Finalists Announced For “The 2013 Billboard Music Awards,” To Air Live From Las Vegas Sunday, May 19 on ABC

Taylor Swift, fun. and Maroon 5 Tie for the Lead as Contenders in 11 Award Categories, Followed by Rihanna, Carly Rae Jepsen and One Direction.

LL COOL J and Taylor Swift to co-host The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! Wednesday, Dec. 5 on CBS

CBS Entertainment Special Will Announce Nominations for THE 55th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS® Live from the Bridgestone Arena.

Musical group FUN. and three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Ne-Yo have been added to the lineup for THE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS CONCERT LIVE! — COUNTDOWN TO MUSIC’S BIGGEST NIGHT®.  They join previously announced performers Luke Bryan and three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning group Maroon 5. LL COOL J and Taylor Swift will co-host the one-hour concert special. The show, which will announce nominations in several categories as well as feature performances by past GRAMMY® Award winners and/or nominees, will take place live for the first time ever at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Dec. 5 (live 10:00 – 11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT/9:00 PM, CT) on the CBS Television Network. Additional performers and presenters will be announced shortly.

Following the one-hour live broadcast, guests will experience a one-hour exclusive concert by Maroon 5. Tickets for THE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS CONCERT LIVE! — COUNTDOWN TO MUSIC’S BIGGEST NIGHT® are on sale now and are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at 800-745-3000.

This concert special marks the fifth time nominations for the annual GRAMMY Awards® will be announced live on primetime television. Last year’s broadcast of the nominations special helped lead to increased ratings for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which attracted 39.9 million viewers, the largest GRAMMY audience since 1984 and the second-largest in history. The broadcast was also the biggest social event in the history of television at that time, drawing 13 million social media comments, with the conversation on Twitter reaching a record high at 160,341 tweets per minute during the live broadcast.

LL COOL J has hosted The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night since its inception in December 2008, and also hosted the annual GRAMMY Awards broadcast for the first time earlier this year. Swift co-hosted the first GRAMMY nominations special with LL COOL J in December 2008.

The road to Music’s Biggest Night begins with The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! and culminates with the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10 and broadcast on CBS (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT).

The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night is produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC. Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer. LL COOL J is producer.

About The Recording Academy:
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Source: CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Logo credit to: CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Drake to Perform at the 2011 American Music Awards; Ludacris to Perform with Enrique Iglesias

On Thursday, November 17, 2011 dick clark productions (dcp) president and executive producer Orly Adelson announced that Drake and Ludacris will each perform at “The 2011 American Music Awards®.” From the highly demanded album in stores now “Take Care”, Drake will perform his hit record “Headlines.”

Ludacris will join Enrique Iglesias as the 6^th unique collaboration of the evening which sets a new AMA record for the most collaborations in the show’s 39 year history.

The other collaborations will include Pitbull with Marc Anthony and Lil Jon, Gym Class Heroes with Adam Levine, will.i.am with Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj with David Guetta, and Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera.

The show will be broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20^th (8:00-11:00 pm ET/PT) on ABC.  Tickets are now on sale (please visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-234-8425.)

The show’s full roster of performing talent now includes: Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Drake, Gym Class Heroes, David Guetta, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Jon, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Pitbull, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, The Band Perry and will.i.am.

This year, ABC will air a live pre-show “Countdown to The American Music Awards” hosted by Chris Harrison and Vanessa Lachey and live reporting by Ryan Devlin starting at 7:00pm ET/PT. In addition, the online pre-show “Coca-Cola Red Carpet LIVE! @ the 2011 AMAs” hosted by Lance Bass, Michael Buckley, Estelle, Sarah Hyland, Mario, Audrina Patridge and Josh Sussman will stream live for fans worldwide starting at 2pm PT / 5pm ET at ABC.com, Livestream.com/AMAs and other partner sites.

Artists will be honored in the categories of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin, and Contemporary Inspirational.  Fans can go to the official homepage of the “2011 American Music Awards,” AMA.abc.com, to find performer and presenter announcements, artist information, and more.

About the Voting :
American Music Awards® nominees are selected from both BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart and Mediabase. The Ultimate Chart is a ranked list of the most popular artists and songs based on a weighted combination of music sales, radio and TV broadcast, internet streaming and video viewing, and incorporating additional online metrics, including activity on social networks. Mediabase monitors more than 1,800 radio stations in 180 U.S. and Canadian markets, 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and provides vital airplay and programming information to more than 1,700 affiliate radio stations and every major broadcast group.  Winners are chosen by public vote online.

About dick clark productions, inc.:
Founded in 1957, dick clark productions, inc. (dcp) is a leading independent producer of television programming. dcp produces perennial hits such as the “American Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”  dcp also produces popular weekly television programming, including “So You Think You Can Dance,” and owns and maintains one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment libraries, which includes more than 30 years of “American Bandstand” footage.  For additional information about dcp, please visit www.dickclarkproductions.com 

About the American Music Awards:
In 1973 Dick Clark created the American Music Awards to pay tribute to popular musicians from various genres of music and to put audiences in touch with the latest phenomena in American music.  Since its founding, the AMAs have honored and showcased the talents of some of the biggest names in the music industry. For press credential requests, please go to http://ama.dickclark.com.

Sources: dick clark productions and ABC
Photo credit to: Enrique Iglesias & Drake Facebook Fan Page

2011 Grammy Nominees Official Album Set for Release January 25th

The Grammy Awards are around the corner and The Recording Academy announced on Thursday, January 6, 2010 that The Recording Academy and Jive Records to release the 2011 Grammy Nominees album, this is the 17th edition of the best selling which will included artists and songs of 53rd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees.

“The exceptional mix of recordings contained on this preeminent compilation provides an incredible playlist from some of this year’s remarkable and talented GRAMMY nominees,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. He continue“With 19 diverse selections, the nominees album offers quality recordings for all music fans. We are proud and excited to, for the first time, collaborate with Jive Records on this project and we look forward to another successful chart-topping GRAMMY album.”


The cd will be available for purchase on January 25 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares Foundation and the Grammy Foundation, those are two charities established by The Recording Academy. For more information and where to buy the cd http://www.2011grammycd.com

Also Ivan Gavin, COO of the RCA/JIVE Label Group said “The 2011 GRAMMY Nominees album showcases some of the year’s best artists and songs from all genres and we’re honored to partner with The Recording Academy to release this compilation of the signature songs from the past year,” He concluded “In addition to offering great music, the collection also gives music fans the opportunity to support MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation — two charities that benefit the artistic community.”

2011 GRAMMY Nominees AlbumTracklist:

1.        CEE LO GREEN “Forget You” Record Of The Year Song Of The Year
2.         B.o.B FEAT. BRUNO MARS “Nothin’ On You” Record Of The Year
3.         KATY PERRY FEAT. SNOOP DOGG “California Gurls” Album Of The Year

4.         LADY GAGA FEAT. BEYONCÉ “Telephone” Album Of The Year
5.         EMINEM FEAT. RIHANNA “Love The Way You Lie” Record Of The Year Album Of The Year Song Of The Year

6.         LADY ANTEBELLUM “Need You Now” Record Of The Year Album Of The Year Song Of The Year

7.          ARCADEFIRE “Ready To Start” Album Of The Year

8.          ADAM LAMBERT “Whataya Want From Me” Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

9.          JOHN MAYER “Half Of My Heart” (with Taylor Swift) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

10.       MICHAEL BUBLÉ “Haven’t Met You Yet” Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

11.        BRUNO MARS “Just The Way You Are” Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

12.       MICHAEL JACKSON “This Is It” Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

13.       RAY LAMONTAGNE and the PARIAH DOGS “Beg Steal Or Borrow” Song Of The Year

14.      MIRANDA LAMBERT “The House That Built Me” Song Of The Year

15.        SADE “Babyfather” Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

16.       PARAMORE “The Only Exception” Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

17.       TRAIN “Hey, Soul Sister” (Live) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

18.       MAROON 5 “Misery” Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

19.       GLEE CAST “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Regionals Version) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 13 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

About The Recording Academy Was established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization’s social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, and aYouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.


About Jive Records Jive Records is a record label within the JIVE Label Group.  The label represents a varied group of internationally renowned artists representing all genres of music including Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly, Usher (LaFace), Tool (Volcano), Ciara (LaFace), P!nk (LaFace), Britney Spears, OutKast (LaFace), Kirk Franklin (Verity), The Days Grace, T-Pain, Marvin Sapp (Verity), Jordan Sparks, JLS, Bullet For My Valentine, Buddy Guy, Anthony Hamilton and more. JIVE Label Group is a unit of Sony Music Entertainment. Sources: The Recording Academy Press Room & Hollywood Events Examiner

Editor’s Corner: Readers what do you think about this compilation? Will you go purchase it? Will you watch the show too? Please leave your comments and feel free to share this story with your friends. Also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/diversitynewsee and add me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/people/Steven-Escobar/100000054606373