Looks like for 2008′s Grammy’s, Kanye West and the troubled Amy Winehouse will lead the pack with multiple nominations. Kanye’s Graduation album, after much publicity and marketing, beat out 50 Cent’s Curtis, and released three huge singles (“Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” and the anthem, “Stronger” and party favorite, “Good Life”). The critically acclaimed disc had the year’s biggest debut, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, an amazing feat during the industry’s current struggles.
Although Winehouse has been in the media recently for her erratic behavior and alleged substance abuse, Grammy hopefuls are thinking that Amy’s nominations this year will take the heat off of her personal life, and put focus back onto her music. Here’s what Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Ne-Yo and Grammy-winning producer John Shanks had to say:
“Amy Winehouse is incredible. I think she should have got a little more positive recognition,” said singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. Grammy-winning producer John Shanks called Winehouse’s album Back to Black, which included the telling hit “Rehab,” “an important record.”
“I don’t think her troubles are really going to hurt her. I think the sound of that album made an impact,” Shanks added.
Other Grammy nominees include Beyonce, for top single of the year with her R&B acoustic jam, “Irreplaceable,” Fergie, who’s debut album The Dutchess rolled out a few #1 singles, as well as Rihanna, who broke as a crossover artist this year with her smash, “Umbrella.” I think the show should be pretty interesting this year, considering all the music that’s been pouring out. Let’s hope ’08 is just as good a year.
AVANT INKS DEAL WITH CAPITOL
Recording artist Avant has released four albums on Geffen Records, but has recently signed a new deal with Capitol, which is home to former Destiny’s Child member, LeToya Luckett, as well as the last label that Faith Evan released her latest record, The First Lady.
“They’ve shown that they’re dedicated to push their resources for my projects,” says the Cleveland native. “I look forward to a long lasting relationship with many, many hit records.”
Avant is busy recording his currently untitled project, which is set to be released in the summer of 2008. The set will feature production from Rodney Jerkins and DJ Smurf, among others. A single will be released in March. Meanwhile, Avant will tour with the male trio, TGT, which consists of Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese and will star in the play “Love in the Nick of Tyme,” featuring Morris Chestnut.
CHART NEWS
Looks like hip hop and R&B are still ruling the Billboard Hot 100! Right on! Alicia Keys still holds the #1 single spot, with her smash hit, “No One.” Like I said, I couldn’t stand the song at first, but now I am absolutely loving it. Her third studio album, As I Am is also #2 on the albums chart, and broke a record for biggest female debut numbers.
Holding the #2 on the Hot 100 is Chris Brown and T-Pain with their club banger, “Kiss Kiss,” from his sophomore set, Exclusive, which seems to be a favorite these days. Timbaland and his Mosley Music Group signees, OneRepublic hold the #3 spot with the crossover ballad, “Apologize” from Timbaland’s Shock Value (the band also features “Apologize” on their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud, which was released a couple of weeks ago).
Also in the top 10 are Flo-Rida with his popular radio buzzer, “Low,” which peaked at #4. Kanye and T-Pain take the #7 spot with “Good Life,” while “Soulja Boy (Crank That)” still staying strong on the chart at #8, with Rihanna and Ne-Yo not to far behind, grabbing the #9 spot. Big ups to black music! We’re definitely doing our thing.
woohooo chris brown….
Avant…give it up! You’ve been gone from the industry for too long, and you are getting kinda old to be coming back. Good luck just the same…
Amy better not bring her ass to the Grammy’s gone off that *hit!
Congrats to Alicia! Unfortunately I didn’t aid in her CD become #1…
THEY TRIED 2 MAKE ME GO TO REAHB…. …..NO NO NO NO NO…… ….BACK 2 BLACK IS A BEAST. …IF U AINT KNOW..U SHOULD.. ..COP FRANK TOO WHILE U AT IT…………..
Yay for Ye Graduation is the shit. Can’t Tell Me Nothing is my anthem.
Bee still ranking them in I see. Go to see R&B still running thangs. I have never heard the Flo-rida song.
I spelled is his name wrong, lol, oh well.
I AM SO HAPPY AMY WINEHOUSE CAME TO USA BECAUSE SHE MAKES BLACK SINGERS (AT LEAST 90% OF THE SINGERS OUT) LOOK LIKE SHIT (MUSICALLY WISE THANK YOU!)
AND YES, SHE LOOKS A HOT MESS, SHE MUST BE CRAZY BUT ALL REAL
ARTISTS ARE. BUT OF COURSE, BECAUSE CREATING SOMETHING (WHICH A LOT OF ARTIST NEVER HEARD ABOUT) REQUIRES THAT YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY THAT EVERYBODY BEFORE YOU, TRANSLATION, BE ON DRUGS LOL AND SOMETIMES YOU CANNOT HANDLE IT!
BUT I HOPE SHE IS GONNA BE OK BECAUSE I AM SO TIRED OF FREAKUM #### !!
The only way Avant will sell records and really be seen is if he switches up his style.
First of all he looks like R. Kelly as it is and there is nothing about his voice or his sound that sets him apart from any other R&B singer.
as for R&B and Hip Hop.. we will always be at the top!
Amy needs to eat a sandwich and lay off that pipe before she go to the grammy’s.
ME AND MS JONES?!! DAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM
EVERYBODY SHOULD COPE HER ALBUM, IT GIV EME HOPE THAT SOME PEOPLE STILL KNOW HOW TO DO REAL MUSIC.
IRREPLACABLE IS SO OLD NOW, IT WAS OK SONG BUT TOO POP!!
@ #6. She looks black singers look like shit? Really? Go somewhere with your crack-addict loving racist ass.
makes*
Chris Brown’s song is wack and that pic of him makes him look extra gay
Can’t say that the Grammy’s made the right choice choosing that god awful Fergie album
I am black and I said that she make real black music that Beyonce, Rihanna and some other artist !!
yes i said it!!
Good for Kanye! And STFU at #6
so glad for kanye and amy winehouse! i hope amy can get it together by then!
yes really, cause we black people only look at her look, she looks a mess but first, she was not looking like that before.
Secondly, her music is MORE BLACK!! And i hope our black singers will feel ashame and come back to her who run black music. Period!
@Christelle
Please! Amy Winehouse is just copying what black artists have been doing for years but don’t get recognition for it because of their skin color. Amy Winehouse wouldn’t even have gotten attention if she was a black artist
oh and by the wAY, SHE IS NOT THE ONLY SINGERS ON CRACK, SHOULD I REMIND A CERTAIN WHITNEY HOUSTON. OF COURSE, SHE SHOULD DO SOMETHING BUT SHE IS WAY MORE TALENTED THAN A LOT!!
APPLE BOTTOMS,
YOU ARE RIGHT, BUT THAT IS NOT CALLED CPYING THAT IS CALLED “INSPIRED” AND I WOULD LIKE MORE SINGERS TO COPY ALSO OUR BLACK LEGENDS BUT THEY DON’T?!!
@13.- Just because Rihanna and Beyonce are always put on blast everywhere does not mean that there isn’t black aritsts making Great Black music. India.Arie, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Jaheim, Guadeloupe(sp?), chrissette michelle, Angie Stone, Macy Gray, Jill Scott the list goes on and on. You need to expand what you’re listening to before making judgements on a whole group of people u self-hating dumb azz
because even jay-z called her to work with her?! so that means something for real!!
But we still have Mary, jill Scott, Erika, and a lot of others but they are not recognized for their music cause it is not pop so it is cool that real black music is represented sometimes. It is just sad that the artist have to be white but to me it does not matter cause as i alwas said : once i put the cd on my stereo, i don;t see if she looks good or looks a hot ass mess, i want good music and i got it!
Queen latifa, just read my post below!
I agree with you
Amy Winehouse is the TRUTH. NOBODY can deny her talent. *Christelle is right when she says that Amy is better than 90% of the R&B “singers” out today. But I personally think she’s better than 99% out there.Her being on drugs has nothing to do with her talent, just like it had nothing to do with Billie Holiday’s talent or has nothing to do with Whitney’s talent.
@Christelle
If everyone just started mimicking artists from the past then there would be no progression in music and we would just be listening to the same shit everyday.
Thats why there is an emphasis on Contemporary R&B (Beyonce, Rihanna, Kelly Rowland, Amerie, Keyshia Cole, Ciara) cause its a modern form of R&B that combines all the elements that have made music what it is today. Learn to adjust and stop complaining.
and i am not dumb cause she is in the same category as these artist except music shoulchid, too corny to me. And i also listen to jazz, to african music, to european music …
so no need to call me dumb cause my culture musically wise is surely wide than yours!
they are doing shit,
because, they are always trying to give a same sound and they are not trying to expand (as you say) the range of the possibilities). At the end of the day, you have a asceptic music that looks like the same, and nobody is able to say who is who? so we need vocal identity, superior productions so yes, i hear new music but since i hear a lot of old music, they are shit!! it is just like people are not able to create nothing.
And i bet you don’t have the Frank album of Amy cause black to black was oreinted! but Frank is way better again (you see it possible!)
You can’t mimick the type of voice Amy has. Of course her music beats and whatnot are mimicking old school music, but she adds a modern hip-hop & R&B twist to it. All music originates from somewhere, there’s no harm in honoring pure music from back in the day.
Whoa is getting vicious in here! Congrats to Avant, he may sound the same but he obviously has staying power, and unlike kell’s, he’s not pissing on little girls! He’s got himself another pass. Congrats to all the artist, I dig em all (except Chris Brown, my “ABC, and “The Boyz” days are loooong behind me!)
OMG I absolutely cant stand that crackhead Amy Winecrack seriously!! I mean WTF why the hell would you scratch your pus*y in the middle of a performance and spit on your fans I mean that is effin disgusting smh….that is sum messed up shyt…
Im glad for Kanye, Alicia, Beyonce, Chris Brown for the Grammy Nominations and Charts woo hoo…gotta love R&B!
I own Amy Winehouse’s album because it is a great album but I don’t have to be simple minded (like you) to know that the contemporary R&B albums that have been coming out are good, cause they are. Just because they don’t have a live band in the background does not mean that they’re bad albums.
@12″ APPLEBOTTOMS” Girl please!!!! stop hatin on chris brown OH! by the way guess what U say really DON’T matter to any one his song IS numero UNO skank and bet your butt look like a dawm raquette YOU SKANK GO take A shower
Whatever, i just hope, it is going to draw the path for a better recognition of real soul music artist like all we know because they really deserve it!
They DO NOT sound the same. And for your f-in info i have BOTH amy winehouse albums, im not sayin she’s not good. But YOU need to stop belittling a whole group of people who u are obviously biased against.
@31
I’m gonna ignore you since I’m sure you’re just a 10 year old little slut who needs to be in school. That seems to be his only fanbase, pre-teen whores who need an ass whipping quick.
i mean numero DOS
#30, i just don’t like it, sorry. I compare them with the best and they are not! period.
The musical cjhice are too easy, people are looking to make money cause that the only thing they want. they don’t give a dam about music. That is why when an artist is tortured, his music is better. Music today, is about the look and as a woman, i don’t give a FUCK about how a singer look like period. I don’t wanna see a sexual show when i go to a concert I keep it for me and my boyfriend! narrow minded, if it is because i love to see a girl that blow with her voice even when she looks bad so yes i am! for sure.
but again, we already have some artist doing that, and we need more!
Damn! Y’all serious! LMAO!
Anyways, the official nominations have not been printed yet. This is speculation from industry insiders. I’m sure it will pan out but it wouldn’t hurt to wait a couple hours to get the real list of nominees.
Im going to ignored that little comment you just made. seems like you just a dirty foot gurl based on your name APPLE BOTTOMS girl please i just SEE IGNORANT when i read your comment GROW UP!!!!!!
Kanye desrves it! His album was the best of 2007!
they do sound the same,rihanna sound like beyonce.
J.holiday sounds like trey song
ciara sound like janet
I will not be able to continue the list cause i don’t listen to the radio so oftenly, one hour per month is enough to know what is going on in the music industry. I go to the disc shop to find some new independant music to refresh my ears but if i say madlib, oh no, jaydee, you won’t be able to know who they are so lets just stop here!
Music isn’t solely about the voice. You gotta have both the voice and the lyricism (clever or poignant), which Amy Winehouse has but many others in Contemporary R&B have as well so that doesn’t mean that they’re bad because they use a hip-hop producer.
They make such a big deal about white folks that sing Black music.
oh and kanye is really good cause he takes a lot of risk musically wise! and i love it!
@38
And the name BABY means something? Bitch please! Go hug your Chris Brown poster and go back to bed. He can’t sing, he can’t act, and his album is garbage.
@40
Amy Winehouse sounds like every black female soul artist from the 50′s and 60s…she isn’t original neither.
You are right,
but again, only few take the time to write properly!
44,
you really don’t get it lol. This voice is a gift from god. Nobody has this voice nowadays, like few have the erica badu voice!!
My point is at least, she sounds BLACK!! Unlike our national pop folk! that is it?!
@Christelle, don’t be hatin’ on J.Holiday, he sounds NOTHING like Trey Songz. I agree with you on everything other than J.holiday, ‘cuz he’s keepin’ it real and making good classic R&B music.
Rihanna, Beyonce, Ciara, Janet, J Holiday: they are all commercial. I’m not talking about them. I’m talking bout that list of black artists plus all the ones i didnt bother to write in my earlier post. YOU need to listen to THEM, as i said before. There is real black music out there and u just refuse to accept it. Its whatever, continue thinkin Amy Winehouse thiefin ass is the best thing since slice bread and deprive yourself of the ability that YOUR people actually have. Real BLACK music is out there, you’ll get it when u pull ur head out your ass
I think Avant has talent but he is boring I don’t think the switch in labels is going to change that.
Side note: I did like that song ” U know what”
What happened to Case and Donnel Jones
to 48,
you are stupid cause you don;t read my posts!!
so lets just stop here, i am tired!
Go Kanye !
to 48,
you are stupid cause you don’t read my posts!!
so lets just stop here, i am tired! all these artist are on my list and i said that if amy winehouse is recognised for that it is realy encouraging because maybe other artist that do real BLACK music are going to be recognized by all the world.
But i do believe that HER voice is amazing!
@Christelle
What is there to get? Your argument is wacky, you’re obviously some obsessed adolescent fan of Amy Winehouse who hasn’t been shown the good black music that exists right now.
Queen Latifah has two great jazz albums that are just as good as Amy Winehouse’s. Jill Scott has a much more powerful voice and her albums are damn near perfect.
what???
i know that, dam how can i explain it to you cause i am not sure i am talking chinese by maybe, i will speak french so will get it.
Jill soctt is nice, erikah is nice, queen latifa is nice too, and so is Amy. You happy?
noone wants to know black singers who sing like amy winehouse….we need to learn to suppot our own people more.
Even though I think Amy is the bomb, I do agree that if she were black she wouldn’t get as much recognition. But at the same time, I think there is racism within the black community too. If Beyonce and Rhianna were dark skinned, do you think they would get the same recognition that they do now???
Congrats to Kanye & Wino. If Wino would leave them drugs alone she’d be str8.
**I don’t know about “good music” in 2008, cuz it was real average to me this year, with a few exceptions**
I wish avant the best, he’s been around for a while and is so under rated.
Alicia’s CD is great so she deserves to be doing so well.
Apple bottoms,
just give up,
we are saying the same thing since the beginning, for seome reasons, you wanna fight. You will have to find someone else for that cause i know hell black music, that is the only thing i listen to! but a lot of people don’t and the fact that amy can be awarded for that is a good thing for black music that is all!! And yes, jill scott has a great voice, dangelo, donnell jones, jaheim, Antony Hamilton (the best), LAURYN HILL
oh and Alicia, sorry I forget her (my bad)!!
@Christelle
You need some help with your spelling and grammar…cause it sure is painful to read your comments.