The biggest thing here is Kanye West with no less than 8 categories. Other nominees include Amy Winehouse with 6 as well as Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain with 5.

This is a bit surprising because this release of the Foo Fighters was a bit weaker than their previous work but they were accepted a bit better by the critics than a part of their fans which claim that they were a bit redundant. They were were nominated for 5 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Rock Album (Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace), Record of the Year, Best Hard Rock Performance, and Best Rock Song (awarded to the songwriter) (”The Pretender”).

Amy Winehouse is a subject for debate from numerous reasons. Her life is not a topic here and it should not be anywhere for a fact but it is obvious that she is not doing so well. But she did fantastic in her carreer and was nominated in all four of the top categories: record of the year, album of the year, song of the year (a songwriter’s award), and best new artist.

To be a bit malitious we could say that the thing which would be of upmost interest would be to watch her perform. Would be nice to see a duet with Britney or something.

But the man which topped the grammys without even making a big fuss was the favorite hip-hop child, Kanye West. But here is the fun thing. He is even up against himself in two categories.

The fact is that the Guns are attracting massive publicity but they have not released anything for a long time. Numerous rumours have been started which are more or less true. A big part of the fans are interested in that so former Guns guitarist, now at Velvet Revolver, Slash wants to put things in the light with an autobiography.

“It was the only format that I could find where I could get some of the facts straight about Guns N’ Roses,” he says, pointing out that the media is responsible for most of the misconceptions. “A lot of the stuff that’s been going around is just wrong, and people have been asking me a lot of stupid questions. “I would never write an autobiography just to talk about myself,” he goes on. “That’s not my personality. But it got to this point where, because Velvet Revolver (the band he formed in 2002 with ex-Gunners (bassist) Duff McKagan and (drummer) Matt Sorum, Stone Temple Pilots vocalist, Scott Weiland, and veteran rhythm guitarist, Dave Kushner) is so high profile, and I’m doing so much press with them, I’m faced with having to deal with Guns N’ Roses stuff 20 per cent of the time. “So I said, ‘Let’s do a book and I’ll get all this s— straight.’”

According to him he is just saying the story as he lived it. Starts from the early days and covers the bands he played in and what he did but there are some things he left out. “It shows where I come from, how I started playing guitar, the different types of bands I was in, but it’s probably only about half of what really happened,” he says, flashing a smile “It’s not the whole story, but it does explain the Guns N’ Roses thing and it’s clear cut. It’s my side of it.”. Reminding himself of the Guns glory days is flattering and annoying at the same time. “It wouldn’t be annoying if the band was still together, but I quit Guns going on 12 years ago.

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They have been known for doing surprising things before. This time they went and sang as a warmup act at a charity concert in London. But just Bono and The Edge were there.

The band members have invested time and money in good causes and it is obvious that charity is an important part of them. The show delighted the 250 people who attended the fund raiser on Friday night for Mencap, a charity that campaigns for equal rights for children and adults with learning disabilities.

“Don’t tell Larry (Mullen) and Adam (Clayton) we’ve done this,” Bono joked about his other two band mates from the small stage at London’s Union Chapel. The people were very happy to see them. A member of the audience, Simon Dowling, 20, from Newcastle, northern England, said he was shocked when the U2 stars suddenly appeared on stage. “I’ve used all the battery on my phone taking pictures of them,” he said.

They sang “Stay,” “Desire,” “Angel Of Harlem” and “Wave Of Sorrow,” a track written for their 1987 album “Joshua Tree.”. This appearance is noticeable and they have earned a thumbs up. Videos after the jump

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They were in fact ready to give up music for a quiet life. But what they did was that they regrouped and recorded their first new album in 28 years.

“We either had to fold our tent or make a record,” guitarist Glenn Frey tells CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview scheduled to air Sunday. “We were going to be done,” Frey says. “And I wouldn’t want to have it end . . . where … you’re just sort of doing a caricature of yourself, you’re just doing a tribute to yourself.”

The band’s new album, “Long Road Out of Eden,” debuted at No. 1 when it was released last month. It sold out in huge numbers and older and younger fans listen to it regardless of age. “It came out better than I thought,” vocalist-drummer Don Henley says. “I think a great many of the songs on it will stand up with the best work we’ve ever done.”

They made it big in the ’70s with a string of hits which included “Hotel California,” “Take It Easy” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” Henley also had a successful solo career but he says the Eagles are better together. “There’s a certain sound that we make when we sing together that over the past 35 years has become ingrained in people’s minds,” he says. “I can’t sound like that with anybody else except these guys.”.

He may not have won American Idol but with his band Daughtry earned high enough honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday to share the spotlight with Carrie Underwood and Justin Timberlake. He won just fourth-place during the fifth season of American Idol.

Underwood, who did win “Idol,” matched her three wins at the Country Music Association Awards this month with three trophies Sunday: favorite female country artist, favorite country album for “Some Hearts” and the T-Mobile text-in award. “Thank you fans for going out and buying this album. You guys are amazing,” she said.

But Daughtry did a bit better. They made good and managed to win favorite pop-rock album for “Daughtry,” as well as breakthrough artist and adult contemporary artist. “Wow. I can’t believe we’re in the category with Justin Timberlake and Linkin Park. It’s pretty awesome,” the band’s frontman said. “I want to make sure we thank the fans again because you guys made this all possible for us.”

The favorite Pop-Rock band was Vancouver-based Nickleback and Timberlake was a double winner, earning male pop-rock artist honors and the soul/R&B album award for his “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” Timberlake accepted by video from Australia. Usher presented Beyonce with the international artist award. This should be something very important for her because it was just given to a handful of artists, including Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart and Aerosmith. “I’m so blessed to wake up every morning and do what I love. I don’t take it for granted,” Beyonce said. Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, Rascal Flatts and teen stars the Jonas Brothers, did a very good job aswell. Kimmel was the host and he managed to keep the people entertained even with his statement that Kimmel said the Writers Guild of America strike prevented him from writing any jokes for the show.

There is no way you can go and sing against Aretha Franklin. Going against the undisputed Queen of Soul would be suicide. Mister T would pity you. But since you can not defeat her it would good to join her.

Franklin demonstrates her ability to belt it out with the best of them on “Jewels in the Crown,” a collection of 16 mostly old duets with such artists as Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, spanning almost the entirety of her career at Arista, from 1981 on. But she has two new numbers: the Underdogs-produced smooth R&B tune “Put You Up On Game” with “American Idol” winner Fantasia and the much more funky, catchy “What Y’all Came to Do” with crooner John Legend.

The latter duet is centered around a riff from Sam & Dave’s 1968 dance anthem “I Thank You,” and it manages to make the most of her voice highlighting Franklin’s gritty soul chops in the best way possible. She whoops, she hollers, but she doesn’t overdo it. Legend knows how to complement, versus compete with, her voice.

The best of “Jewels in the Crown” are actually reworkings of Franklin’s ’60s hits, from a grooving, layered version of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” with Bonnie Raitt and Gloria Estefan from 1993’s Fox TV duets special to a spirited “Chain of Fools” with Carey from VH1’s 1998 “Divas Live” concert. Her voice and way of being remains a legend and worth listening to even just a bit less than 50 years after.

The Berlin Philharmonic flew into town and one of the first stops by some of its musicians was the gritty streets of the Bowery rather than upscale 57th Street. They sang for about an hour and they included Mozart and American blues at the Salvation Army in Chinatown.

The space was not that big and spectators were a bit squeezed into the pews of a tiny chapel but they listened to the world-class musicians who sang free of charge, in sweltering heat under a worn red velvet curtain. “We’re here to tear down the walls of ‘high art’ - to broaden the reach of the people,” Berlin horn player Fergus McWilliam said later. “We are not high priests of music.”.

What they are doing is very good because the majority of people does not listen to and understand that kind of music, because they have not had any contact with it or because they believe it is just for fancy people. The program was just one of the tableaux from “Berlin in Lights,” a 17-day festival that has brought artists from the German metropolis to New York City.

“Our plan for the 21st century is to come out of the ivory tower and go to the community, instead of waiting for people to come to us,” said the Scottish-born McWilliam. “We are an elite institution with the resources to make a difference.”Very good initiative. “With great music-making at its centre, the festival examines a fascinating city reborn with the reunification of Germany - one that has reinvented itself in our lifetime and largely reshaped its identity through culture,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie’s executive and artistic director.

The boy band saga is repeating itself for years. Just the names are different.

Ryan and Dan Kowarsky were recognized earlier this decade for their polished, glossy pop sounds in B4-4. However, unlike groups such as the Backstreet Boys who still continue to milk that sound dry, the identical twins’ new outfit RyanDan and album of the same name is musically the polar opposite of prior efforts.

“I think it’s different from what we did, which was more pop sound, more ‘boy band-y’ kind of sound,” Dan Kowarsky says with brother Ryan next to him. “At the time, as good as it was, it was frustrating to us because we were playing for a much younger audience and their focus would be on our hair or our clothes. There was nothing about the music, nothing about songwriting.” “We found out that our mom had Parkinson’s disease,” Ryan says. “We didn’t know anything about Parkinson’s disease at the time and started looking into it. And it scared us to be honest because we didn’t know what was going to happen and how fast it was going to progress. We flew back to our mom and stopped doing music for about two months.”. “She felt very guilty that we stopped doing everything for her,” Dan continues. “So she really pushed us to get back into the studio. She has an all-time favourite song, which is The Prayer, so we wanted to surprise her. We recorded it for her, woke her up about two in the morning and played it for her. She was just bawling her eyes out.”

What should be admired about these boys is that they have made it big but they have not forgot where they came from and they say that their biggest fans and critics are their parents. “They want to see every single interview and read everything,” Ryan says. “My mom is collecting articles, while my dad, with his music and singing, critiques everything. He makes sure we’re doing things the right way and properly.”.

Bad things for Meat Loaf fans and artist alike have recently happened. He has cancelled a European tour after developing a cyst on his vocal cords, the singer’s website said on Tuesday.

He is 60 and probably his age is an important factor in that. He is going to undergo four to six weeks of vocal therapy before doctors decided whether he needs surgery.

The rocker had already scrapped several British dates when he got down from the stage. Voices began to say that it would be his last performance. But Meat Loaf insisted he was not retiring for good. “It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows,” the singer said in the statement.

“I was really looking forward to capping off a great year and celebrating the start of the holidays with the fans. But I have to do what the doctors tell me so I can look forward to healing and coming back strong in 2008. Let me dispel any rumors before they start - I will be back.”

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Tags: meat-loaf.-bat-out-of-hell, three-bats, three-bats-meatloaf

Nine Inch Nail frontman, the controversial Trent Reznor, recently admitted having a account at the former biggest source for illegal waffles and music, OiNK. He even said he would’ve paid the controversial website for their leaked albums, if asked to, as he believes any other legal download store doesn’t come close.

He told New York magazine: “I’ll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world’s greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. He added “If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn’t the equivalent of that in the retail space right now.

iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don’t feel cool when I go there. I’m tired of seeing John Mayer’s face pop up.”

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Tags: Nine-Inch-Nail, Ozzy-Osbourne