Music Monday 183 :: The Weeknd f/Ms. Lauryn Hill "In The Night"

Music Monday 183 :: The Weeknd f/Ms. Lauryn Hill  "In The Night"

Last week The Weeknd performed at the Grammy Awards. It was a bit of a yawner performance. What I learned via Twitter that night was that Lauryn Hill was supposed to perform with him. That didn't happen because she was late. Very unfortunate for those of us who were looking for some excitement on that broadcast.

Apparently The Weeknd is a fan of Hill's. And seemingly unwilling to miss an opp to perform w/her. In step's "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." Wrapping up the show's Grammy Week in Los Angeles, the two amazing voices came together. Definitely worth the wait.

Music Monday 121 :: Kanye West's "Power (Remix)"

Music Monday 121 :: Kanye West's "Power (Remix)"

With the Grammy Awards fast approaching, thought I'd highlight one of the nominees.

I know that Kanye is not highly regarded by some. Meanwhile he continues to be one of the most nominated artists annually at the Grammys. This year Kanye's the top nominated artist for the third consecutive year.

Whether you cringe or congratulate, his music, continues to stretch the boundaries of the hip hop genre. This song, "Power (Remix)," has some punch to it. It's one of the ultimate workout songs.

One of my fav lyrics is "I've seen people abuse power, use power, misusin' and lose power ..." That's ironic; cliche and profound.

Seems hard, though, to locate the 'official' video.

Kanye West - Power (Remix) feat Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz (Official Video) #eLijTV

Music Monday 82 :: VIDEO Cee-lo Green performs at the Grammy's 2011

Music Monday 82 :: VIDEO: Cee-lo Green performs at the Grammy's 2011

I've been a fan of the Grammy's for years. In that regard, it's obvious that I've also been disappointed many, many times for various reasons. Sometimes, the nominations are a crock of ...; sometimes, the performances are a let down. But sometimes, they get it right or they go out on a limb. I mean, who woulda thought that Esperanza Spalding would win best new artist? Deserving - hell yeah, but that's usually where the Grammy formula for winning goes wrong. When there's a heap of talent, the Grammy's sometimes go in another direction and leave me w/a heavy heart.

Enough blabber ... because Cee-lo's performance at the Grammy's last night was just what you'd expect from him. He did not disappoint in terms of creativity or enthusiasm. The dude does a nationally televised performance w/puppets. Love that. And Gwyneth Paltrow did her thing as well.

See it for yourself: Cee-lo Green performs at the Grammy's 2011

Music Monday 14 :: The 2009 Grammy Recap

I did a little twittering about this year's Grammy Awards. As always I get excited about them. I like to see who arrives and I like the performances.

The pre-awards drama was involving Chris Brown and allegedly Rhianna. Don't have the details, but neither ended up showing up for the show and Brown was supposed to perform. So something is going on.

Crazy thing though is that many of the rap and R&B categories were handed out in the pre-show. Then the only R&B category was the first award. That was kinda cool though. A cleaned up Whitney Houston handed out the award w/Jennifer Hudson winning. How cool is that?

The show was packed w/performances ... I want to see more of the award winners and their acceptance speeches. Do they have the pre-show available for viewing? If not, they should. I think that they do have some vid. I'll check YouTube.

I did finally fall asleep just before the show was over, but woke myself back up to see the last award. And to see Stevie perform.

All in all ... it was a decent show. I'm trying to figure out who filled in for Chris Brown and Rhianna's performances ... ? And I'm thinking that I like the performances, but I really want to see more of the award winners. I'm still sorting that out in my mind though.

Oh ... one more thing ... I thought M.I.A. was a trooper. I mean showing up and performing on the day you are due to give birth. So brave. I thought that the baby would drop during her performance w/the fellas on "Swagger Like Us". So cool.

Music Monday 13 :: The 2009 Grammy Awards

So the 2009 Grammy Awards is less than a week away. I get excited for these babies. For lots of reasons:

• I like to see the live performances
• I want to see who shows up (and in some cases, shows out)
• I like to hear a good acceptance speech

I don't care about the red carpet and who is wearing what, though I do take note of who looks the part and how looks a 'hot mess'.

I have not listened to many of the 2009 Grammy nominated songs, but I hope to catch up before the big day arrives, which is Sunday, February 8, 2009.

I get the feeling that one of the Brit's will be Record of the Year. There are three females vocalists from the UK up for that one:

• Adele "Chasing Pavements"
• Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love"
• M.I.A. "Paper Planes"

In the album of the year catergory, Lil Wayne could sneak away w/this one for "Tha Carter". I think Coldplay will win for "Viva la Vida ...". But it would be nice to see Ne-yo win for "Year of the Gentleman"; it seems he's played a pivotal role in keeping classic R&B alive and giving it some flavor along w/some captivating lyrics.

The one album that I really want to check out because the title seems so cool and fun is Marcia Ball's "Peace, Love & BBQ".

I'll be doing some Twittering while watching the show on Sunday. So let's have some fun.

Do you have any picks for this year's Grammy Awards?

Post Grammy's

I've mentioned before how much I like awards season. I like to see the winners accept their award - and I am always hopeful that they speak from the heart and not from some folded up piece of paper.

Well, the Grammy Awards came and went, but not w/out a few incidents:

• Aretha Franklin is peeved w/Beyonce because Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as "The Queen"
• I got a kick out of this. Especially when I read on Bossip that Beyonce's father said that Beyonce did not say "The Queen of Soul" or whatever ...

• Natalie Cole publicly stating that she did not think that Amy Winehouse should have won any awards (Winehouse won five of six nominations). Cole was referring to Winehouse's battle w/drug and alcohol addiction. It's unfortunate that Cole has her Grammy already along w/having had some of the same issues that Winehouse is dealing with; furthermore, I am glad the Winehouse did win - the awards are for her music and not the struggles in her life.

• Oh, and can someone tell Kanye West to 'get off of himself!' I like his music, but his arrogance is indigestible.

Can't wait to see the Oscars and see how that pans out. What will they do when Ruby Dee wins and she wants to talk forever ... ?

Grammy Awards Recap

So the 2007 Grammy Awards are history! I thought that it was a really nice show. I enjoyed many of the performances. I enjoyed the Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer performance the best. Actually, I absolutely love Cee-Lo and the Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy" was incredible. Cee-lo's voice is so rich, soulful and emotive. So their performance really resonated w/me. I thought Mary J. Blige did her thing as well belting out a performance reminiscent of Patti Labelle. Beyonce was good as well. I must say that I enjoyed the Justin Timberlake duet w/Robyn Troup. I admire Troup for being able to go from being a finalist to being on stage and working it. She has a really pleasant voice and she wins a car too.

Other notable moments:

• the tribute to those who passed away this past year which included a brief dance performance by Chris Brown during the James Brown segment
• Ludacris winning for Best Rap Album and thanking/mentioning Oprah AND Bill O'Reilly
• Common telling Kanye West that people were tired of hearing Kanye complain about not winning any awards (I'm sure Kanye was in on the joke)

I was annoyed when Mary J. Blige accepted her first Grammy of the evening on stage. She read from a list and went on and on and on. I much prefer the heartfelt off the top of your head acceptance speech. And if she says one more time, how much she used to hate herself and her troubled past ... just get over it already.

Here's the complete list of 2007 Grammy winners!

Awards Shows...ooooh la la!

My love for music is magnified every year about this time. Actually, I cull the listing of nominees copiously when they are announced. I particularly like the Grammy's and the Oscar's.

The Grammy's are on the docket for Sunday evening. I'm excited for Mary J. Blige who I remember from her debut days. And her disc "The Breakthrough" is a nice one.

I'll be interested in the performances too. The Grammy's almost always have at least one performance that is killer!

I am underwhelmed by the hype of Justin Timberlake and some newbie getting a chance to sing w/him. I think I am still a bit peeved that he's the media darling all these years after the 'wardrobe malfunction.' On the other hand, CBS won't even play a Janet Jackson song as background music. I just feel/felt as if both of them should have received the same treatment. Interestingly enough, Janet is nominated for a Grammy (so maybe a Janet song will be aired on CBS).

I'll really be watching to see how Gnarls Barkley does. They'll be performing, but they are also nominated in a couple of categories. Same for my fav band, The Roots. I'm going to leave off on this one because everything else I have to say is so wholeheartedly in favor of The Roots that you will certainly get tired of hearing it and say okay, okay, we get the point ... I know, if only you had a vote ...