Grammy Noms a 'Blessing': Hudson

Oscars get much more attention

(NEWSER) - Academy Award nominations are all over the news, but people seem to have forgotten about the Grammys. “I didn't even know the Grammys still existed,” writes Dan Abramson on the Huffington Post, but “not only do the Grammy Awards still exist, they might even be coming up.” He can name the date, host, and nominees for the Oscars, “but the Grammys? I think they're in February.” (For the record, Feb. 8.) More»

Grammy Awards remember Whitney Houston

(NEWSER) - Grammy Awards host LL Cool J brought up Whitney Houston 's death almost as soon as he took the stage tonight, and started the ceremony with a prayer for her before formally welcoming the audience. Then it was more Whitney, with LL Cool J presenting a video of the beloved diva performing "I Will Always Love You" at a previous Grammy Awards. "Whitney, we will always love you," he said. Toward the end of the evening, Jennifer Hudson echoed him: Performing "I Will Always Love You" as a tribute to Houston, she closed by singing the line, "Whitney, we love you." Click to watch the video . More»

She's annoyed when Best Album speech is cut short

(NEWSER) - Adele pulled an MIA Super Bowl stunt and flipped the bird at Britain's music awards last night when one of her acceptance speeches was cut short. She grabbed honors for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best Album in London, a week after scooping up six awards at the Grammys . "I'm so proud to be British and to be flying our flag," Adele was saying when her second speech was cut off by the program host so the final performers could be introduced, reports the BBC . The audience booed, and the singer flipped off "the suits," she explained later. "I was about to thank the British public for all their support but they cut me off," the star said backstage. "I flung the middle finger. That was for the suits at the Brit Awards, not my fans. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but the suits offended me." More»

Grammy Awards also go to Chris Brown, Bon Iver, and more

(NEWSER) - The Grammys got started with—what else?—a performance. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band did a rousing rendition of "We Take Care of Our Own" before host LL Cool J even made an appearance. The host brought up Whitney Houston's death first thing after thanking the band (click for more on that ). Then:

• Nope, it's still not time for an award: Bruno Mars takes the stage, then the first presenters appear—20 minutes into the ceremony. But Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt first perform a tribute to Etta James before presenting Best Pop Solo Performance to Adele for "Someone Like You."
• Next up: Another performance, this time the controversial first Grammys performance by Chris Brown since he beat Rihanna before the ceremony three years ago.

Holocaust, pedophile jokes on the way, he quips

(NEWSER) - Forget about the "alternative" Golden Globes hosting : Ricky Gervais is returning to host the real thing in 2012, despite having offended just about everybody at the last Golden Globes . The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has voted to bring Gervais back for a third consecutive year, although the 16 of 62 members who were against having him back were very vocal in their opposition, sources tell the Los Angeles Times . More»