referred to as "the Queen." Well, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin—lumped in as one of the "historical women" who didn't quite measure up to Turner for whatever reason—was not happy with the slight, going so far as to issue a statement: "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 I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy. In addition to that, I thank the Grammys and the voting academy for my 20th Grammy and love to Beyoncé anyway." I seriously doubt that anyone else saw Beyonce's coronation of Turner as a "cheap shot" (I saw of it as yet another indication that the show's writers were clearly scrambling for last minute material), but judge for yourself with the YouTube of the performance—and the cringeworthy text of Beyonce's intro—after the jump. More »

8:53 AM on Wed Feb 13 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,846 views, 19 comments

Latest by dastous: BonjourTina Turner and Aretha Franklin are not in the same category....I have seen both of them on stage and believe me Tina Turner is a QUEEN, greatest performer of all time and Classy...and you understand the words when she sing...Aretha more »

call off the dogs

Grammy Producers Allowing Millions Of Americans Who Missed The Show To Catch Up Via YouTube

Perhaps chastened by the low ratings for Sunday's telecast, the Grammy powers that be have allowed YouTube bootlegs of segments from the show to run wild, and right now the entire first page of the video-sharing site's most popular music videos is made up of Grammy clips. (Click the image for a larger version of the top-12 screenshot; unsurprisingly, Universal Music Group artists Amy Winehouse and Kanye West are in there multiple times. But where's Herbie Hancock?) In the grand scheme of YouTube, though, none of the Grammy clips are as popular right now as that one where the hockey player gets sliced in the neck, a fact that is no doubt causing the awards show's producers to rethink next year's centerpiece entertainment. [YouTube]

9:40 AM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Maura Johnston
391 views, 3 comments

Latest by rad_matter: @blackmailismylife: Finally, a good reason to hate the French! more »

postmortem

The Top Five Problems With Last Night's Grammy Show (And A Few Possible Solutions)

The promise of seeing Tina Turner perform with Beyonce—and other generational boundaries get kicked in, or at least gently hip-checked—wasn't as much of a turn-on for Joe Television Viewer as executives at CBS thought it would be: Numbers for this year's Grammy telecast were off 12% from last year, and down an astonishing 18.82% among adults 18-49. (Well, OK, those numbers aren't that astonishing given the corresponding drop in album sales this year. But still, not good!) So what happened? Was it the booking? Were the bus ads with just photos of Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl too subtle for potential viewers—and kind of embarrassing for the producers, since Macca wasn't even at the telecast? Or is it just another example of music falling somewhere below ice hockey in terms of pastimes in which Americans are interested—and the music industry doing its damndest to keep its profile plummeting? After the jump, I count down the top five issues faced by last night's telecast, from poor advertising to ill-advised demographic-chasing. More »

3:00 PM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Maura Johnston
2,824 views, 22 comments

Latest by Lucas Jensen: The Grammys have always been the least credible of the major awards (though, God, the Emmys are close, no?) because of the sheer volume they have to sift through...30,000 records instead of, say, 300 movies (I am making this number more »

last night's party

Kanye West's Grammy Staredown

While accepting the award for Best Rap Album at last night's Grammys, Kanye West gave a clinic in How To Make The Producers Stop Playing You Off When You Still Have About Half Of Your Acceptance Speech To Get Through. Of course, the fact that he was paying tribute to his deceased mother probably helped him win sympathy points from the showrunners, a fact that's making me wonder just how many lengthy acceptance speeches at the upcoming Oscars are going to be puncutated by well-timed tributes to family members who passed away "recently."

10:50 AM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Maura Johnston
2,318 views, 16 comments

Latest by thekidbh: It's obvious everyone has an opinion, they like or dont like Kanye. I know I would take a platform like the Grammy's to say "Mom I miss you" (hope you would to). The the music industry (atleast rap) is all more »

everybody's a winner (except kanye west and amy winehouse and the foo fighters and vince gill)

The Grammys' Album Of The Year Upset: Who Should Have Won?

Judging by the reactions from my living room, my instant-messenger conversations, and the comments section on our Grammy liveblog, people were more than a little surprised when the Album Of The Year winner was announced... and said winner wasn't Kanye West or Amy Winehouse, but Herbie Hancock, whose Joni Mitchell homage River: The Joni Letters took home the night's final prize. I actually wasn't too surprised by Hancock's victory—to quote myself, "if you didn't at least think that Herbie Hancock paying tribute to Joni Mitchell would sway at least half the people who voted for Steely Dan over Eminem a few years back you haven't been paying attention"—but apparently a lot of people were! (Perhaps they forgot that Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae and Tina Turner and Leonard Cohen were also on the album.) So let's put it to all of you: If you had a vote in the Grammy balloting, what would you have chosen as this Grammy year's Album Of The Year? Poll after the jump. More »

12:00 AM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Maura Johnston
4,380 views, 55 comments

Latest by blobby: I believe it was the Guardian who already pointed out, musicians stop making good music as soon as they hit 30. Herbie Hancock is waaaaaay past 30. Therefore, his album sucked. Q.E.D. In all seriousness, why the fuck didn't more »

AP has the complete list of Grammy winners. Tia Carrere was robbed! [AP]

1 comment

putting the pseudo in pseudo-event

Idolator Live-Blogs The 2008 Grammys: Please Join Us Along The Long Road To Ruin

Welcome to Idolator's liveblog of the 2008 Grammys, a night that will have many generation-spanning performances and a few that might even span the divide between living and dead. We're on the last 30 minutes of the dueling preshows between E! and the TV Guide Channel, where we basically get to see people get asked the same questions about who they're wearing and why they're on our TVs. Also: Debbie Matenopolous! I guess when you get banished from The View you get to comment on Rihanna's nail polish for money. Which could be considered as "failing up," maybe. Our coverage begins after the jump. More »

7:30 PM on Sun Feb 10 2008
By Maura Johnston
24,108 views, 100 comments

Latest by Thierry: I can't make it through the 600+ comments, but am I the only one who thought that Tina Turner actually looked like Robert DeNiro dressed up as Tina Turner? Still, she pwned Beyoncé in that performance... more »

MTV is keeping a running tally of tonight's not-presented-on-the-telecast Grammy winners. Among them: Johnny Cash's postmortem celebrityfest "God's Gonna Cut You Down" for best short-form music video, two Bruce Springsteen victories, and Amy Winehouse's Back To Black for Best Pop Album. [MTV]

4 comments

putting the pseudo in pseudo-event

Tom Araya Gives Us Tonight's Greatest Red-Carpet Moment


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putting the pseudo in pseudo-event

Grammys' Web Site Suffering From Pre-Show Jitters

In an attempt to figure out who won the awards that weren't important enough to make the Grammy Awards broadcast, I visited the awards show's official site, where I was greeted with the above cascade of undefined values. (Then again, why should the Grammy site be any different than the rest of the music industry in 2008?) While I try and suss out what's going on—especially the mystery over whether or not Tia Carerre won anything—I'll have the red carpet shows on in the background. (Could the TV Guide channel's reception be any more public-access quality? Part of me is inspired to try and fashion some rabbit ears out of a wire hanger, just to see if it'll maybe help things.)

6:32 PM on Sun Feb 10 2008
By Maura Johnston
546 views, 6 comments

Latest by AL: @Maura Johnston: "news" is right. Ashlee Simpson's birthday is in OCTOBER. more »

breaking

Amy Winehouse Granted Visa, Still Not Coming To The States For Grammys

Now the word is that Amy Winehouse has been granted a visa by the U.S. Government—but she won't be making the trip to Los Angeles for Sunday's Grammy Awards, probably because having to fly halfway around the world 48 hours prior to a big performance won't exactly make her already-rock-solid stage presence all that much better. Her rep does note, however, that she "will still be performing via satellite broadcast from London as previously announced this morning," so those trainwreck-expectant execs will still have something to pin their ratings hopes on. [TMZ / Photo: AP]

5:26 PM on Fri Feb 8 2008
By Maura Johnston
498 views, 5 comments

Latest by Gbirrueta: oh man i dont think a little sun might be good for her have you seen her!! more »

announcements

Mark Your Calendars: Idolator Is Live-Blogging The Grammys This Sunday

Yes, that's right—Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET is when our live coverage of the Grammys, which will be filled with the walking dead and the incredibly awkward, begins. It'll be my first liveblog from my four-person orange couch! Here's the nominee list, so you can read up on who's in, who's out, and who's up for Best Polka Album. And to get you even more excited for Sunday, here are a few final news items on the show, presented in handy bullet form:
More »

4:30 PM on Fri Feb 8 2008
By Maura Johnston
385 views, 11 comments

Latest by Coming Into The Game, ♪♪ ♪♪♪ #J23 - The Superstar Receiver, ofyourupperdeck TORONTOOOoo BJSss ®: Where can I place my bets? I got money on Umbrella and Graduation more »

rumors

Is Alicia Keys Going To Duet With Ol' Blue Eyes At The Grammys?

We're hearing rumors that Alicia Keys' splashy performance at this Sunday's Grammys won't have her singing with Whitney Houston, as previously speculated; instead, she'll share a stage with Frank Sinatra, or rather a "virtual" version of the nearly-10-years-gone crooner. Said holographic fever dream will be projected onto the stage in a fashion similar to the way Elvis Presley appeared on the American Idol charity special alongside a bejumpsuited Celine Dion. (Ah, memories.) No word on what Ol' Blue Eyes and Young Piano Fingers will sing yet, but you can bet your copy of Duets that a saleable version of it will make its way to iTunes faster than you can hum "The Lady Is A (Cross-Promotional) Tramp." [Photo: AP]

11:10 AM on Fri Feb 8 2008
By Maura Johnston
3,579 views, 7 comments

Latest by HONEYBFLY: Didn't CELINE DION perform with a post-mortem Frankie about 7 or 8 years ago?? At least this saves my girl Whitney from another opportunity to embarrass herself. more »

basic writing

"USA Today" Shows Us How To Write A Grammy Story Without Using The Words "Amy" And "Winehouse"

Look, we're all weary of the Amy Winehouse saga, but there's something kind of... off in this story about Grammy nominees who allegedly go against the "disposable pop" grain that doesn't mention the six-time nominee once, yet takes time out to giggle about Christopher Freakin' Cross, whose Album Of The Year/Song Of The Year/Record Of The Year/Best New Artist haul in 1980 can be matched by Winehouse on Sunday night. (For the record, the article's "Five For The Future," as picked by an expert panel that includes USA Today's critics: Miranda Lambert, Ne-Yo, Feist, Taylor Swift, and Fantasia.) More »

9:55 AM on Fri Feb 8 2008
By Maura Johnston
385 views, 12 comments

Latest by Chris Molanphy: @DHMBIB: I'm with you on most of these predix. I loves me some Kanye, but it's Amy FTW. Let's come back Monday and see if we're right. more »