How to Freshen Up the Grammy Awards

Beyoncé sets record with 6 Grammys; Swift captures album of the year

(NEWSER) - Beyoncé won six Grammy Awards tonight in Los Angeles, setting a record for a female performer, but was foiled in two high-profile categories. The R&B superstar captured song of the year for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it)," while Taylor Swift took home album of the year for "Fearless"—one of the 20-year-old pop-country star's four trophies—and Kings of Leon won Record of the Year for "Use Somebody." More»

Britney Spears, John Mayer, and other now-infamous exes

(NEWSER) - British singer-songwriter Adele is getting tons of acclaim for her second album, 21, which is entirely about one person: the guy who broke her heart. In her honor, New York lists 13 of the most deserving exes famously called out in song:

• Nick Jonas: In Miley Cyrus’s “7 Things,” she recounts all the teenage-y wrongs he did her, like being vain and liking other girls.
• John Mayer: Taylor Swift’s “Dear John” is about him, but it didn’t really enact too much vengeance, considering Mayer is probably jazzed Swift penned a song about him.

It's just like the time he interrupted Taylor Swift, West insists

(NEWSER) - Struggling to deal with a national disaster, interrupting a teenage pop star … they’re basically the same thing, right? Speaking to a Houston radio station, Kanye West responded to George W. Bush’s recent admission that when West called him out on Hurricane Katrina, it was the worst moment of his presidency. West totally understands how Bush feels, he says, “because the same thing happened to me, where I got accused of being a racist” … when he interrupted Taylor Swift, E! reports. More»

Here's looking at you, Speidi

(NEWSER) - So Heidi Montag’s separation from Spencer Pratt was a publicity stunt…was anyone surprised? Olivia Allin lists nine other similarly lame stunts, on The Frisky :

1. Jon Gosselin: Turns out he really was lying when he accused ex Hailey Glassman of stealing his TV. How do we know? Because the genius sent her text messages telling her…to go ahead and take the TV.
2. Lonelygirl15: The YouTube diarist became a star, and turned out to be an actress.

VMA debacle with Taylor Swift 'merely a way to distract' from MTV's lacking lineup

(NEWSER) - Kanye West’s outburst at last night’s Video Music Awards allowed MTV “to sneak up behind the rest of the cable lineup and command the television-watching nation’s attention"—a definite coup when you consider it was competing with the US Open, football, and the True Blood finale, and the fact “that this year’s awards were very lacking in buzz,” writes Maura on the Idolator blog. Which begs the question: Was it staged? More»