Kathy Griffin is everywhere these days. The D-List star just wrapped up hosting duties on Bravo’s A-List Awards, the fourth season of her reality show My Life on the D-List just premiered on June 12th, and if you live in Los Angeles (and can still afford the gas for your car) you can cruise down to Sunset and Laurel Canyon and find the fiery red head on her very own billboard promoting her new CD, For Your Consideration.

Griffin has purposefully released this live recording of her February 17th show at the Grand Theater Center for the Arts in California, not so her fans can have her sassy commentary on celebrities at the touch of an iPod, but rather, so she could be in contention for the one award that has seemingly eluded her (and that she could possibly be eligible for since I don’t think any of us are seeing Oscar in her future): the Grammy.

… continue reading

Kathy’s reality show has already taken home Emmy gold and more recently she just won a GLADD award for Outstanding Reality TV Show. If Griffin gets her Grammy wish she will become a Hollywood triple threat: an Emmy award winning, Grammy winner, that is beloved by the gay community (it’s these kinds of accolades that have worked wonders for the careers of Liza and Barbara.)

It seems Aretha Franklin, often called the Queen of Soul, is not pleased that Beyoncé called Tina Turner the "queen"on the Grammy Awards broadcast.

"I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé," Franklin said in a statement issued by her publicist. "However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."

Franklin apparently ended the statement with "love to Beyoncé anyway."

Sheesh, Aretha. It was an intro, not a review. And Beyoncé is a huge fan of Tina, so she was bound to praise her.

Plus, Beyoncé didn't refer to Tina as the Queen of Soul, specifically. She just said, "give it up for the queen."

And I'm happy to give it up, whatever it is, because I thought Tina's performance was incredible. She can still hit those high notes and do the moves — at 68 years old! Wow. … continue reading

So, if you watched last night’s telecast of the 50th Grammy Awards, you probably have some questions. Questions like, who is that guy, and why did he steal Amy Winehouse’s Grammy for Best Album of the Year? Or how is it that the Beatles won only four Grammys when they were together, while Fergie already has three? Or did Amy really thank her husband as “my Blake incarcerated” in her acceptance speech? Yes, yes she did. So without further ado, here are some of your most burning (though hopefully not itching) Grammy questions revealed.

Q: How it is it that the most electrifying performer in the room wasn’t even in the room?

A: Visa problems kept The Winehouse 5,500 miles away in London, but she still electrified via satellite with a performance that was equal parts raw, campy, sassy and defiant. Plus, she brought the one thing the somewhat stodgy awards affair sorely lacked — the air of unpredictability. God bless you, Amy Winehouse. Now get back to rehab and get better. … continue reading

I don't usually enjoy the Grammy Awards broadcast as a whole. It's the sort of thing DVRs were made for — you can fast-forward through all the country music and just watch your favorites. (Kidding. Well, I'm not, but I fully support your right to listen to country music. Just not if I'm ever a passenger in your car, OK?)

But this year, I've been looking forward to the Amy Winehouse–Feist smackdowns for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. They were even both scheduled to perform. Both of them!

Alas; as we all know, these have been trying times for Winehouse. She's actually gone to rehab (yes), and even though she's supposedly on the road back to health, the U.S. Embassy has denied her visa request. So unless she can find a way to sneak into the States (via a very large smuggler and a Winehouse-sized prophylactic, maybe?) she won't be at the Grammy Awards.

Her publicists had this to say:

Amy has been progressing well since entering a rehabilitation clinic two weeks ago and, although disappointed with the decision, has accepted the ruling and will be concentrating on her recovery.

Couldn't they do a satellite feed or something? She could even parody herself and sing "Rehab" from rehab. Might as well enjoy the irony.

[Update: Winehouse is indeed going to perform and accept awards via satellite. My tears dry on their own!]

I live in hope that we'll someday see a healthy, happy Winehouse with a sense of humor about herself and the industry, because I swear I caught a glimpse of that person when I saw her in concert over the summer. I mean, she's only 24 — she could have a long career if she manages to put the pieces back together. … continue reading

Not many of us even have idols anymore. And for those of us who do still respect our elders and their accomplishments and try to emulate all that is positive about our idols, we don't always get to meet them. And even if we do meet them, we don't usually get to honor them in any public way. And even if we do get to honor them in a public way, they don't come out of retirement to express their appreciation of our worship. So that's why the announcement that Beyoncé Knowles and Tina Turner will duet at the upcoming Grammy Awards presentation made me one "Proud Mary." Well, my name is not Mary, but I am proud. OK, not proud, but excited!

Beyoncé has made it clear that she grew up adoring Tina Turner. Here's her 2005 Kennedy Center tribute performance (please, feel free to ignore all political figures seated next to Tina): … continue reading

A couple of days ago, I finished the project that's kept me working around the clock for weeks — and I celebrated by getting some sleep, and by checking the theater news I've been neglecting since the end of the stagehands strike. I was thrilled to discover that some of my Broadway and movie musical favorites were just inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

On the diva front, we have Barbra Streisand's “The Way We Were.”

Movie theme songs don't get much better than this, and divas don't get much better than Barbra. You know you want to watch her belt the song back in the day, so here you go: … continue reading

The nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards were announced yesterday. As you've probably heard, the leaders of the pack are Kanye West (eight nominations) and Amy Winehouse (six nominations). Rihanna was nominated for four awards, as was Feist.

But I don't care about the numbers. I'm focusing on Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Both of those categories pit two of my favorites of 2007 (and probably of a lifetime) against each other: Winehouse and Feist.

I really don't know who to root for. In fact, I have never felt more conflicted in my life (well, I guess I should say I have never felt more conflicted about something that ultimately means so little to me). … continue reading