52nd Annual Grammy Award Picks

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards

Tonight at 8PM EST the 52nd annual Grammy awards will take the air on CBS. When there is so much incredible talent hoping to add Grammy’s to their trophy case you can expect a very memorable night. 

   

The night is jam packed with performances that will no doubt go down in history. But perhaps the biggest moment of the night will be the Michael Jackson tribute. Not only will several top recording artists be singing in tribute to Michael, but it will be the first awards show to broadcast a performance in 3-D. You can pick up 3-D glasses free at any Target store.    

I scoured the list of nominees and below are my picks. These are not necessarily who I would like to win personally, but who I think will ultimately end up with the statue. Feel free to leave your picks in the comment box below.    

Record Of The Year     

• Halo
  Beyoncé
  Track from: I Am… Sasha Fierce
  [Music World Music / Columbia]
• I Gotta Feeling
  The Black Eyed Peas
  [Interscope]
• Use Somebody
  Kings Of Leon
  [RCA Records]
• Poker Face
  Lady Gaga
  Track from: The Fame
  [Streamline/Interscope/Konlive/Cherrytree]
• You Belong With Me
  Taylor Swift
  [Big Machine Records]

Album Of The Year

    

• I Am… Sasha Fierce
  Beyoncé
  [Music World Music / Columbia]
• The E.N.D.
  The Black Eyed Peas
  [Interscope Records]
• The Fame
  Lady Gaga
  [Streamline/Interscope/Konlive/Cherrytree]
• Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
  Dave Matthews Band
  [RCA Records / Bama Rags Recordings, LLC.]
• Fearless
  Taylor Swift
  [Big Machine Records]

     

 Song Of The Year     

• Poker Face
  Lady Gaga & RedOne, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
  Track from: The Fame
  [Streamline/Interscope/Konlive/Cherrytree; Publishers: Stefani Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga, Sony/ATV Songs/House of Gaga Publishing/GloJoe Music, Sony/ATV Songs/RedOne Productions.]
• Pretty Wings
  Hod David & Musze, songwriters (Maxwell)
  Track from: Blacksummers’ Night
  [Columbia; Publishers: Sony/ATV Tunes/Muszewell, EMI April Music, Ben Ami Music.]
• Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
  Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
  Track from: I Am… Sasha Fierce
  [Music World Music / Columbia; Publishers: Songs of Peer/March 9th Publishing, 2082 Music/WB Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Tunes, Suga Wuga Music, B-Day Publishing/EMI April Music.]
• Use Somebody
  Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
  [RCA Records; Publishers: Martha Street Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, Followill Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, McFearless Music/Bug Music, Coffee, Tea or Me Publishing/Bug Music.]
• You Belong With Me
  Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
  Track from: Fearless
  [Big Machine Records; Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Taylor Swift Music/Potting Shed Music, Barbara Orbison World Publishing.]

 Best New Artist     

• Zac Brown Band
• Keri Hilson
• MGMT
• Silversun Pickups
• The Ting Tings

    

      

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance     

• Hometown Glory
  Adele
  Track from: 19
  [XL/Columbia]
• Halo
  Beyoncé
  Track from: I Am… Sasha Fierce
  [Music World Music / Columbia]
• Hot N Cold
  Katy Perry
  [Capitol]
• Sober
  Pink
  Track from: Funhouse
  [LaFace Records]
• You Belong With Me
  Taylor Swift
  Track from: Fearless
  [Big Machine Records]

 Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)    

• I Gotta Feeling
  The Black Eyed Peas
  Track from: The E.N.D.
  [Interscope Records]
• We Weren’t Born To Follow
  Bon Jovi
  [Island]
• Never Say Never
  The Fray
  Track from: The Fray
  [Epic]
• Sara Smile
  Daryl Hall & John Oates
  Track from: Live At The Troubadour
  [Shout! Factory]
• Kids
  MGMT
  Track from: Oracular Spectacular
  [Columbia]
   

      

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals     

• Sea Of Heartbreak
  Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen
  [Manhattan]
• Love Sex Magic
  Ciara & Justin Timberlake
  Track from: Fantasy Ride
  [LaFace Records]
• Lucky
  Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
  Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
  [Atlantic]
• Baby, It’s Cold Outside
  Willie Nelson & Norah Jones
  Track from: American Classic
  [Blue Note]
• Breathe
  Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat
  Track from: Fearless
  [Big Machine Records]

Best Pop Vocal Album     

• The E.N.D.
  The Black Eyed Peas
  [Interscope Records]
• Breakthrough
  Colbie Caillat
  [Universal Republic Records]
• All I Ever Wanted
  Kelly Clarkson
  [RCA Records / 19 Recordings LLC./ S Records]
• The Fray
  The Fray
  [Epic]
• Funhouse
  Pink
  [LaFace Records]

 Best Dance Recording     

• Boom Boom Pow
  The Black Eyed Peas
  will.i.am & Jean Baptiste, producers; Dylan Dresdow, mixer
  Track from: The E.N.D.
  [Interscope Records]
• When Love Takes Over
  David Guetta & Kelly Rowland
  David Guetta & Frederic Riesterer, producers; Veronica Ferraro, mixer
  Track from: One Love
  [Astralwerks]
• Poker Face
  Lady Gaga
  RedOne, producer; Robert Orton, RedOne & Dave Russell, mixers
  Track from: The Fame
  [Streamline/Interscope/Konlive/Cherrytree]
• Celebration
  Madonna
  [Warner Bros.]
• Womanizer
  Britney Spears
  K. Briscoe, producer; Serban Ghenea, mixer
  Track from: Circus
  [Jive/Zomba]

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals     

• Can’t Find My Way Home
  Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
  Track from: Live From Madison Square Garden
  [Reprise]
• Life In Technicolor II
  Coldplay
  Track from: Prospekt’s March EP
  [Capitol]
• 21 Guns
  Green Day
  Track from: 21st Century Breakdown
  [Reprise]
• Use Somebody
  Kings Of Leon
  [RCA Records]
• I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
  U2
  Track from: No Line On The Horizon
  [Interscope]

Best Rock Song     

• The Fixer
  Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready & Eddie Vedder, songwriters (Pearl Jam)
  [Monkeywrench; Publishers: Innocent Bystander, Jumpin' Cat Music, Theory of Color, Write Treatage Music.]
• I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
  Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge & Larry Mullen Jr., songwriters (U2)
  Track from: No Line On The Horizon
  [Interscope; Publishers: Universal Music Publishing, Upala Music.]
• 21 Guns
  Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt & Tré Cool, songwriters (Green Day)
  Track from: 21st Century Breakdown
  [Reprise; Publishers: WB Music Corp./Green Daze Music.]
• Use Somebody
  Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
  [RCA Records; Publishers: Martha Street Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, Followill Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, McFearless Music/Bug Music, Coffee, Tea or Me Publishing/Bug Music.]
• Working On A Dream
  Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
  Track from: Working On A Dream
  [Columbia; Publisher: Bruce Springsteen]
   

     

Best Rock Album     

• Black Ice
  AC/DC
  [Columbia]
• Live From Madison Square Garden
  Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
  [Reprise/Duck]
• 21st Century Breakdown
  Green Day
  [Reprise]
• Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
  Dave Matthews Band
  [RCA Records / Bama Rags Recordings, LLC.]
• No Line On The Horizon
  U2
  [Interscope]

 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance     

• Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
  Beyoncé
  Track from: I Am… Sasha Fierce
  [Music World Music/Columbia]
• It Kills Me
  Melanie Fiona
  [SRC/Universal Motown]
• That Was Then
  Lalah Hathaway
  Track from: Self Portrait
  [Stax Records/Concord Music Group]
• Goin’ Thru Changes
  Ledisi
  Track from: Turn Me Loose
  [Verve Forecast]
• Lions, Tigers & Bears
  Jazmine Sullivan
  [J Records]

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals     

• Blame It
  Jamie Foxx & T-Pain
  [J Records]
• Chocolate High
  India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild
  Track from: Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
  [Soulbird/Universal Republic]
• Ifuleave
  Musiq Soulchild & Mary J. Blige
  Track from: OnMyRadio
  [Atlantic]
• Higher Ground
  Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters
  Track from: Oh Happy Day
  [EMI Gospel]
• Love Has Finally Come At Last
  Calvin Richardson & Ann Nesby
  Track from: Facts Of Life The Soul Of Bobby Womack
  [Shanachie Entertainment Corp.]

     

Best Contemporary R&B Album     

• I Am… Sasha Fierce
  Beyoncé
  [Music World Music/Columbia]
• Intuition
  Jamie Foxx
  [J Records]
• The Introduction Of Marcus Cooper
  Pleasure P
  [Swagga Ent./Atlantic]
• Ready
  Trey Songz
  [Songbook/Atlantic]
• Thr33 Ringz
  T-Pain
  [Jive Records]

 Best Rap/Sung Collaboration     

• Ego
  Beyoncé & Kanye West
  [Music World Music/Columbia]
• Knock You Down
  Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo
  Track from: In A Perfect World…
  [MMG/Zone 4/Interscope Records]
• Run This Town
  Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West
  [Roc Nation]
• I’m On A Boat
  The Lonely Island & T-Pain
  Track from: Incredibad
  [Universal Republic Records]
• Dead And Gone
  T.I. & Justin Timberlake
  Track from: Paper Trail
  [Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals     

• Cowgirls Don’t Cry
  Brooks & Dunn
  Track from: Cowboy Town
  [Arista Nashville]
• Chicken Fried
  Zac Brown Band
  Track from: The Foundation
  [Home Grown/Big Picture/Atlantic]
• I Run To You
  Lady Antebellum
  Track from: Lady Antebellum
  [Capitol Records Nashville]
• Here Comes Goodbye
  Rascal Flatts
  Track from: Unstoppable
  [Lyric Street Records]
• It Happens
  Sugarland
  Track from: Love On The Inside
  [Mercury Records]
   

      

Best Comedy Album     

• Back From The Dead
  Spinal Tap
  [The Label Industry/Artist2Market Distribution]
• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All!
  Stephen Colbert
  [Comedy Central Records]
• Internet Leaks
  “Weird Al” Yankovic
  [Volcano]
• My Weakness Is Strong
  Patton Oswalt
  [Degenerate/Warner Bros.]
• Suckin’ It For The Holidays
  Kathy Griffin
  [Music With A Twist]
• Tall, Dark & Chicano
  George Lopez
  [Comedy Central Records]

 Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media     

• The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Disc 1)
  Alexandre Desplat, composer
  [Concord Records]
• Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
  Nicholas Hooper, composer
  [New Line Records]
• Milk
  Danny Elfman, composer
  [Decca]
• Star Trek
  Michael Giacchino, composer
  [Varèse Sarabande]
• Up
  Michael Giacchino, composer
  [Walt Disney Records]

   

[Via http://christopherbeale.wordpress.com]

Michael Jackson's Choreographer Teaches Dancing Filipino Prisoners 'This Is It' Routine

Michael Jackson was a fan of the more than 1,500 Filipino inmates who performed the choreography for his video “Thriller” in 2007 and created a viral hit.

Jackson watched the videos of Cebu Provincial Detention And Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) prisoners during breaks from his tour rehearsals for “This Is It,” his choreographer Travis Payne said.

Payne recently contacted Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, and arranged to make a surprise visit to meet the performers in the high security prison, the Philippines’ Manila Bulletin reported.

Payne spent two hours on Sun., Jan. 17, and Mon., Jan. 18, teaching the dancers the routines from Jackson’s posthumous “This Is It” film.
“The Drill” is the last scene Payne and Jackson worked on together before the pop icon died in June. The clip was released over the weekend, days before the Tues., Jan. 26 release of the “This Is It” DVD.

The CPDRC performance videos of Jackson’s “Thriller,” “Dangerous,” and the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A,” among others, are all well done.

But Payne, who worked with Jackson for more than 10 years, was able to take their performance to new heights. Their rendition of Jackson’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us” is comparable to the scene in “This Is It.”
The “This Is It” version is a highlight of the film. It features a group of dancers who were digitally replicated to appear as an army. Payne’s work with the CPDRC men brought this virtual sequence to real life.

The inmates were not initially receptive to participating in the choreographed dances, said Bryon Garcia, a security consultant for the prison. He suggested the activity to keep the prisoners busy during their downtime, the Manila Bulletin reported.

According to the New York Times, Bryon decided to post videos of the prisoners dancing online to publicize some of the positive changes he implemented at Cebu since joining the staff in 2004.

[Via http://cherokeebillie.wordpress.com]

Jackson's dad calls for medical records

Michael Jackson’s father wants to investigate the death of his son and has filed papers in Los Angeles, demanding release of medical records.

Joe Jackson is convinced the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Centre documents will help him determine if anyone was to blame for the King of Pop’s death and how much he should sue them for.

Family members, including Joe, have accused the singer’s personal physician Conrad Murray of wrongful death of the star, but police have yet to charge the medic with any wrongdoing and he has maintained he’s innocent.

Joe Jackson’s lawyer filed papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday in which he claimed: “The UCLA records will permit Joe to determine with medical experts and then present to this court, how much support he needs to pay for the prosecution of his wrongful death action against those responsible for his son’s death.”

Michael was pronounced dead on arrival at the medical centre.

[Via http://gelaxraj.wordpress.com]

A Stranger in Moscow

Stranger in Moscow

Inspired by his first visit to Russia, No Stranger in Moscow has a rainy day lull that summons up a hundred thousand poems. The blustery imagery is brilliant. Michael Jackson’s vocals here reach the most incredible highs and lows. He surpasses himself, on every single line. It’s like sleight of hand, a trick of the light. How can MJ upstage himself at every treble?

Those who dissed, dismissed, or failed to notice Blood on the Dance Floor did indeed miss some of Jackson’s most mature work- “Morphine” was also on there, also perfect, but much different from this song, though in a sense both of them are funerary.  “No Stranger in Moscow” is ultimately a rainy day lullaby.

“Contrary to what many eulogists have claimed … it wasn’t all downhill from Thriller,” writes Andy Guess in Goodbye Billie Jean: the Meaning of Michael Jackson. “Michael Jackson reached the very height of international fame with his 1991 album Dangerous, released less than a month before the fall of the Soviet Union and more popular in many countries – and for a longer time – than it was in the United States.”

Jackson was the first Western pop star to perform in post-Soviet Russia. It was raining then, just like in the song. He was hours late, and his fans waited in a torrential downpour. Jackson performed his heart out in the deluge, using extra staff to sweep the water off of the stage during the show. Fans painted his name on a statue of Karl Marx.

You have to keep in mind that Jackson’s music was illegal in the Soviet Union, something that had to be sold as part of the black market. His album Dangerous came out just before the fall of the Soviet Union, so the Dangerous explosion was hugely symbolic of freedom and love to his Russian fans.

“ I was wandering in the rain…Mask of life, feelin’ insane…Swift and sudden fall from grace…Sunny days seem far away…KGB was doggin’ me…Take my name and just let me be…

How does it feel? How does it feel? When you’re alone, and you’re cold inside…Like a stranger in Moscow…We’re talkin’ danger, we’re talkin’ danger, baby…I’m livin’ lonely, baby…”

The song exquisitely captured how alien he felt wherever he went, how lonely it was inside so much love. The song follows his “swift and sudden fall from grace” when the first set of child abuse allegations came out. “Here abandoned in my fame/Armageddon of the brain.” We’re talking danger, baby, yes we are: Jackson was sure “they” were trying to kill him, but it was dismissed as incoherent, paranoid insanity from an aging, drug addled pop star. Of course, drugs and addiction are often used to keep someone under another’s control, or the opportunity to control is seized if that person is already vulnerable from drugs.

In any event, we may never know the particulars, but No Stranger in Moscow is a gorgeous and revelatory song, underrated, a gift to Russian fans, offering them something personal.

After his death, shrines appeared all over Russia, and fans gathered to comfort each other and mourn. Plans were made after This Is It was released to stage an MJ impersonation contest in St. Petersburg, and in Ufa, fans planned to launch into the sky with balloons a video with their wishes for Jackson.

Russian fan Pavel Talalaev allegedly attempted suicide very soon after Jackson’s death, snapping angrily when he regained consciousness in hospital. “I don’t know why the doctors saved me. I want to be with Michael, and I will kill myself anyway.” Pavel makes his living as one of Jackson’s impersonators. He has even had plastic surgeries to look more like his idol. “He was so popular in Russia at the end of the 80s that everyone cheered when they saw me dressed up like Michael somewhere in the subway.”

Michael Jackson was indeed adored the world over, yet the song he wrote about Moscow was a testament to how lonely it is at the top, especially when you hit rock bottom.

Lorette C. Luzajic

Lorette C. Luzajic is the editor of Goodbye, Billie Jean: the Meaning of Michael Jackson. Find out more about this book and her three others by clicking here.

[Via http://extrememichaeljackson.wordpress.com]

The famous Dancing Inmates

The famous “Dancing Inmates” from Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, a maximum security prison in the Philippines, were recently treated to a visit by Michael Jackson’s long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid to learn performances from This Is It.

Sony Pictures’ Fritz Friedman tells USA TODAY’s Mike Snider, “We thought it would be a great idea to pay homage to MJ on the occasion of the release of This Is It by going to Cebu and having Travis work with the dancers to create this piece which is from the film.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t done in time to go on the DVD and Blu-Ray discs, which are out today. But Sony Pictures DVD did post this on YouTube.

The Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” only showed the King of Pop dancing to “They Don’t Care About Us” with a computer-generated army for his backdrop. But with the help of the famous inmates in Cebu, that army comes to life.

Some 1,500 inmates from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center performed the number with Travis Payne, Jackson’s long-time choreographer.

This Is It was created from more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage shot between March and June this year while Michael Jackson rehearsed for his 50 sold-out concerts in London. He died on June 25 before he could perform in these concerts, which were slated for kick-off on July 8.
The number was called “The Drill,” the last choreography Payne and Jackson collaborated on before the King of Pop died in June 2009.

The performance was uploaded on the video-sharing site YouTube last January 22. Accessed on the morning of January 26, the video clip had already been viewed 417,610 times.

The number also showed the inmates forming a huge peace sign, possibly in remembrance of Jackson, who advocated world peace. Dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid also joined the inmates, who wore black “This Is It” shirts.

Payne visited the Cebu penitentiary last week to teach the inmates “The Drill,” which will be part of the Blu-Ray and DVD copies of “This Is It.”

Following the visit, a newspaper report quoted Payne as saying that “it is a wonderful partnership in just spreading love and peace. I think that with Jackson at the center of everything. It is really a blessing to be here.”

The Cebu inmates gained fame in 2007 after their performance of Jackson’s “Thriller” landed on cyberspace.

When Jackson died, the inmates staged another tribute to the King of Pop, where they danced to a Michael Jackson medley.

[Via http://angelbabe43.wordpress.com]

Dancing Inmates - Michael Jackson's This Is It

I don’t think there’s many people that haven’t already seen the youtube clips of the Filipino “Dancing Inmates”. They’ve done a variety of dancing to various songs and even did a tribute to Michael Jackson after he passed away last year.

This time they’re back and with the help of Michael Jacksons long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid they were taught the performances from ‘This Is It’.

[Via http://gheymedia.com]

#127 Uncommon Finds

#127/365, originally uploaded by tigerlily4865.

Every year when we go to the Book Fair we find something interesting in the pages of one book.

This time is was a ticket to Michael Jackon’s 1996 World Tour ‘History’. Well it really is history with the passing of Jackson last year.

Dave wondered how much something like this would go for on eBay?

I wondered if the person who originally owned the book was doing field research on whether or not Jackson may have been an alien in disguise?

[Via http://jodicleghorn.wordpress.com]