How You Know When It's Time to Go Home
...meatloaf appears in the backstage press tent.
November 21, 2006
Blige Delivers and Picks Up Trophy
mary j. blige was named winner of the favorite female artist award in soul/rhythm & blues. the singer seemed near tears as she thanks "my lord" and the usual list of fans, managers and labels. we like blige because she can actually sing.
at the same time, backstage, rock band nickelback, which earlier took the trophy for favorite pop/rock album, babbled on about their new album while fielding tough questions along the lines of "are you guys having fun?"
Snoop Drops It Like It's Hot
shnizzty gets bizzy with the hizzy. local hero and the world's richest member of the long beach crips - snoop dogg - hit the stage while a pole dancer grinded above. snoop was on stage, but i don't think he rapped. his pal akon did the rapping. snoop posed with a stack of money, a stack of bling and a stack of girls.
Meeting Jesse McCartney
I'm not completely out of it. I know who Paul McCartney. But Jessie MaCartney? Never. He just walked into the press tent and looks, at the most, maybe 12. Wearing a black suit, purple tie and white tennis shoes, the frist question he was asked was about...Britney Spears! "She looked great!" he said of the soon-to-be divorced mother of two. "She got back on the horse in my opinion." Personally, I think she's an ongoing episode of the Jerry Springer Show.
Anyway, back to Jessie. He sez he's gonna make another film (he made a first one?) and is looking forward to his next record which hye promises "is a fun record. It's got a little more edge to it. I'm very excited about it."
I just don't know how he finds the time to make records, movies AND do his 8th-grade Algebra homework!
Camen Electrifies Manilow
carmen electra should've been in everyone's gift bag. she didn't do much on stage, but a little electra goes a long way. what she did was bring on stage our pal barry manilow. that old show biz style never goes out of sync with music trends. the crowd loved him. barry's my pal because he gives some very good musicians a paycheck by using them in his big, big band. manilow won't use the familiar computer samples and backing tapes his competitors rely on. he's a one-man employment center for jazz players. yay barry!
Rapper Akon is a busy guy!
Akon just came back here and talked our ears off. Where have I been? What am I doing backstage at the American Music Awards? I have never heard of Akon. But I kept listening to him talk hoping that the more he talked, something would click. But, nope. No idea.
But, as a working journalist with a press badge around his neck, I took some notes and this is what I know: He has the number one and two top selling CDs on the Billboard charts, he has produced for Gwen Stefani and scores of others. He started talking about Michael Jackson and I think he's gonna work with the former King of Pop on something.
Anyway, Akon told us about the inspiration for his songs: "I was incarcerated and I write a lot, a lot of records. All the experiences I went through in my life, I wrote about them so when I got out, I'd start with a clean slate. Part of that slate includes a movie ab about his life he'd like to produce and direct and call "Illegal Alien."
Text-in Award For Rascal Flatts
The fans voted on mobile phones for a favorite band: rascal flatts, which earlier won for favorite band, duo or group in the country race. the trio hit the podium for a second time, thanking god, the fans and whomever thought of a name that is easier to text than chamillionaire, the rapper whose name is impossible to spell and pronounce.
Black Eyed Peas Cook
Caught on camera on tour in costa rica, black eyed peas accepted the award for favorite band, duo or group in the soul/rhythm & blues category. sat squished together on a couch back at the hotel, the peas said little. and then the next act began to play - fall out boy, a standard-issue pop-rock combo with a lot of tattoos.
Black Eyed Peas Cook
Caught on camera on tour in costa rica, black eyed peas accepted the award for favorite band, duo or group in the soul/rhythm & blues category. sat squished together on a couch back at the hotel, the peas said little. and then the next act began to play - fall out boy, a standard-issue pop-rock combo with a lot of tattoos.
nicole richie needs feeding
with every bone in her body glistening, almost-heiress richie trotted on stage to introduce her dad, lionel richie. currently in the midst of what's trumpeted as a comeback, lionel has actually never been away. he's never stopped touring, recording and playing anywhere they'll pay him. but thanks to "the simple life" and a media feeding-frenzy, the daughter is more famous than he is.
kirk franklin has his ear to the sky
part-time preacher kirk franklin grabbed the contemporary inspirational category, saying that "some of us christians aren't doing such a good job" representing the faith. franklin does his best and can often be seen on sunday cable TV, preaching from the pulpit about contemporary issues. very entertaining guy.
Backstage w/Jamie Foxx....
With an AMA to go akong with his Oscar, Golden Globe and God knows what other wards, an upbeat Jamie Foxx came backstage in the mood to chat. "The music is really what I hold close to my heart." Then he was asked about former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards racist rant last weekend at a comedy ckub in LA: "Don't EVEN ruin my vibe right now," Jamie said.
But, he continued: "I would've gone on stage, taken the mic from him to say, 'You need to take a nap because there's something going on insiide of you...It's sad to see something see something so ugly come out like that."
Foxx co-stars in the upcoming film version of "Dreamgirls" and is enthused about co-stars Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, and especially Eddie Murphy.
"Eddie Murphy ios back! E, where you been? He's been with animals and bears in kids movies and now he's back with the grown-ups and he's dangerous again!"
Mary J. in the House
blige in something skintight was a winner on stage, singing an upbeat r&b ballad ("we rock"?) with some real verve. one of the few contemporary r&b phenoms with real pipes, blige grabbed hefty applause, giving this awards show some life.
Dad of the year: Billy Ray Cyrus
The muswic scene is not exactly my forte, ok? Once ya get past The Eagles, U2 and Cher, I'm lost. So when Billy Ray Cyrus and his lovely daughter Milie were standing about a foot away on the red carpet, I said to the girl next to me, "Who is that?" Then I find out it's Billy Ray Cyrus who, of course, I have heard of. But it's his daughter who is the bigger record seller these days with a number one CD. She is better known as "Hannah Montana" I'm told and she has given her proud daddy the rare privledge of having a daughter who has joined her father in topping the charts. The others? Frank and Nancy Sinatra and Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.
wow!
Grohl & Tenacious D: Get a Hose
can someone explain the attraction of both of thse acts? both foo fighter dave grohl and the members of tenacious d look like they badly need a shower. the dirtbag look was great during grunge. today it just seems like skid row has moved a couple of miles south to the shrine. jack black even pointed to his own booty during his band's instantly forgettable performance.
jamie foxx & dixie chicks
oscar-winner jamie foxx called himself a "young pup," new to the music awards show. he gives a shout-out to managers, friends, biz partners and his "biological mother," which must've upset all the nonbiological mothers that claim him.
sharon stone and christian slater hit the podium next to bring out the dixie chicks, whose dour ballad had some of us thinking about enlisting - if only they'd ship us out out of the country soon. who cares about their politcs? they're boring.
The Mario Lopez express hits the AMAs
Less than a week after his upset loss on "Dancing With The Stars" to Emmett Smith, Mario Lopez just left the backstage area where he chatted w/us media folks. Lopez intorduced an act on the show but I forget who so be sure and tune in at 8 p.m. on ABC. Mario strolled down the red carpet with his dancing partner from the show (forget her name) says he's been going non-stop since the finale going to New York then to Vegas now at the AMAs then to Texas to visit family.
"I'm a hyper guy anyway," Mario sez. "I like moving fast. If I stay still, I get myself into trouble." Mario says he was happy for Emmett (yeah, sure) and says he is being approached about doing a Broadway musical. We know he can dance but "I don't know about my singing."
flava & pop rock male artist
"isn't he beautiful?" flava flave turned up on stage in a big crib and the camera cuts to a heavy-lidded snoop dogg, cackling his bling off. flave slipped off stage as fast as he appeared.
pop/rock male artist award goes right to sean paul, in his first american music award. hair in cornrows, satiny waistcoat and sunglasses, paul held the plastic obelisk in his right hand and spoke in a strange mix of bronx and kingston, jamaica. which fits because his music is a mix of rap and jamaica's dancehall sound.
AMA-red hot chili wins
red hot chili peppers, on tour in europe, took the trophy for pop/rock band with vocal. band was reached by vid in london where three members monkeyed around for the camera. they seemed more alive than they did a few months ago when the group was dead on arrival at one of the worst big shows of the year at staples center. maybe british food and draught guinness has lived up these peppers .
AMA-jay-z
so far, the best performance of the night is jay-z, the label prez and rapper whose new album is days away from being released. jay's improved as a performer since taking over the executive suite at one of the top labels. the crowd was dancing as much as they could at their seats. jay might have the rap album of the year by all reports.
Gwen Stefani and yodeling
Ryan Seacrest introduced Gwen Stefani in her first appearnce since having a kid. Opening with a yodel and now sporting long, blonde hair with Cherlike bangs, Stefani was surrounded by pajama-clad dancers as she delivered an electronic dance workout interspersed with some sort of yodeling. The hacks in the press room were trying to figure out when yodeling became cool. Is there a "Sound of Music" meets Napolean Dynamite feature in the works??
AMAs: Red Carpet Encounters...Isaiah Washington
Grey's Anatomy stars Isaiah Washington was just on stage to introduce the group Snow Patrol along with his co-stars Kate Walsh and Justin Chambers. I think his publicist hates me. On the red carpet, I asked him a few perfunctory questions then went right for it: "How are things on the set these days between you and Patrick Dempsey and T.R. Knight. The publicist starts making the "stop talking about that" motion, moving her finger acrss her neck. I ignore her, totally. Isaiah says the media has blown it all out of porportion and everything is fine and was fine shortly after the incident that left T.R. feeling that he had to come out publicly as a gay man. Isaiah seemed to want to talk despite the publicist making the "I'll cut your head off sign" to me, her eyes bulging out. I ignore her some more, but want to laugh. I tell Isaiah, "Your publicist hates me." He laughs. I give him major kudos for being polite and talking at-length. I don't have time to transcribe just yet but will have a full account of our conversation tomorrow on my blog "Out in Holywood."
AMA Red Carpet: the snubs
Paris Hilton is such a "jackass." I'm just quoting what someone else said when the heiress/reality show star/party girl/author/wannabe singer/author/hair extension wearer breezed past the press line talking on her cell phone. "She probably wasn't talking to anybody," sniffed one reporter. I didn't much care. Whar could I have asked her: "Are you really as shallow as you seem?" "Was that really YOU singing on that CD you released/" "Who is your best friend/boyfriend this week?"
We got snubbed by bigger names than Paris that's for sure. I stood on that red carpet yelling "Carrie! Carrie!" (as in Underwood). But she didn't come over. Too busy doing television I guess. "Mary J. Blige! Mary J!" She at least managed a smile. Ohmygod it's BEYONCE!!! "Beyonce! Beyonce! Daily News here!" She barely broke stride but she stopped to tell the girls from US and People who designed her gown. "Gwen! Gwen! Gweeeeen!" There went Stefani. In my next post, I'll tell ya more about the folks I DID get a word with.
Karma is a bitch though: Jimmy Kimmel opens the show with a joke about Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton both releasing their first CDs this year: "Both SO talented," he said, dripping with sarcasm. Poor Paris. Maybe she was on her cell phone and didn't hear the joke.
American Music Awards: The Red Carpet w/Josh Grobin and Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee
Forgive the typos in advance. I can't see a damned thing in this tent outside the Shrine Audistorium where they have put us poor press peeps. Josh Grobin is singing right now and I feel kinda special because about an hour ago I asked him a buncha stuff on the red carpet. I said, "When did you know you had this amazing voice?" He says, "Not until I was 14." So I go, "Your parents never heard you singing in the shower or anything and notice those pipes?" He insists they did not. Anyway, he's pretty cool, a great singer. But at the risk of sounding like his mommy, the boy's gotta get a haircut, pronto!
So, I got placed between a People mag and US weekly reporter and they were nice to me even though I made fun of some olf their silly questions: "What are your workout secrets Carmen [Elektra]? Got some good gets though like Katherine McPhee who is, a goddess. And chatted up the dude who edged her for the American Idol crown, Taylor Hicks. He's lost a ton of weight and has a flattering haircut and looks more than a little bit like George Clooney. He's a real gentleman and prevented a potentially awkward moment when he ended up in the press line standing RIGHT next to Weird Al who has a song parodymocking Taylor's song. But Taylor was a great sport and said: "How could you be mad? I've been listening to that guy's music forever."
November 22, 2005
Wrap up leg 'n' thigh
Everyone's jumping back into limos and Rolls Royces and Porsches to attend after-parties in secret locations. Not much of a story for the newsies at the Shrine. Everyone thought Mariah would be the big sweep - and she ended up going home alone with one trophy of her four nominations.
Sometimes leg and thigh isn't enough.
Smoking section
The secret's out - everyone smokes. Outside the old theater where the American Music Awards plodded along, throngs partied in billowing clouds of Camel Lights. Agents, producers, musicians, arm candy, husbands and lawyers banded to together in every dark space, lighting each other up and inhaling to the heavens.
No cigars, though. Those are for the real nonsmokers.
"ya na wha mean?"
Sean Paul is from Jamaica and he never lets you forget it. The dancehall rapper, who probably went to Harvard med, puts on a street rasta act for the fans.
Every sentence is punctuated with "ya na wha mean?"
Yes, Sean, we na wha mean. Na go 'way.
Chingy and Missy and ... Shakira!
Everything's going all pear-shaped for Missy. After some sort of back surgery, the performer is zooming around backstage on a scooter, telling everyone that this "male-dominated world" is tough on female rappers.
Will Smith
"It was about sex and stuff. Coz I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm goin' raunchy with it," Smith says backstage, referring to a song? Not sure. A movie? Not sure? A trip to the bank? Maybe. Looking like a millions bucks, Smith blathers on about his pal Curtis Jackson, a rapper who we can't bring ourselves to call 50 Cent. "He's brilliant. We talk for hours and hours."
Smith announces that "rap music in general is in a renaissance period." Whatever that's supposed to mean.
Backstage in the Press Pen
In the press room, everything's peachy. The food is flowing (there's no alcohol, but the night's still young), the show is blaring from three Sonys and a couple of people are actually working. What a difference from the Latin Grammys last month....
2005 American Music Awards
I'm an observer on the edge of the red carpet at the American Music Awards tonight downtown at the Shrine and dizzy from the procession of tan, well-tended, tight, carefully manicured flesh - or was that just Lance Armstrong? As the sign said on the KFC joint down the block: "Leg and Thigh."
