Whitney Grooves at A-List Grammy Gala

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»

Singer's death 'too fresh to do more'

(NEWSER) - Whitney Houston's death barely 24 hours before the Grammy Awards left the show scrambling to honor the singer who once dominated it, but People reports that Jennifer Hudson has been selected to pay a "respectful musical tribute" during tonight's telecast. "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and, in particular, her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years," says the Grammys' executive producer. The show begins at 8pm Eastern; click for tributes and photos from Houston's legendary career . More»

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»

Getting rid of the polka category was good, but more should be done

(NEWSER) - The 52-year-old Grammy Awards, which until recently still featured polka, are more reluctant to make changes than the Oscars and the Emmys. As we wait for tonight’s nominee unveiling, Todd Martens offers up some ideas for how the awards can stay relevant, in the Los Angeles Times :

• Give album of the year to Kanye West: Once a frontrunner, his loudmouth antics now have people doubting whether he’ll even be nominated—but there’s no question that he’s “been the face of hip-hop since 2004,” and he deserves to win.

Debut album receives four nods

(NEWSER) - Amid family tragedy, Jennifer Hudson found herself “blessed” with four Grammy nominations, People reports. “It’s been a childhood dream of mine to release an album,” Hudson said in a statement. “I'm extremely honored and humbled.” The nods came on the same day Hudson's estranged brother-in-law was ordered held without bail in the murders of her mother, brother, and nephew. More»