Dec 6 2012 12:03 PM ET

Grammy snubs and surprises: Pink, Miguel, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Frank Ocean

Frank-Ocean

Image Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

Last night, in between LL Cool J and Taylor Swift beatboxing “Mean” and Maroon 5 performing that 311 song that was somehow number one for nine weeks, the nominees for the Grammy Awards (or at least, selected categories of them) were delivered live.

And like always, they they didn’t disappoint the armchair critics with their surprises and, in some eyes, oversights.

Unlike last year – a.k.a. Adele-apalooza: Beyond Thunderdome –  no one artist was dominant; the most nominations scored by any one artist was six, and six separate artists hit that number: Mumford & Sons, Fun., Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Jay-Z, and Black Keys drummer Dan Auerbach.

That’s a pretty eclectic list, but there’s more to dig into from the big list.

Surprise: Miguel
The critically lauded (and EW-beloved) R&B singer’s Prince-style opus Kaleidoscope Dream hasn’t made a huge impact yet commercially, but it still nailed down five well-deserved nominations, including a major nod for Song of the Year for the ultra-sexy “Adorn.” 

Snub: Carly Rae Jepsen
Sure, “Call Me Maybe” was nominated for some big prizes, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, but why was it left off the list for Record of the Year? And why didn’t Jepsen get a nod for Best New Artist? Grammy voters seemed to be implying that while they would honor her huge sales year, they may not be expecting her to stick around. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2012 10:35 AM ET

Rod Stewart, John Travolta, Colbie Caillat, and the best (and best-worst) of the season's new Christmas music

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Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

For some of you, the focus on Christmas shifted roughly 20 minutes after swallowing the last bite of Thanksgiving pie and you set out to find the best spot for your Black Friday tent.

One of the great joys (or, depending on who you are, nightmares) of the holiday commerce season is the never-ending stream of Christmas music filling in all the empty airspace in your local shopping malls and department stores. But what if you’re shopping online, and somehow avoiding every other vestige of public-space holiday-music inundation?

To help you, here’s a rundown of some of the new stuff added to the yearly snowpile of Yuletide releases (and at the end of this post, a Spotify playlist to let you try out the wares like so many Costco samples.)

Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas, Baby
The undisputed champ of this season’s holiday music bonanza is Stewart, whose first holiday album is currently doing big business (it narrowly missed preventing Alicia Keys from being the top album in the country this week). His approach is very much “Over-Eggnogged Uncle Croons Hugs ‘Round the Tree,” but it’s still Rod-ily charming, and his original composition “Red Suited Super Man” will be an alternate-universe hit next Yuletide season.

Cee Lo Green, Cee Lo’s Magic Moment
The music world was half-expecting a new album from Green’s old hip-hop group Goodie Mob this holiday season, but instead we got The Voice favorite’s blast of red-velvet funk (and that’s red velvet like Santa’s suit, not the sexy cake kind). Its Motown bounce recalls all the great Stevie Wonder Christmas tracks of yesteryear, and the inclusion of the Muppets (on “All I Need Is Love”) is never not awesome. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2012 09:30 AM ET

From 'Pitch Perfect' to 'Sparkle': The best (and worst) soundtracks of 2012

It was a great year for music on the silver screen in some ways — mainstream flicks featuring hot new artists; and weaker in others — favorite singers being massacred in cover-land. Here are our picks for the best soundtracks of 2012, complete with a Spotify playlist to rock you through it — and a few of the worst (we spared you the playlist for that one).

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Image Credit: Peter Iovino/Universal

Best of 2012

Pitch Perfect – Fresh and inspired, with mash-ups that Glee would kill for, this ode to collegiate a cappella gave us – and anyone who enjoys harmonies – something to sing about.

Katy Perry: Part of Me – The pop album that just wouldn’t quit got a nice compliment with the 3-D concert film. The Part of Me soundtrack gave a new listening experience to everything from “Firework” to newer stuff like “Wide Awake.” Not to mention, it’s just plain fun.

Skyfall – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard Adele’s slow-burner of a Bond theme. But the soundtrack is more than just that hit single – thank goodness.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 – The Twilight soundtracks are always an eclectic mix of musicians and genres, and the fifth and final is no exception. Standouts include Green Day’s “The Forgotten” and “Bittersweet,” by Ellie Goulding.

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2012 09:00 AM ET

Phillip Phillips among Fox's 'New Year's Eve Live!' performers

phillip-phillips

Image Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Phillip Phillips fans planning to stay home for New Year’s Eve now have a reason to choose Fox — the American Idol winner will play Fox’s New Year’s Eve Live!, along with Lifehouse. A host and additional performers will be announced for the 90-minute special, broadcasting live from Las Vegas starting at 11 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. And never fear, Fox cameras will also show the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.

Read more:
Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen to play ABC’s ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’
Best of 2012 (Behind the Scenes): How Phillip Phillips’ song ‘Home’ was chosen for the Olympics
Best of 2012: The 5 best non-Adele songs of the year

Dec 6 2012 08:22 AM ET

What songs did you listen to the most this year? EW's music staff weighs in

head-phones

Image Credit: Mads Perch/Getty Images

Sometimes 2012 felt like a continuous loop of the same seven pop songs (or maybe just one, “Some Young Gangnam Diamond That Never Called Me Maybe on a Payphone (Like, Ever),” if you prefer a mashup.)

Some of those songs are truly great, and you’ll find more than a few of them on our official Year End Top 10 list in the upcoming Best and Worst issue of EW on stands Dec. 17.

But this is a separate list: One that our staff put together to celebrate the dozens of other artists — from Japandroids and Jessie Ware to Meek Mill and Avett Brothers (and yes, some Taylor and Ke$ha and Kanye, too)  — who stayed on repeat in our offices and on our iPods these past 12 months.

Read on, and listen to them all on the Spotify playlist we’ve provided while you do — it will be like you’ve been right here with us all year. Lucky!

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 11:05 PM ET

Grammy nominations announced: Frank Ocean, fun., and the Black Keys dominate

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Image Credit: Lindsey Byrnes

Taylor Swift wasn’t the only one with surprise face at Wednesday night’s Grammy nomination concert.

A partial list of the nods for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards were revealed in a live televised concert event tonight, and it produced a fair share of bookie-flouting snubs and nods.

The show, which took place in Nashville under the watch of awkward-slash-charming cohosts Swift and LL Cool J, handed out a slew of golden-ticket invites to the February ceremony: First-timers Frank Ocean and fun. nabbed multiple (and fairly anticipated) nominations — including Best New Artist and Record of the Year — as did fellow rookies Gotye, Hunter Hayes, the Lumineers, Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Alabama Shakes.

A partial sampling of the nominees (for the full list, click here): READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 06:35 PM ET

Tony Hawk teams with Metallica, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan for 'Boards + Bands' charity project

Metallica-Boards

Image Credit: Tony Hawk Foundation

Tony Hawk has spent a lifetime shredding, and now he’s hoping to give that gift back through his work in the Tony Hawk Foundation.

His charitable organization’s latest project is called Boards + Bands, which is the brainchild of Hawk and his friend (and Grammy-winning musician) Ben Harper. The idea is simple: A bunch of the biggest skateboarders in the world have donated actual boards that they’ve ridden, and those boards were then sent to a bunch of legendary musicians for some turned-to-11 customization.

The boards are currently up for auction, with the proceeds going to building public skateparks for at-risk kids in low-income communities. The decks feature hand-written lyrics by the likes of Harper, Paul McCartney, Metallica’s James Hetfield, Bob Dylan, the late Adam Yauch, Jimmy Cliff, and Tom Petty.

McCartney’s board features some lines from “Blackbird,” while Yauch spread the lyrics to the appropriately zen Beastie Boys track “Bodhisattva Vow” across three different boards. The decks are also currently on display at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Check out the video about the project below.

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 02:52 PM ET

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John exceed your wildest expectations with Christmas music video

Might-Like-It

What happened to Danny and Sandy after they flew Greased Lightning off into the sky? Evidently, they landed, grew middle-aged together, bought a plane — wait, what? They already had a flying car — and separated before the holidays just so that they could make a music video about coming back together. The clip also features a family reunion that has nothing to do with Danny or Sandy because, sure, why not.

What the hell am I talking about? I’m talking about this newly-released music video for the only original tune on Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta’s fantastically cheesy Christmas album. (EW’s Nakisha Williams calls it “Grease goes to Shady Pines.”)

The song, “I Think You Might Like It,” is supposed to be the “sequel” to “You’re The One That I Want.” In the sense that it’s an up-tempo duet between Travolta and Newton-John, it succeeds. In every other way… well, maybe you should just watch for yourself:

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 12:22 PM ET

Reese Witherspoon confirmed for Michael Buble duet

REESE-WITHERSPOON

Image Credit: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

Reese Witherspoon’s walked the line before, and now she’ll be doing it with Michael Bublé.

In a recent interview with U.K. telly program DaybreakBublé revealed that he and Witherspoon will have a duet on his next album, due out next year. “By all accounts it would be true,” he said of his collaboration.

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 12:13 PM ET

Jazz composer, pianist Dave Brubeck dies at 91

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Image Credit: David Redfern/Redferns

Jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck, whose pioneering style in pieces such as “Take Five” caught listeners’ ears with exotic, challenging rhythms, has died. He was 91.

Brubeck died Wednesday morning of heart failure after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son Darius, said his manager Russell Gloyd. Brubeck would have turned 92 on Thursday.

Brubeck had a career that spanned almost all American jazz since World War II. He formed The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951 and was the first modern jazz musician to be pictured on the cover of Time magazine – on Nov. 8, 1954 – and he helped define the swinging, smoky rhythms of 1950s and `60s club jazz.

READ FULL STORY »

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