celebrity awards

Guide to the 49th Grammy Awards

Its time to get ready for what many deem ‘music’s biggest night’. The 49th Annual Grammy Awards will be presented from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 11, broadcast live on CBS from LA to NYC. The show will see awards given in 13 major categories plus honorary tributes will be presented during the telecast. Awards in the remaining 95 categories will be presented in a non-televised ceremony from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST.

Mary J. Blige, whose album “The Breakthrough’’ was perhaps the biggest in her career, was nominated for a leading eight Grammy Awards, including R&B album, record and song of the year. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were also multiple nominees, garnering six.

Other multiple nominees were the Dixie Chicks, British newcomer James Blunt, John Mayer, Prince, and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am.

The Police to Headline Grammy Awards

The Police, the 1980s super group, will reunite for the HD broadcast of the 49th annual Grammys Awards on Sunday night.

The music awards show, which will air Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET, is expected to open with a performance by Police band members Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland.

The group, which disbanded in 1985 after producing just five albums, is expected to announce a world reunion tour the following day. The Police have only performed together in public a few times since their break up.

Beyonce Snaps Up Soul Train Nominations

Beyonce Knowles has made her presence felt, leading the field of nominees announced on February 6th for the 21st annual Soul Train Music Awards. The awards pay respect to the year’s best of soul, R&B and hip-hop.

Two of Beyonce’s three nominations were for her hit single “Irreplaceable,” earning nods for best R&B/soul single and for best R&B/soul or rap music video. Along with these honors, her second solo album, “B’Day,” is up for best female R&B/soul album.

79th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars) Nominees

This year is the 79th Annual Academy Awards (Feb. 25th), or more commonly known as the Oscars.  Big winners from previous award shows (Babel, Dreamgirls, Departed, and Little Miss Sunshine) are expected to do well, and some late arrivals (Blood Diamond and Notes on a Scandal) just might sneak away with a couple awards.  Regardless, it will make for an entertaining awards show as so many quality films are in the running.  Listed below is a recap of the nominees by category for the Oscars, and they are as follows:

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)

Martin Scorsese Wins DGA Award; On Path To Oscar

In a recent ap release, it was announced that Martin Scorsese won the top honor from the Directors Guild of America for his mob saga “The Departed,” helping to push his case to finally receive Hollywood’s biggest filmmaking prize at the Academy Awards.

After five prior nominations with no victories, Scorsese finally captured the award given by his peers. It is important to note that the guild winner usually goes on to win the best-director Oscar.

Scorsese said that he was pleased at the apparent success of the film, but that he only became convinced it was doing well when the studio called with box-office revenues from the first couple of weekends.