How many Ryan Seacrests can there be?

Competition shows are addicting. It could be the celebrity judges, the stuck up contestants, or the sob stories the producers love to dig through, but reality television is here to stay. American Idol, The Voice, and The X Factor may not always bring about stars, but they sure are entertaining. The only thing that's ruining them are the annoying hosts. Ryan Seacrest is the reason to watch American Idol, but why do other shows need hosts?
Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez are plain annoying on the X Factor. They ask questions of the contestants a therapist would ask, like "how does that make you feel?" or "Do you have any final words?" Their presence is completely pointless.
Carson Daly hasn't been cool since he was on TRL. For the love of television, MTV should bring it back. The biggest Ryan Seacrest wannabe in entertainment. He's not quite as bad on The Voice, but Blake Shelton and Adam Levine definitely make up for what Carson Lacks. The constant cutting to Christian Milian in the sky box is a buzz kill. Viewers continue to tune in because they need to find out who wins, the judges are entertaining despite the annoying hosts. Since the hosts aren't exactly desperate for employment, maybe next season we could nix some of them, with a little less "Khaos" in the competition.      

Teen Choice '11

Check out my coverage of the Teen Choice Awards nominations 2011 here: http://exm.nr/lqeZX3

The 2011 Grammy Nominations: Big Announcement, Bigger Flop

Below is a list of the 2010 Grammy Nominations. According to the Recording Academy, "The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position." I'm not sure this is entirely true. Most of these artists have had incredible sales, and were number one on at least one chart (not that this makes them less talented). Ryan Seacrest could have announced the Grammy Nominees from his AT40 radio show. All of these chart topping artists are very good, but there exists a lack of variety in style and a lack of talented songwriters. Something is wrong in the music industry when Cee Lo Green's F-U is nominated for "Song of the Year".  
There is no longer any distinction between the Kid's Choice Awards, the VMA's, the AMA's, or the Grammy's. Awards Season consists of The Oscars and "The Pop Culture Awards". It's cool that Justin Bieber is being recognized on the young Hollywood scene, and age should not be a factor in whether one could win an award. His nomination seems like one more plea to the younger generation to actually be interested in awards season.
What's your take on the Grammy nominations this year?             

THE 2010 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Beg Steal Or Borrow” – Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs
“Forget You” – Cee Lo Green
“The House That Built Me”- Miranda Lambert
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
BEST NEW ARTIST
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence + The Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Forget You” (aka “Fuck You”) – Cee Lo Green
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Recovery – Eminem
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles
“Halo (Live)” – Beyoncé
“Chasing Pirates” – Norah Jones
“Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga
“Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry
BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Haven’t Met You Yet” – Michael Bublé
“This Is It” – Michael Jackson
“Whataya Want From Me” – Adam Lambert
“Just The Way You Are” – Bruno Mars
“Half Of My Heart” – John Mayer
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
“Airplanes II” – B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
“Imagine” – Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
“If It Wasn’t For Bad” – Elton John & Leon Russell
“Telephone” – Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
“California Gurls” – Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg
BEST PERFORMANCE BY POP DUO OR GROUP
“Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)” – Glee Cast
“Misery” – Maroon 5
“The Only Exception” – Paramore
“Babyfather” – Sade
“Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” – Train
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
My World 2.0 – Justin Bieber
I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Battles Studies – John Mayer
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
BEST DANCE RECORDING
“Rocket” – Goldfrapp
“In For The Kill” – La Roux
“Dance In The Dark” – Lady Gaga
“Only Girl (In The World)” – Rihanna
“Dancing On My Own” – Robyn
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
These Hopeful Machines – BT
Further – The Chemical Brothers
Head First – Goldfrapp
Black Light – Groove Armada
La Roux – La Roux
BEST ROCK SONG
“Angry World” – Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
“Little Lion Man” – Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
“Radioactive” – Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
“Resistance” – Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
“Tighten Up” – Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, songwriter (The Black Keys)
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Emotion & Commotion – Jeff Beck
The Resistance – Muse
Backspacer – Pearl Jam
Mojo - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Le Noise – Neil Young
BEST ROCK SOLO VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Run Back To Your Side” – Eric Clapton
“Crossroads” – John Mayer
“Helter Skelter” – Paul McCartney
“Silver Rider” – Robert Plant
“Angry World” – Neil Young
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Ready To Start” – Arcade Fire
“I Put A Spell On You” – Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys
“Radioactive” – Kings Of Leon
“Resistance” – Muse
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
“A Looking In View” – Alice In Chains
“Let Me Hear You Scream” – Ozzy Osbourne
“Black Rain” – Soundgarden
“Between The Lines” – Stone Temple Pilots
“New Fang” – Them Crooked Vultures
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
“El Dorado” – Iron Maiden
“Let The Guilt Go” – Korn
“In Your Words” – Lamb Of God
“Sudden Death” – Megadeth
“World Painted Blood” – Slayer
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms – Band Of Horses
Brothers – The Black Keys
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Contra – Vampire Weekend
BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Gone Already” – Faith Evans
“Bittersweet” – Fantasia
“Everything To Me” – Monica
“Tired” – Kelly Price
“Holding You Down (Going In Circles)” – Jazmine Sullivan
BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Finding My Way Back” – Jaheim
“Why Would You Stay” – Kem
“We’re Still Friends” – (Kirk Whalum &) Musiq Soulchild
“There Goes My Baby” – Usher
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
“Take My Time” – Chris Brown & Tank
“Love” — Chuck Brown, Jill Scott & Marcus Miller
“You’ve Got A Friend” – Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
“Shine” – John Legend & The Roots
“Soldier Of Love” – Sade
BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Over” – Drake
“Not Afraid” – Eminem
“How Low” – Ludacris
“I’m Back” – T.I.
“Power” – Kanye West
BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
“Deuces” – Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Wake Up! Everybody” – John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common
BEST RAP SONG
“Empire State Of Mind” – Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane’t “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters (Sylvia Robinson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys)
“Love The Way You Lie” – Alexander Grant, Skylar Grey & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem & Rihanna)
“Not Afraid” – M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, L. Resto & M. Samuels, songwriters (Eminem)
“Nothin’ On You” – Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr., songwriters (B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars)
“On To The Next One” – Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, songwriters (G. Auge & X. De Rosnay, songwriters) (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)
BEST RAP ALBUM
The Adventures Of Bobby Ray , B.o.B
Thank Me Later , Drake
Recovery , Eminem
The Blueprint 3 , Jay-Z
How I Got Over , The Roots
BEST COUNTRY SONG
“The Breath You Take” – Casey Beathard, Dean Dillon & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (George Strait)
“Free” – Zac Brown, songwriter (Zac Brown Band)
“The House That Built Me” – Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate & Sam Tate, songwriters (Gretchen Wilson)
“If I Die Young” – Kimberly Perry, songwriter (The Band Perry)
“Need You Now” – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Up On The Ridge , Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give , Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song , Jamey Johnson
Need You Now , Lady Antebellum
Revolution , Miranda Lambert
BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Satisfied” – Jewel
“The House That Built Me” – Miranda Lambert
“Swingin’” – LeAnn Rimes
“Temporary Home” – Carrie Underwood
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Gretchen Wilson
BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Macon” – Jamey Johnson
“Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” – Toby Keith
“Turning Home” – David Nall
“’Til Summer Comes Around” – Keith Urban
“Gettin’ You Home” – Chris Young
BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Free” – Zac Brown Band
“Elizabeth” – Dailey & Vincent
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“Little White Church” – Little Big Town
“Where Rainbows Never Die” – The SteelDrivers

Don't faint... its Justin Bieber!

I first discovered Justin Bieber through the wonder of Twitter where his fans proclaim their undying love for him 24/7. Then I heard "One time" on the radio and made a connection with the name every girl under the age of 18 seemed to be going crazy over. Bieber hands down has the most dedicated, crazy fans ever. "Beliebers" would jump in front of a moving train for Justin (not that Justin would condone that type of thing). If they send Kim Kardashian death threats, anything is possible...

What sets Bieber apart from other young stars is he is pretty well respected by the media. There is more positive press for Bieber than negative. Recently Justin picked up a BET award nomination for "best new artist" and this week his album "My World 2.0" went back to the top of the Billboard 200. Justin's songs aren't just for kids either. His songs are climbing numerous radio charts and get quite a bit of airplay. The 16 year old, signed under Usher, who was discovered on Youtube, has quite a career to look forward to.

He had me hooked with "Eenie Meenie",which he collaborated with Sean Kingston on. Today Ryan Seacrest world premiered "Somebody to love" on his radio show. This track, in which Bieber sings with Usher is sure to be a big hit.

Bieber's newer songs are showcasing his hip hop roots and helping to shed any thought that he is in the business to be a bubble gum pop star forever.

Justin attracts hoards of young fans because he's real- he's a kid with a dream that came true. Justin is as close to overnight sensation as you can get. Bieber also doesn't seem to mind that 99% of his fans are teenage girls. He's grateful for his success. Add this Hollywood story,cute personality, and amazing hair together you get Justin Bieber, a Pop/R&B singer who is sure to have hoards of fans- at least until he gets a receding hairline.