by wildangels

Hello, everyone! For those who don't read the Country blog, Sorry for my absense. I'm back, though, and ready to get back to business.

First off, Lou Pearlman. You remember him, don't you? He's the puppet master behind Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and other 90's pop acts. Well, instead of making music, he's now facing it. According to yahoo, he's been sentenced for defrauding people and money laundering. I can't say I'm shocked. When your two biggest bands sue you and want to leave, there's got to be something amiss right? Besides that, I always did get an odd vibe off the guy.

Metallica seems to be embracing the old saying "if you can't beat them, join them". The band who became famous for fighting illegal downloading on Napster is now joining the digital world. The site, called Mission: Metallica, will allow fans to get all kinds of cool extras. This is all in anticipation of their new album due out late this year. Some lucky fans will even win the chance to go backstage at every show on their tour. Check out all the details here.

by wildangels

So, the annual Grammy Award Nominees have been announced. Here are a few categories I’m excited about and my thoughts on them...

Record of the Year: Beyonce, "Irreplaceable"; Foo Fighters, "The Pretender"; Rihanna, "Umbrella"; Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around... Comes Around"; Amy Winehouse, "Rehab". If you read some of my other posts, you know how I feel about the Beyonce song. While "Umbrella" and "What Goes Around..." are kinda catchy, I have to give the edge to Amy. I love the old 60s sound of "Rehab"... I just wish the song was not so depressing at this point.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Christina Aguilera, "Candyman"; Feist, "1234"; Fergie, "Big Girls Don’t Cry"; Nelly Furtado, "Say it Right"; Amy Winehouse, "Rehab". I really want either Fergie or Christina to get this one. The retro sound of "Candyman" was just fun and how do you deny that voice? I kinda give the edge to Fergie just because this is the first song she released from The Dutchess where her vocals were able to shine. All the other tracks were pretty much rapping.

Best Latin Pop Album: Papito, "Miguel Bosé & Varios Artistas"; Jorge Drexler "12 Segundos De Oscuridad"; Luis Miguel, "Navidades Luis Miguel"; Jennifer Pena, "Dicen Que El Tiempo", Alejandro Sanz, "El Tren De Los Momentos". There is only one winner in this category for me: Jennifer Pena. Dicen was the best CD she has released so far and showed so much growth as an artist. I’ll post some thoughts on it another time.

In other grammy news, Kelly Clarkson was almost totally shut out. Her only nomination was in the Country collaboration category for "Because of You". Not liking the song’s chances. Check my Country blog for more on that category.

Metallica is also up for some Grammy love this year. They’re nominated under the Instrumental Rock category. I always loved "Enter Sandman", but I didn’t get more into listening to them until recently. My boyfriend’s a huge fan and has been introducing me to more of their material and I’m loving it, so hopefully they can pull off a win.

Another favorite of mine up for some Grammy Awards: Bon Jovi. They’re nominated for CD Lost Highway . Oh, and let’s not forget the nom for "(You Want To) Make a Memory" in the Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category.

Finally, there’s Christina. Besides the nod for "Candyman", she’s also up for best pop collaboration for her duet with Tony Bennet. It’s called "Stepping Out". Too bad Back to Basics didn’t get a nod. That was a great Pop Music CD.