Stars warm up for the main event at Pre-Grammy Gala
BEVERLY HILLS — The annual Pre-Grammy Gala isn’t just a Grammy preview. Sometimes it’s a Grammy challenge.
Saturday night’s diva showdown by Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson left the stage in ashes and left many wondering if any acts on Sunday’s Grammy Awards would match their vocal firepower.
Singing People and The Way We Were, Hudson brought down the house with a soulful, strapping tribute to Barbra Streisand, attending the gala for the first time.
Jamie Foxx wrapped up the show with Blame It, a partying bookend to the Black Eyed Peas’ lively opener of Boom Boom Pow and cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine, with Slash on guitar. In between, Ke$ha performed hit Tik Tok, Maxwell sang Pretty Wings and Bad Habits. Harry Connick Jr. sat at the piano to sing Come By Me, then did When Somebody Loves You with Carrie Underwood, who followed solo with Cowboy Casanova.
Jamie Foxx Not Stepping Into Simon’s Idol Shoes
Jamie Foxx would like to take over Simon Cowell’s judging gig on American Idol, but the singer and actor is just too busy!
“I would love to do it but I don’t think I would be able to do it, ” he told me at his star-studded pre-Grammy party last night. “I don’t think I could fill Simon’s shoes, but I would give it another perspective…what I want is for the kids to go from being contest participants to artists and that’s where I would come in.”
Brown would like daughter back on ‘American Idol’
Sen.-elect Scott Brown says he’d like daughter Ayla to have another crack at “American Idol, ” where judge Simon Cowell once described her performance as robotic and empty.
The fledgling recording artist, a 21-year-old student at Boston College, made it to the show’s final 16 singers in 2006.
Her father told ABC’s “This Week” that Ayla was so new to it all back then that she had never put on makeup until she did “American Idol.” He also says that Cowell’s critique, while harsh, was on target.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Just like Dad, Ayla Brown’s got country appeal
Ayla Brown needs her own truck. And maybe a fiddle.
The daughter of U.S. Sen.-elect Scott Brown is many things – Boston College basketball player, ex-“American Idol” contestant and available – but pop star?
No way.
Not that she can’t sing. Her new download-only EP, “Circles, ” was released this week, three months earlier than planned to capitalize on the media frenzy whipped up by her father’s Senate win.
‘Arise Sir Simon Cowell?’
X Factor boss Simon Cowell may be in line to receive a knighthood for his charity work, according to a report. The entertainment mogul is set to raise millions for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake tragedy with his charity single.
Now nearly 10 Facebook sites have been established to lobby for the 50-year-old to become “Sir Simon” and a formal notification has apparently been sent to the Prime Minister in Downing Street.
Sources told a Sunday newspaper that Gordon Brown, who will submit a list of names for the Queen’s birthday honours in June, is said to be a supporter of Cowell.
Kara DioGuardi Shares her Ideas for Simon’s Replacement
American Idol is pretty buzzy right now with the news that Simon Cowell is leaving after this season, so when I spotted Kara DioGuardi at the Grammys Style Lounge today, I decided to get a shortlist of possible contenders straight from a judge’s mouth. I’ve got to warn you, two of her picks are pretty surprising, but I like ’em!
I also asked her about her favorite guest judge so far this season (hint: she doesn’t name Katy Perry), and to use her expertise to guess who’s taking home a Grammy trophy at the big show.
“I said from the beginning that I like the idea of Tommy [Mottola], because he’s somebody who really created a lot of stars. Just somebody who has a lot of opinions and a big personality. And there are a bunch of them out there! I can even see someone from the country world, maybe a Garth Brooks or a Vince Gill. I think a lot of people that love country music tune in; they’re a large part of our audience, so I think that would be an interesting flip on it.”
Area Notebook: Caddyshack tournament moving to March
The 10th annual Murray Brothers Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament will make its second date change since 2007.
There’s also a new charity, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
But it will be the usual cast of characters involved, led by actor Bill Murray and his five brothers. The tournament will be played March 26 at the World Golf Hall of Fame King & Bear and Slammer & Squire courses.
The Caddyshack Tournament had been played in May for the first six years of its existence. When The Players Championship was moved to May, the Caddyshack Tournament went to late April.
Living the dream
NEW YORK – “Dreamgirls’’ has always been an art-imitating-life hall of mirrors.
The tale of an African-American girl group whose members rocket from amateur-night upstarts to glamorous divas at the height of the Motown era, “Dreamgirls’’ is loosely based on the turbulent behind-the-scenes history of the Supremes. The Tony Award-winning 1981 production made Jennifer Holliday a Broadway legend, and the 2006 film version transformed Jennifer Hudson from an “American Idol’’ also-ran into an Oscar-winning Hollywood star. The trajectory of both women echoed the musical’s rags-to-riches story.
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Ke$ha, Justin Bieber Get Glammed Up At Grammy Style Studio
Also making laps was “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, who expertly worked the room, picking up some color-splashed 6-inch heels, testing out some Japanese sake drinks and taking long looks at a number of jewelry stalls, including Pennyroyal Silver. The rep told her that “Idol” alums Jordin Sparks and Adam Lambert are about to release signature pendants as part of a music collection that will benefit Haiti relief. An hour later, rapper Sean Paul would also stop by the booth and sketch an impromptu design for his own pendant, which pictured a very happy man with a hand-rolled, um, cigarette dangling from his lips.
Randy Jackson Talks ‘American Idol’
With many changes taking place on the new season of the hit show American Idol including Simon Cowell’s decision to leave the judging table, Randy Jackson tells OK! that he has been looking at names to replace the infamously honest critic.
Although nothing has been decided yet, Randy reveals to OK! that Simon, “sent me some names the other day, ” while out celebrating the Grammys on Saturday at Clive Davis’ annual soiree alongside Katy Perry, Rihanna, Fergie, Taylor Swift, and American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson.
Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy gala: A few high points before crowd makes early night of it
A massive cloud of stardust made its annual descent on the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, as the entertainment-industry elite gathered for the annual pre-Grammy party hosted by music mogul Clive Davis. Now officially sanctioned by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and dubbed the “Salute to Industry Icons, ” the bash remains an elite affair, an evening of A-list artists performing for their peers.
Major acts including the Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood rolled out their hits and very few surprises during the three-hour-long program. An omnibus of celebrities milled about the ballroom, Jane Fonda as well as Jay-Z and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who busted some slick moves while Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas performed “Smooth.”
