Taylor Swift Sets Another Record with A “Red” Hot Debut

Country pop superstar Taylor Swift destroyed the competition with her brand new album, Red, as it debuted atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart with a giant 1.2 million copies sold. That’s by far the biggest debut of 2012. It’s also the biggest sales week since 2002 when Eminem‘s The Eminem Show sold 1.3 million and it gives Swift a record as the only female to have two albums to sell over 1 million copies in one week. (Her last set Speak Now also debuted to over a million). While she was shut out at the CMA’s last night, Swift can rejoice in the fact that she will probably reside atop the album charts for a few weeks to come. Debuting in a distant second was Kendrick Lamar while Tony Bennet, Gary Clark Jr., Stone Sour and Lady Antebellum also begin in the top ten. Take a look at the new list below and head to Billboard here for more on Swift’s accomplishments.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Red- Taylor Swift (debut)
2. good kid, mA.A.d city (debut)
2. Night Train- Jason Aldean (last week~ 1)
4. Babel- Mumford & Sons (lw~ 2)
5. Viva Duets- Tony Bennett (debut)
6. Black and Blu- Gary Clark Jr. (debut)
7. House of Gold and Bones… – Stone Sour (debut)
8. The Truth about Love- P!nk (lw~ 6)
9. On this Winter’s Night- Lady Antebellum (debut)
10. Two Eleven- Brandy (lw~ 3)

Back on the Hot 100 Singles chart, Maroon 5 lands a seventh week at the summit with “One More Night” holding off Psy‘s “Gangam Style” in the runner up spot for a sixth week. Both singles will have a new competitor for # 1 next week with Bruno Mars’ fast flying single “Locked Out of Heaven” which charges up from # 15 to # 7…. For more on all the singles charts, head to Billboard here and take a gander at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (last week~ 1)
2. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (lw~ 2)
3. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 3)
4. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~ 4)
5. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~8)
6. “As Long as You Love Me”- Justin Bieber w/Big Sean (lw~ 6)
7. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 15)
8. “Too Close”- Alex Clare (lw~ 7)
9. “Let Me Love You (Until You Love Yourself)”- NeYo (lw~ 9)
10. “Don’t Wake Me Up”- Chris Brown (lw~ 11)

And here’s Bruno Mars awesome new hit “Locked Out of Heaven”. Enjoy.

The VMA Winners and a Bodacious Beyonce!

The less said about last night’s VMA’s, the better. The winner list was pretty ridiculous: Britney over Adele? Justin Bieber over Bruno Mars and Eminem? What? And who the heck is Tyler the Creator? … And several performances were like an all out attack on your senses and not in a good way (Um, vomit on Chris Brown)… However, there were a few great moments, namely a newly pregnant Beyonce in a wonderful performance of “Love on Top” one of the few tracks I like on her latest album, 4, and a brilliant Adele who grabbed a standing ovation for her exquisite take on her latest smash “Someone Like You”… And ok, I loved me some Lady Gaga doing “You and I” as a man. However, the rest of her schtick was a tad annoying and awkward as the night went on, and that’s coming from one of her biggest fans…. I also enjoyed the Amy Winehouse tribute with a great performance from Bruno Mars and a lovely speech from her friend a restrained Russell Brand…. For more on the show plus pics and performances, head to MTV below.
www.mtv.com

And here’s the full winner list:
•Best Video With a Message- Lady Gaga – Born This Way
•Best Pop Video- Britney Spears – Til The World Ends
•Best Rock Video – Foo Fighters – Walk
•Best Hip Hop Video – Nikki Minaj – Super Bass
•Best Collaboration – Katy Perry/Kanye West – E.T.
•Best Male Video – Justin Bieber – U Smile
•Best Female Video – Lady Gaga – Born This Way
•Choreography: Beyonce, “Run the World (Girls).”
•Best Editing – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep.”
•Best Special effects – Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, “E.T.”
•Best Cinematography – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep.”
•Best Art direction: Adele, “Rolling in the Deep.”
•Best Direction – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep.”
•Best New Artist – Tyler The Creator – Yonkers
•Video of the Year – Katy Perry – Firework

And here are the two best perfs of the night~

Adele “Someone Like You” (live at the VMA’s)

Beyonce “Love on Top” (live at the VMAs)

Who will win the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards?

This Sunday marks the first time MTV will probably have played videos all year-long. What with horrifyingly awful and annoying Teen Moms and moronic Jersey Shore shenanigans taking up most of their airtime, it’s easy to forget the channel use to stand for Music Television… Well, at least once a year, they do concentrate on videos with the annual Video Music Awards and we’ll see some big names performing including nominees Adele, Beyonce, Pitbull, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga. But just who will win the moon men? Well, you can bet Perry and Gaga have good shots because these are a fan-voted awards ceremony (except for the tech categories like Direction and Editing). And one person who will grab an award is Britney Spears who’s receiving a special kudos…. So, just who do I think the fans will choose as this year’s winners? Take a look at my big bold predictions below, and for more on the show, airing Sunday night 8/28 on MTV, head here.

My 2011 MTV Video Music Award Winner Predictions~

Video of the Year:
“Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “Make Some Noise”- Beastie Boys, “Grenade”- Bruno Mars, “Firework”- Katy Perry, “Yonkers:- Tyler the Creator
Will & Should win: “Firework”- Katy Perry
Spoiler: “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele

Male Video:
“Grenade”- Bruno Mars, “U Smile”- Justin Bieber, “Fuck You”- Cee Lo Green, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna, “All of the Lights”- Kanye West w/Rihanna & Kid Cudi
Will win: “U Smile”- Justin Bieber
Should win: “Fuck You”- Cee Lo Green
Spoiler: “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna

Female Video:
“Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “Born This Way”- Lady Gaga, “Firework”- Katy Perry, “Run the World (Girls)”- Beyonce, “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj
Will & Should win: “Born This Way”- Lady Gaga
Spoiler: “Firework”- Katy Perry

Best New Artist (um, seriously who are some of these people?!!!)
“My Last”- Big Sean w/Chris Brown, “Yonkers”- Tyler the Creator, “Pumped Up Kicks”- Foster the People, “Black & Yellow”- Wiz Khalifa, “Gucci Gucci”- Kreayshawn
Will & Should win: Foster the People
Spoiler: Wiz Khalifa

Pop Video:
“Give Me Everything Tonight”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Afrojcack & Nayer, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”- Katy Perry, “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “Grenade”- Bruno Mars, “Til the World Ends”- Britney Spears
Will & Should win: Adele
Spoiler: Katy Perry

Hip Hop Video:
“Look at Me Now”- Chris Brown w/Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, “All of the Lights”- Kanye West w/Rihanna & Kid Cudi, “The Show Goes On”- Lupe Fiasco, “6 Foot, 7 Foot”- Lil Wayne, “Black & Yellow”- Wiz Khalifa
Will win: Chris Brown w/Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Should win: I honestly could care less

Rock Video:
“Shake Me Down”- Cage the Elephant, “Walk”- Foo Fighters, “Pumped Up Kicks”- Foster the People, “The Cave”- Mumford & Sons, “Howlin’ for You”- The Black Keys
Will & Should win: Foster the People
Spoiler: Foo Fighters

Collaboration Video
“Look at Me Now”- Chris Brown w/Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, “Give Me Everything Tonight”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack, “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West, “Moment 4 Life”- Nicki Minaj & Drake, “All of the Lights”- Kanye West w/Rihanna & Kid Cudi
Will & Should win: Katy Perry w/Kanye West
Spoiler: Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack

Art Direction:
“Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “You are a Tourist”- Death Cab for Cutie, “Power”- Kanye West w/Dwele, “E.T”.- Katy Perry w/Kanye West, “Judas”- Lady Gaga
Will win: “Rolling in the Deep”
Should win: “Judas”
Spoiler: “E.T.”

Choreography:
“Run the World (Girls)”- Beyonce, “The Lazy Song”- Bruno Mars, “Til the World Ends”- Britney Spears, “Judas”- Lady Gaga, “Party Rock Anthem”-LMFAO
Will & Should win: Beyonce
Spoiler: Lady Gaga

Cinematography:
“Hurricane”- 30 Seconds to Mars, “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “Run the World (Girls)”- Beyonce, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna, “Teenage Dream”- Katy Perry
Will & Should win: “Rolling in the Deep”
Spoiler: “Love the Way You Lie”

Direction:
“Hurricane”- 30 Seconds to Mars, “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “Make Some Noise”- Beastie Boys, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna, “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West
Will & Should win: “Rolling in the Deep”
Spoiler: “Love the Way You Lie”

Editing:
“Hurricane”- 30 Seconds to Mars, “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele, “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West, “All of the Lights”- Kanye West w/Rihanna & Kid Cudi, “Simple Math”- Manchester Orchestra
Will & Should win: “Rolling in the Deep”
Spoiler: “Hurricane”

Special Effects:
“E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West, “Don’t Turn the Lights On”- Chromeo, “Power”- Kanye West w/Dwele, “Waiting for the End”- Linkin Park, “Simple Math”-Manchester Orchestra
Will & Should win: “E.T.”
Spoiler: Manchester Orchestra

Best Message Video:
“Born This Way”- Lady Gaga, “Firework”- Katy Perry, “Fuckin’ Perfect”- Pink, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna, “Mean”- Taylor Swift, “Make It Stop (Semptember’s Children)”- Rise Against
Will & Should win: “Born this Way” (but “Fuckin’ Perfect” is totally deserving too and “Make it Stop” would be a nice choice too)
Spoiler: “Mean” because Taylor Swift fans are caraaaaaaaaaaaazy

And here’s one of my fave videos of the year by the divine Adele who will hopefully pick up her first MTV Awards on Sunday.

Adele “Rolling in the Deep”

Bad Meets Evil conquers Little Opera Singers and the Charts

After months of women holding court on top of the Billboard Album charts, all it took was two really angry rappers to steal away the top spot. It also helps that one of them was megastar Eminem whose new side project Bad Meets Evil, comprised of Em and Royce da 5’9″ , hit # 1 with Hell: the Sequel selling 171,000 units. That album led five debuts in the top ten including America’s Got Talent tween Jackie Evancho, plus Owl City, Ledisi and Barry Manilow. For the full top ten scroll down… Now, take heart you Adele fans. She may be out of the top spot on the Albums chart, but she does land a 7th week at # 1 on the Hot 100 with “Rolling in the Deep”. She may lose out next week though as the latest singles from Pitbull and Katy Perry are gaining fast. In fact, with Perry’s “Last Friday Night” flying into the top five, she now joins an elite group of artists like Madonna, George Michael and Michael Jackson who have had five consecutive top five singles from one album. Well done Katy! Check out the new top ten singles below as well and for more on the charts, head to Billboard here.

Top Ten Albums:
1. Hell: the Sequel- Bad Meets Evil (debut)
2. Dream With Me- Jackie Evancho (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 1)
4. Born This Way- Lady Gaga (lw~ 2)
5. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 7)
6. All Things Bright and Beautiful- Owl City (debut)
7. 15 Minutes- Barry Manilow (debut)
8. Pieces of Me- Ledisi (debut)
9. This is Country Music- Brad Paisley (lw~8)
10. The Book of Mormon- Original Broadway Cast Recording (lw~ 3)

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele (last week~ 1)
2. “Give Me Everything”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 2)
3. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 3)
4. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 31)
5. “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West (lw~ 4)
6. “The Edge of Glory”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 6)
7. “Dirt Road Anthem”- Jason Aldean (lw~ 9)
8. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 10)
9. “The Lazy Song”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 5)
10. “The Show Must Go On”- Lupe Fiasco (lw~ 11)

And here’s a little treat~ Enjoy the new cameo-tastic fun clip from Katy Perry for “Last Friday Night”. Watch for Glee‘s Darren Criss and Kevin McHale to appear alongside Rebecca Black, Kenny G and 80′s stalwarts Debbie Gibson and Corey Feldman.

Rihanna Rules the Billboard Music Award Nominations

After taking a year or so off, the Billboard Music Awards are back with a new home (ABC) and a new spring airdate (May 22nd). However, a lot of the same names are among the nominees including previous winner Rihanna who leads all contenders with 18 nods. Right behind her with 16 and 12 noms are previous winners Eminem and Lady Gaga. Other artists with multiple noms include Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, and Justin Bieber. For more on the show which honors the biggest selling artists and most played songs, etc of the past year, head to Billboard here.

And here’s a look at some of the big categories below…

2011 Billboard Music Awards Nomimnations:

Top Artist
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top New Artist
Justin Bieber
Taio Cruz
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Nicki Minaj

Top Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Eminem
Bruno Mars
Usher

Top Female Artist
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top Duo/Group
The Black Eyed Peas
Bon Jovi
Lady Antebellum
Linkin Park
U2

Top Billboard 200 Artist
Justin Bieber
Susan Boyle
Eminem
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Artist
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Usher

Top Digital Songs Artist
Eminem
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna

Top Radio Songs Artist
Drake
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Usher

Top Touring Artist
Bon Jovi
Michael Buble
Lady Gaga
U2
Roger Waters

Top Social Artist
Akon
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Streaming Artist
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Shakira

Top Digital Media Artist
Akon
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Pop Artist
Justin Bieber
The Black Eyed Peas
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry

Top R&B Artist
Alicia Keys
Monica
Rihanna
Trey Songz
Usher

Top Rap Artist
Drake
Eminem
Lil Wayne
Ludacris
Nicki Minaj

Top Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band

Top Rock Artist
Kings of Leon
Linkin Park
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Train

Top Alternative Artist
The Black Keys
Kings of Leon
Linkin Park
Mumford & Sons
Muse

Top Latin Artist
Enrique Iglesias
Pitbull
Prince Royce
Shakira
Wisin & Yandel

Top Dance Artist
The Black Eyed Peas
David Guetta
Lady Gaga
La Roux
Rihanna

The Grammys, Gaga and Biebs boost the Charts

The Grammy Awards gave a big boost to albums sales last week as most of the winners and performers on the show saw giant increases in their weekly tallies. That resulted in huge gains for Mumford & Sons, Lady Antebellum, Eminem and Bruno Mars to name a few and a nice gain for the 2011 Grammy Nominees compilation. But it wasn’t all about the Grammys last week as the terribly obnoxious teen phenom Justin Bieber rode the wave of his movie and Grammy perf to land at # 1 with his fourth album, Never Say Never~ the Remixes which debuted with 161,000 copies sold. In fact, the Biebs had four albums in the top 40 for the week…. Also making news was triple Grammy winner Lady Gaga whose new single “Born This Way” held steady at the top of the Hot 100 and Digital Singles Sales charts increasing her sales to over 509,000 for the week. Watch for a healthy chart one for this smash….. For all your chart news, head to Billboard here, and check out the new top ten albums below.

Top Ten Albums:
1. Never Say Never (The Remixes)- Justin Bieber (debut)
2. Sigh No More- Mumford & Sons (last week~ 2)
3. Now That’s What I Call Music 37- Various Artists (lw~1)
4. Need You Now- Lady Antebellum (lw~ 17)
5. Doo Wops & Hooligans- Bruno Mars (lw~ 6)
6. Recovery- Eminem (lw~ 7)
7. 2011 Grammy Nominees- Various Artists (lw~ 11)
8. My World 2.0- Justin Bieber (lw~ 3)
9. Pink Friday- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 4)
10. Loud- Rihanna (lw~8)

Ranking the 2011 Grammy Performances

Last night’s Grammy Awards had a nice mix of obvious wins (the Lady Antebellum sweep) and upset surprises (Best New Artist winner~ Ezperanza Spaulding, who? and Arcade Fire for Album of the Year) , but more than anything it was packed with live performances. While ony 9 actual trophies were awarded (out of the over 100 categories), instead we were treated to 16 performances from music superstars and newcomers. So, of course, I have to rank them. Take a look at my thoughts and rankings of the night’s best and worst and for all the winners, head here.

Ranking the 2011 Grammy Performances~

16. Justin Bieber/Usher/Jaden Smith ”Baby/Never Say Never/OMG”: I’m sorry why did they get a standing ovation. This was a big ole obnoxious mess with Bieber and Usher flirting and flitting through their annoying hits from the past year. And Jaden Smith is perhaps the most irritating child in Hollywood. At least Biebs did do a lil acoustic strumming in the beginning… Grade: D+
15. Rihanna/Drake “What’s My Name?”: um where’s your pitch? … and is it me or was it more just a mating call for these two performers to hook up later at the after party? Grade: C
14. Mumford & Sons/Bob Dylan/The Avett Brothers: first~ who are the Avett Bros? Second~ what was up with all the technical difficulties. Third: was it me or did the lead singer of Mumford look like he was about to drop off the kids at the pool if you know what I mean… But props to Dylan for still delivering a song decently at age 170… Grade: C+
13. Arcade Fire “Month of May“: maybe it was all the BMX or the fact that I wasn’t into the song, but by the time they showed up at the end, I was ready for bed and this sorta gave me a headache. Grade: C+
12. Miranda Lambert “The House that Built Me“: Sure, she had lovely vocals and gave a heartfelt performance, but this was a bit boring. Grade: B-
11. Barbra Streisand “Evergreen”: Ok, she sang it very well, but she looked a tad distraught throughout and what was up with her using Jennifer Aniston’s hair. Grade: B
10. Muse “Uprising”: I really like them and it was a perfunctory performance, but it felt like they were ripping off Green Day’s Broadway musical American Idiot. Grade: B
9. Lady Antebellum “If You Don’t Know Me By Now/American Honey/Need You Now”: Gorgeous harmonies, but rather staid and uneventful. Grade: B
8. Mick Jagger “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”: who knew this ancient rocker had so much energy. I just wish the song had more words and that Mick would eat a sandwich. Grade: B
7. Katy Perry “Not Like the Movies/Teenage Dream”: I have to say well done Katy. I was shocked at how good your live vocals were for the most part. I dare say they were the best I’ve ever heard live and I loved the candy fun “Dream” section. Also, she got Nicole Kidman singing and dancing in the aisles. Grade: B
6. John Mayer/Norah Jones/Keith Urban “Jolene”: for their brief take on Dolly Parton’s classic, Jones and Urban were utterly flawless. Unfortunately, Mayer was channelling Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow looking terribly sick and clearly out-of-place. But Urban and Jones were so good, they still get a…. Grade: B+
5. Christina Aguilera/Jennifer Hudson/Florence Welch/Yolanda Adams/Martina McBride “The Aretha Tribute”: They were surprisingly strong together and it was lovely to see them support each other for the most part. However, McBride also seemed out-of-place and Xtina was trying to outperform the others. That said Adams and Hudson were incredible. Grade: B+

4. Eminem/Rihanna/Skylar Grey/Dr. Dre “Love the Way You Lie, Pt. II/I Need a Doctor“: Eminem was so awesomely intense it made me nervous. Rihanna gave one of her best vocals ever. Grey was a surprise star, but we didn’t really get to see her face, and welcome back Dre. Grade: A-

3. Lady Gaga “Born This Way”: who cares if people thing she’s taking a few too many pages from Madonna. This new anthem is awesome and her performance was super EGGSciting! Grade: A-

2. Bruno Mars/B.o.B/Janelle Monae “Nothin’ on You/Grenade/Cold War”: Um, we all just got served by awesomeness. And hello, the 50′s version of “Grenade” was incredible. Mars was not playing! And can Monae finally be a star now? Grade: A

1. Cee Lo Green & Gwyneth Paltrow “Forget You”: Um, Cee Lo + Puppets + Gwyneth and her heels = AMAAAAAAZING! Grade: A

The Grammys love them some Lady Antebellum

Country superstars Lady Antebellum were the belles of the Grammy ball as the group took home 5 trophies at tonight’s Grammy Awards. In fact they won in 5 out of 6 categories only losing Album of the Year in a shocker to Arcade Fire. That rock group’s win meant Eminem would be denied the big album honor for the fourth time. At least he still took home 3 awards as did Lady Gaga. Take a look at a list of the noteworthy winners below. For more on the Grammys and the full winner list, head to their website here. And come back later for my full take on the show and the performances. (PS- here’s a taste: Cee Lo + Puppets + Gwyneth Paltrow= Awesome!)

53rd Annual Grammy Award Winners:

Album of the Year: The Suburbs, Arcade Fire

Record of the Year: “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum

Rap Album: Recovery, Eminem

New Artist: Esperanza Spalding

Song of the Year: “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum

POP:

Pop Vocal Album: Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Train, “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)”

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Michael Bublé, Crazy Love

Female Pop Vocal Performance: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance,” The Fame Monster

Male Pop Vocal Performance: Bruno Mars, “Just The Way You Are,” Doo-Wops & Hooligans

Pop Collaboration With Vocals: “Imagine,” Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare, The Imagine Project

Pop Instrumental Performance: “Nessun Dorma,” Jeff Beck, Emotion & Commotion

Pop Instrumental Album: Take Your Pick, Larry Carlton & Tak Matsumoto

R&B:

Female R&B Vocal Performance: Fantasia, “Bittersweet,” Back to Me

Male R&B Vocal Performance: Usher, “There Goes My Baby,” Raymond V Raymond

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Sade, “Soldier of Love,” Soldier of Love

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: John Legend & The Roots, “Hang On In There,” Wake Up!

R&B Song: John Legend & The Roots, “Shine,” Wake Up!

R&B Album: Wake Up!, John Legend & The Roots

Contemporary R&B Album: Raymond V Raymond, Usher

Country Duo/Group: Lady Antebellum
Country Female: Miranda Lambert
Country Male: Keith Urban
Country Album: Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
Country Collaboration: “As She’s Walking Away”- Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson
Country Song: “Need You Now”- Lady Antebellum

Short Form Music Video: “Bad Romance”- Lady Gaga
Dance Recording: “Only Girl in the World”- Rihanna
Dance Album: La Roux- La Roux
Remixed Recording: David Guetta for “Revolver” by Madonna
Original Cast Album: American Idiot
Compilation Film/TV Album: Crazy Heart
Song Written for TV/Film: “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart
Score for TV/Film: Toy Story 3- Randy Newman
Comedy Album: Lucas Black

Rap Solo: Eminem
Rap Song: “Empire State of Mind”- Jay Z & Alicia Keyes
Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Empire State of Mind”- Alicia Keyes
Rap Duo/Group: Jay Z & Swiss Beatz

Alternative Album: Brothers- The Black Keys
Rock Solo: Paul McCartney
Rock Album- The Resistance- Muse
Rock Song- “Angry World”- Neil Young
Rock Duo/Group- The Black Keys

My Big Bold Grammy Award WINNER Predictions

Well, music’s biggest night is this Sunday as CBS airs the Grammy Awards and what does that mean for you? It means it’s time for my latest round of big bold award winner predictions. It looks like Eminem will finally win that elusive album of the year award on his fourth try with his massive smash Recovery which is just one of several trophies he should take home. Also watch for multiple wins for Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, and Miranda Lambert. Take a look at all my predix below. Also, make sure to capture the show which will feature performances from all the big nominees including Eminem, Gaga, Lady Antebellum, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, Lambert, Justin Bieber, Drake, B.o.B and Bruno Mars, plus a rare performance from Grammy Legend winner Barbra Streisand and an all-star tribute to Aretha Franklin featuring Grammy winners Christina Aguilera, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson and Grammy nominees Martina McBride and Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine). Head to the Grammy website for more information.

MY BIG BOLD GRAMMY AWARD WINNER PREDICTIONS 2011!!

Album of the Year:

The Suburbs- Arcade Fire, Recovery- Eminem, Need You Now- Lady Antebellum, The Fame Monster- Lady Gaga, Teenage Dream- Katy Perry

Will win: Eminem

Should win: Lady Gaga

~spoiler: Arcade Fire

Record of the Year (award to the producer & artist):

“Empire State of Mind”- Jay Z & Alicia Keyes, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem & Rihanna, “Need You Now”- Lady Antebellum, “Nothin’ on You”- B.o.B. w/Bruno Mars

Will win: “Love the Way You Lie”

Should win: “Empire State of Mind” (it’s an anthem for the ages, and “Love the Way..” is great but sounds  little like B.o.B. & Hayley Williams “Airplanes”)

~spoiler: “Need You Now”

Song of the Year (award to the songwriter):

“Beg Steal or Borrow”- Ray LaMontagne, “Fuck You”- CeeLo Green, “The House that Built Me”- Miranda Lambert, “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem & Rihanna, “Need You Now”- Lady Antebellum

Will & Should win: “Need You Now”

~spoiler: “Fuck You” (and how awesome would that be?! Hehe)

Best New Artist:

Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence + the Machine, Mumford & Sons, Esperanza Spalding

Will win: Drake

Should win: Florence + the Machine

~spoiler: Florence + the Machine

Pop Album:

My World 2.0- Justin Bieber, I Dreamed a Dream- Susan Boyle, The Fame Monster- Lady Gaga, Battle Studies- John Mayer, Teenage Dream- Katy Perry

Will & Should win: Lady Gaga

~spoiler: Katy Perry

Female Pop Vocal Performance:

“King of Anything”- Sara Bareilles, “Halo (live)”- Beyonce, “Bad Romance”- Lady Gaga, “Chasing Pirates”- Norah Jones, “Teenage Dream”- Katy Perry

Will & Should win: Lady Gaga

~spoiler: Katy Perry

* I’d love to see Sara Bareilles pull out a shocker here though

 

Male Pop Vocal Performance:

“Haven’t Met You Yet”- Michael Buble, “This is It”- Michael Jackson, “Whataya Want from Me”- Adam Lambert, “Half of My Heart”- John Mayer, “Just the Way You Are”- Bruno Mars

Will win: Michael Jackson

Should win: Adam Lambert

~spoiler: Bruno Mars

Pop Vocal Collaboration:

“Imagine”- Herbie Hancock, Seal, Pink & India.Arie, “If It Wasn’t for Bad”- Elton John & Leon Russell,  “Telephone”- Lady Gaga & Beyonce, “California Gurls”- Katy Perry w/Snoop Dogg, “Airplanes Pt. II”- B.o.B. w/Hayley Williams & Eminem

Will & Should win: Lady Gaga & Beyonce

~spoiler: Herbie Hancock and friends

Pop Vocal Duo/Group:

“Don’t Stop Believin’”- Glee Cast, “Misery”- Maroon 5, “The Only Exception”- Paramore, “Babyfather”- Sade, “Hey Soul Sister”- Train

Will & Should win: Train

~spoiler: Glee cast

Dance Recording:

“Rocket”- Goldfrapp, “In for the Kill”- La Roux, “Dancer in the Dark”- Lady Gaga, “Only Girl in the World”- Rihanna,  “Dancing on My Own”- Robyn

Will win: “Only Girl in the World”- Rihanna

Should win: “Dancing on My Own”- Robyn

~spoiler: La Roux

OTHER CATEGORIES~ I’m just giving you who I think will win…

Dance Album: La Roux

Traditional Pop Album: Michael Buble (over Barbra Streisand even!)

Short Form Music Video: “Bad Romance”- Lady Gaga

Male Country Vocal: Keith Urban

Female Country Vocal: Miranda Lambert

Country Song: “Need You Now”- Lady Antebellum

Country Album: The House that Built Me- Miranda Lambert

Country Vocal duo/group: Lady Antebellum

R&B Male Vocal: Usher

R&B Female Vocal: Fantasia (and it would be her first win!)

R&B Duo/Group: Sade

R&B Album: John Legend & the Roots

Contemporary R&B Album: Usher

Urban/Alternative Performance: “Fuck You”- Cee Lo Green

Rap Solo: Eminem

Rap Album: Recovery- Eminem

Rap Sung Collaboration: “Empire State of Mind”- Jay Z & Alicia Keyes

Rap Song: “Empire State of Mind”

Score Soundtrack Album: Inception- Hans Zimmer

Song Written for Film/TV: “The Weary Kind” (from Crazy Heart)

Compilation Soundtrack Album: Glee The Music, Vol. 1

Musical Show Album: American Idiot (featuring Green Day)

Nicki Minaj tops Ricky Martin and Christian Rock!

Ok, that headline may have been a little, um, suggestive, for some… but Nicki Minaj really did top Ricky Martin and Christian rockers Red on this week’s Billboard Album chart. She sees her Pink Friday album finally hit # 1 after 11 weeks bouncing around in the top ten. Forced into runner-up status were Red with their latest, Until We Have Faces, and Ricky’s mostly Spanish language new record, Musica+Alma+Sexo… The rest of the top ten saw re-entries from Jason Aldean (powered by his smash duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson), Eminem (who goes into this weekend’s Grammys with the most nominations), Rihanna (riding high on her 3rd hit from Loud, “S & M”) and Pink who’s hits collection just topped a million albums sold. Helping Pink’s cause is her second # 1 new smash from the album, “Fuckin’ Perfect” which is on fire on the charts. Take a look at the full top ten below and head to Billboard for all your chart needs.

Official Billboard Results for Week ending 1.31.11

1. Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday” (last week~ 3)
2. Red, “Until We Have Faces” (DEBUT)
3. Ricky Martin, “Musica + Alma + Sexo” (DEBUT)
4. Bruno Mars, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” (lw~ 5)
5. Rihanna, “Loud” (lw~ 13)
6. “Kidz Bop 19″ (lw~ 9)
7. Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party” (lw~ 12)
8. Taylor Swift, “Speak Now” (lw~ 7)
9. Pink, “Greatest Hits . . . So Far!” (lw~11)
10. Eminem, “Recovery” (lw~ 16)

And here’s Ricky Martin’s English language single from his new album, “The Best Thing About You is Me”