Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 105

Beach Boys Announce Tour Plans At Grammys

The Beach Boys: Performing with Foster The People at the Grammys at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Fresh off a Grammy performance with Maroon 5 and Foster The People, The Beach Boys stopped by the print media room at the Staples Center and announced plans for an upcoming tour.

The aging surf rockers, clad in velvet blazers and bright shirts, spoke of a major international excursion that would take them from Europe to Japan in 2012. Even Brian Wilson, who was seated in a chair on the...

Grammy Winners Pay Tribute To Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston: Grammy tributes abound.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards are underway, and already there has been an outpouring of love and respect for the late Whitney Houston, who passed away in Los Angeles yesterday.

Before the live telecast began, a Grammy producer explained that the night would be dedicated to Houston and focus heavily on honoring her life and career; LL Cool J opened the ceremony by talking about the singer, followed by a video tribute.

"There is no way around this," he...

Why Taylor Swift's Grammys Will Help Her To A Lucrative 2012

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

When Taylor Swift glided to the stage to accept her first Grammy of the night—Best Country Solo Performance for her song "Mean"—she delivered one of the better lines of the evening.

"There's nothing like writing a song about someone who's really mean to you and makes you life miserable," she said, "and then winning a Grammy for it."

The song in question (apparently aimed at music critic Bob Leftsetz, who frequently criticizes Swift in his newsletter, saying s...

Adele And Nicki Minaj Will Win Big At Grammys, Say Vegas Odds

Adele: Poised for Grammy glory--you can bet on it.

Adele is going to take home a lot of hardware at the Grammys tonight—at least that's what those making wagers in Las Vegas and beyond seem to think.

The British singer is the heavy favorite to win Album of the Year for 21, and both Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep." Nicki Minaj is the odds-on choice for Best New Artist in a category that includes The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole and Skrillex.

It would be a...

Grammys 2012: Live From The Staples Center Media Lair

Grammys 2012: The print media room.

Whenever I tell people that I'm going to cover the Grammys, they make certain assumptions. "Will you be sitting in the front row?" they ask. "Are you going to wear a tux?"

But though covering the Grammys is certainly a treat, it's not exactly as glamorous as many people think. Right now, I'm penning my second post from the print media center—a small room in the bowels of the Staples Center packed tightly with sweaty journalists clattering away furiously on...

Skrillex Has Already Won Three Grammys

Skrillex: Already three Grammys in.

Skrillex helped put dubstep on the map in the U.S. over the past couple of years, and now he's planting a flag in the mainstream music scene—the side-mulleted DJ has already nabbed three Grammys.

The awards, handed out in the Grammy pre-telecast ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, include Best Remixed Recording (Non-Classical) for the song "Cinema (Skrillex Remix)"; Best Dance/Electronic Album for Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites; and Best Dance R...

Whitney Houston Death Casts Shadow Over Grammy Festivities

Whitney Houston: Gone too soon.

Whitney Houston died Saturday in Los Angeles, casting a pall over the biggest weekend in music as the entire industry descends upon the City of Angels for Sunday's Grammy awards.

The first event to feel the impact of the singer's death will be the annual Clive Davis party, hosted at the Beverly Hills Hilton–the same hotel where Houston's body was found. It's too late to cancel the 800-person dinner, and thus the event will likely turn from celebration to...

Claude Kelly Talks Grammys, Grenades And Bruno Mars

The average American probably hasn't heard of Claude Kelly, but anyone who's turned on a radio in the past three years has certainly heard his work.

The 31-year-old songwriter has penned hits including "Party in the USA" for Miley Cyrus, "I Got You" for Whitney Houston, and "Hold My Hand" for Akon and Michael Jackson. A song he wrote for Fantasia called "Bittersweet" earned a nomination for Best R&B Song in 2011.

This year, Kelly is up for an even bigger honor—Song of the Year. He earned the...

Breaking Down The Grammy Controversy

Grammy Controversy: How many of these should be handed out?

There's an old joke that musicians dismiss the Grammys as a sham—unless they win one, in which case, it's most important award in the world.

That sentiment seems to be at the root of a controversy that has plagued the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization responsible for the Grammys, ever since it slashed the ceremony from 109 categories to 78 last April.

The move included the folding of some of the more...

The Grammy Bounce: How Much Is An Award Really Worth?

The 54th Grammy Awards will be held this Sunday in Los Angeles, and though Lady Gaga is unlikely to show up in a giant egg once again, victorious artists—particularly first-time winners—can expect a few more zeroes to hatch in their bank accounts.

So how much is the gilded gramophone actually worth, in terms of future earnings? A sampling of performers and producers shows a "Grammy Bounce" of at least 55% in concert ticket sales and producer fees during the year following a Grammy win.

"It...