day 3.23

i cannot wait for this

snooki in a ball to be dropped at midnight. happy new year!

day 3.22

everyone's behaving.

no blog today

day 3.21

2010 in music

courtesy of dj earworm. i had no clue so many people were putting their hands in the air.

day 3.20

lindsay, please don't stop this

because i think i'll really want to see this movie. model/heiress/gossip girl-cameo star lydia hearsh (nee shaw) is set to star in dogs in pocketbooks, a roman a clef-style movie reportedly based on lindsay lohan's life. the film will follow an a-list actress as she navigates her fast-paced young hollywood life, which includes multiple rehab stints and an eccentric team of crazy people. while page 6 originally reported writer/director charles casillo as saying the movie was based on lindsay lohan, casillo has since back-tracked to say the character is a mix of young hollywood (think lindsay, britney, paris) and old hollywood (marilyn). tmz reports that lindsay and her team (which probably means just her mom, dina) are pursuing legal action against the film for not getting lindsay's consent/permission/input/giving her a role (ok, i made that last one up) for the film. they have a good chance of winning, after e-trade paid lindsay off with a big settlement, after she sued the online company for airing a commercial starring a baby named lindsay. because there's never been another person named lindsay in the world. i just hope lindsay focuses more on her health, and less on greedy lawsuits, so that dogs and pocketbooks can actually make it to the big screen.

day 3.19

a christmas/new year message from miley

let's see if any of this actually happens.

day 3.18

back tomorrow

day 3.17

merry christmas

day 3.16

why?

johnny weir (yes, the figure skater) has released a single. only god knows why.

day 3.15

gro$$

day 3.14

this has officially gone too far

day 3.13

back tomorrow!

miley and the kardashians get snl'd

day 3.12

movie review mania: black swan

i'll sum up black swan in three words: bitch is crazy. or, wtf? or center stage meets showgirls meets a mental breakdown on crack. i knew going in to darren aronofsky's follow-up to 2008's the wrestler that it would at least have a hint of crazy, but sh*t went down. the flick follows nina, a determined ballerina who gets the chance of a lifetime when she's offered the role of the swan queen in "swan lake." the role - and the ocd-centered life nina has created - prove to be too much for the ballerina. the film follows the psychological and mental breakdown nina goes through as she attempts to find perfection. all the performances - especially natalie portman as nina, mila kunis' take as nina's biggest competition in the ballet company and barbara hershey as nina's overbearing mother - are spectacular, and aronofsky's vision is obvious (every moment seems completely planned out), but all the bizarre or shocking moments in the film are never explained. to be honest, i don't think i could explain black swan's plot twists to anyone - it's something you have to see for yourself. black swan didn't pass my "watch test" - i had to look a couple times - but it definitely kept me interested, even if i had to look away from the screen a few times.

movie review mania: burlesque

if you're looking for something that requires a little (ok, let's be honest, a lot) less thought, try burlesque. even though the movie has been out for about a month, it's still worth checking out. i can say that i was genuinely surprised at how entertaining it was - i was expecting a lot more camp and to laugh at a lot more moments that weren't intended to be funny. i found out that juno scribe diablo cody wrote the original script for burlesque, which helps explain the disconnect between really well written scenes and some of the film's beyond bad dialogue. it's not christina aguilera who is a bad actress, but bad material that aguilera tried too hard to make good...if that makes any sense. the soundtrack alone will make you leave the theater wanting more. the casting was spot on (though i might have switched kristen bell and julianne hough's roles) and everyone gives solid performances, especially christina aguilera's wig, which deserves a best supporting actress nom for making christina's hair look the best it ever had. like black swan, burlesque has elements of showgirls, but it's funny on purpose and serious when it counts.

day 3.11

back tomorrow

day 3.10

talk about a surprise

day 3.9

get sag-gy

you know the drill by know - the nominees and then who i pick to win at this year's screen actors guild awards. i like the sag's because acting is what's being honored here - the performances that make the movies and tv shows what they are, not all the production that can cover up bad acting.

actor in a leading role (movie)

• jeff bridges, true grit
• robert duvall, get low
• jesse eisenberg, the social network
• colin firth, the kings speech
• james franco, 127 hours

actress in a leading role (movie)

• annette bening, the kids are all right
• nicole kidman, rabbit hole
• jennifer lawrence, winter's bone
• natalie portman, black swan
• hilary swank, conviction

actor in a supporting role (movie)

• christian bale, the fighter
• jon hawkes, winter's bone
• jeremy renner, the town
• mark ruffalo, the kids are all right
• geoffrey rush, the king's speech

actress in a supporting role (movie

• amy adams, the fighter
• helena bonham carter, the king's speech
• mila kunis, black swan
• melissa leo, the fighter
• hailey steinfeld, true grit

cast - motion picture

• black swan
• the fighter
• the kids are all right
• the king's speech
• the social network

actor - drama series

• steven buscemi, boardwalk empire
• bryan cranston, breaking bad
• michael c. hall, dexter
• jon hamm, mad men
• hugh laurie, house m.d.

actress - drama series

• glenn close, damages
• mariska hargitay, law and order: svu
• julianna marguiles, the good wife
• elisabeth moss, mad men
• kyra sedgwick, the closer

actor - comedy series

• alec baldwin, 30 rock
• ty burrell, modern family
• steve carell, the office
• chris colfer, glee
• ed o'neill, modern family

actress - comedy series

• edie falco, nurse jackie
• tina fey, 30 rock
• jane lynch, glee
• sofia vergara, modern family
• betty white, hot in cleveland

cast - drama series

• boardwalk empire
• the closer
• dexter
• the good wife
• mad men

cast - comedy series

• 30 rock
• glee
• hot in cleveland
• modern family
• the office

be sure to tune into the 17th annual event when it airs on both tbs and tnt on january 30th.

i'm excited

day 3.8

golden globe: snubs and surprises

katies holmes and josh duhamel took the stage today to announce who might take home a golden globe come january. the globes are one of my favorite award shows, because both tv and film are recognized. plus, there the globes are usually an outlet for some lesser known, or lesser recognized, people and films to be recognized. below's a list of nominees, along with who i want to take home the award, who actually will and who got snubbed.

motion picture - drama

• black swan
• the fighter
• inception
• the king's speech
• the social network

overall, i think the hollywood foreign press association (that's who runs the globes for those not in the know) did a good job with these noms. the only snub i really noticed was country strong, which the hfpa may not be considering until next year's show - because the globes come at the beginning of awards season, their list of nominees is always a little off from other shows like the oscars. other movies, like rabbit hole and the town, probably should have been nom'd in this category, but were recognized in other categories. i'd love to see the social network or black swan win, and i think both have a good chance. the only flick i could see upsetting them would be the king's speech.

motion picture - musical or comedy

• alice in wonderland
• burlesque
• the kids are all right
• red
• the tourist

this is by far one of the most bizarre lists the hfpa has ever put together. while i haven't seen it, i would love to know how the tourist is a comedy. again, no major snubs, just a lot of surprises - the only movie i would have liked to see get nominated is love and other drugs, which got noms in the acting categories. i think the kids are all right will take this category because it's the right balance between comedy and drama, and it's had the most award show buzz this year. alice in wonderland, like inception in the drama category, is nominated solely for theatrical achievement. burlesque would sweep the award shows if there were solely musical categories, while red and the tourist are too comical and too dramatic, respectively, to even be thought about.

motion picture actor - drama

• jesse eisenberg, the social network
• colin firth, the king's speech
• james franco, 127 hours
• ryan gosling, blue valentine
• mark wahlberg, the fighter

jesse eisenberg. jesse eisenberg, and, oh, jesse eisenberg. talk about the year's breakout performance. if the hfpa wants to go with a more traditional star, colin firth or james franco will take home this award. the controversy surrounding blue valentine's rating, and my inability to take mark wahlberg very seriously after googling "marky mark," throw those two noms out the window for me. the biggest snub here? leo dicaprio, who gave two stellar performances (in shutter island and inception) this year.

motion picture actress - drama

• halle berry, frankie and alice
• nicole kidman, rabbit hole
• jennifer lawrence, winter's bone
• natalie portman, black swan
• michalle williams, blue valentine

seeing as 4/5 films nominated here haven't even been released across the country, i'm not quite sure how i'm supposed to make a judgment. based on buzz alone (and the fact that where the heart is was on tv tonight), i'm hoping natalie portman gets to take this one home. but kidman, berry or williams could each take it home based on past nominations. and, like every year, the underdog (lawrence) could steal the statue. hopefully gwyneth paltrow (country strong) will get some recognition next year.

motion picture actor - musical or comedy

• johnny depp, alice in wonderland
• johnny depp, the tourist
• paul giamatti, barney's version
• jake gyllenhaal, love and other drugs
• kevin spacey, casino jack

again, bizarre. johnny depp twice? really? paul giamatti? the only feasible nominee in my head is jake gyllenhaal. mark ruffalo should have been nominated for the kids are all right, and harrison ford should get some notice for the most overlooked film of the year, morning glory.

motion picture actress - musical or comedy

• annette bening, the kids are all right
• julianne moore, the kids are all right
• anne hathaway, love and other drugs
• angelina jolie, the tourist
• emma stone, easy a

this race will come down to the two stars of the kids are all right, and i'm betting bening will take it. i'm beyond excited to see emma stone on this list, as easy a is probably my favorite movie of 2010. it would have been nice to see cher or christina aguilera get recognized for burlesque - while their performances weren't oscar worthy, it's obvious that a lot of work went into the movie, and both did a nice job. as well, rachel mcadams was overlooked for morning glory, another one of my favorites from the past year.

motion picture supporting actor

• christian bale, the fighter
• michael douglas, wall street 2: money never sleeps
• andrew garfield, the social network
• jeremy renner, the town
• geoffrey rush, the king's speech

the supporting nominee categories are probably the greatest source of frustration for me from the globes. how do you compare apples to oranges? and by apples and oranges i mean dramas to comedies? well, from this nominees, it's really all just dramas. expect geoffrey rush to get the award if the hfpa goes traditional, and andrew garfield to get recognized if they want to support some new talent. this category is full of snubs, with justin timberlake (the social network), john malkovich (red) and stanley tucci (burlesque) all missing out.

motion picture supporting actress

• melissa leo, the fighter
• helena bonham carter, the king's speech
• mila kunis, black swan
• amy adams, the fighter
• jacki weaver, animal kingdom

mila kunis? i'm really not passionate about any of these ladies winning, so i hope that the black swan star finally gets some professional notice after putting in some of the best performances in tv and movies in the past decade. as far as snubs, i think diane keaton (morning glory) and kristen bell (burlesque) could have gotten some love.

motion picture - animated

• toy story 3
• the illusionist
• how to train your dragon
• despicable me
• tangled

this category will come down to disney - it's toy story versus tangled, and the pixar-backed threequel will probably take the prize, seeing as it's the most successful animated movie of all time.

tv series - drama

• boardwalk empire
• dexter
• the good wife
• mad men
• the walking dead

it's the most talked about show of the season, so i'm betting boardwalk empire will continue to grow buzz after winning this award. the hfpa was all about the cable shows, with good wife being the only network show receiving a nomination. mad men could take the prize, but i expect the amc show to get noticed in the acting categories. as far as snubs, lost's final season went out without a single nomination, and parenthood (which has some of the best acting on tv) continues to move closer and closer to cancelation with no award show love.

tv series - drama

• steve buscemi, boardwalk empire
• bryan cranston, breaking bad
• michael c. hall, dexter
• jon hamm, mad men
• hugh laurie, house

bet on jon hamm, or this year's emmy winner bryan cranston to nab this award. any of the male leads from parenthood could have gotten into this category (or comedy i guess), as well as the last of lost.

tv series actress - drama

• julianna margulies, the good wife
• elisabeth moss, mad men
• piper perabo, covert affairs
• katey sagal, sons of anarchy
• kyra sedgwick, the closer

i really have no clue here, with each of these actresses seeming like odd choices. julianna margulies is the most traditional choice, but sedgwick is about to start the closer's final season, which may garner her some attention. piper perabo seems like a token nominee, recognized just for her transition from film to tv. lauren graham (parenthood) and mad men's january jones were both overlooked.

tv series - musical or comedy

• 30 rock
• the big bang theory
• the big c
• glee
• modern family
• nurse jackie

with 6 nominees, the hfpa has its work cut out in deciding this category's winner. i'd really be happy with any of these shows winning, especially glee, modern family or nurse jackie. jackie is really on the cutting edge of where tv is going, but its second season lost some of the heart that was at the center of the series' first go around. cougar town is the only show that i would liked to have seen alongside these.

tv series actress - musical or comedy

• toni collette, the united states of tar
• edie falco, nurse jackie
• tina fey, 30 rock
• laura linney, the big c
• lea michele, glee

toni collette is the globes' darling in this category, and the movie star-turned-small screen scene stealer might have what it takes to nab the trophy once again. the show's latest season was no where near as challenging for collette as she transitioned between alters less and less, but what she was able to accomplish was still pretty great. but, out of all these women, lea michele is the one who puts in the most work. like the show category, i would have liked to see cougar town nominated here, as courtney cox has never been nominated for an acting award for her work on tv (yep, she was the only friends' cast member to be snubbed in the show's 10 year run).

tv series actor - musical or comedy

• alec baldwin, 30 rock
• steve carell, the office
• thomas jane, hung
• matthew morrison, glee
• jim parsons, the big bang theory

jim parsons all the way. that's really all i have to say about this category.

miniseries or movie made for tv

• carlos
• the pacific
• pillars of the earth
• temple grandin
• you don't know jack

temple grandin swept the emmys, and i expect it to do the same at the globes. also, i've never seen any of these movies.

miniseries or movie made for tv - actress

• hayley atwell, pillars of the earth
• claire danes, temple grandin
• judi dench, return to cranford
• romola garai, emma
• jennifer love hewitt, the client list

well this is a first - a laughably bad lifetime movie garnered an award show nomination! jennifer love hewitt won't be able to beat danes, but i'm beyond amused at the fact that she actually has the chance to go head-to-head with angela chase herself.

miniseries or movie made for tv - actor

• idris elba, luther
• ian mcshane, pillars of the earth
• al pacino, you don't know jack
• dennis quaid, the special relationship
• edgar ramirez, carlos

i'm thinking al pacino as dr. death will take this category but, again, i didn't watch any of these so...

tv series, miniseries or movie - supporting actress

• hope davis, the special relationship
• jane lynch, glee
• kelly macdonald, boardwalk empire
• julia stiles, dexter
• sofia vergara, modern family

talk about the category of snubs. modern family's julie bowen, cougar town's busy phillips, nurse jackie's merritt wever, anna deavere smith and eve best all got shut out. but, this is probably also the hfpa's toughest category. i expect jane lynch to steal this category, just like she steals every scene on glee. but movie star-turned-tv star julia stiles could get the award, just for the fact that she's been in movies. though, from what i've heard, stiles' turn on dexter was less than stellar.

tv series, miniseries or movie - supporting actor

• scott caan, hawaii five-o
• chris colfer, glee
• chris noth, the good wife
• eric stonestreet, modern family
• david strathairn, temple grandin

and for the final category, i pick eric stonestreet. while his modern family costars ty burrell and jesse tyler ferguson were shut out, they would have never won next to stonestreet's cam.

be sure to see if any of my predictions are right when the 68th annual globes air january 16th on nbc. sadly (at least in my mind), ricky gervais will be back to host the usual mc-less globes.

day 3.7

and the next oprah is...

well, that's still to be determined. but some new names are being tossed into the ring to replace the daytime diva come fall 2011. the first is cnn host anderson cooper, who announced today that his new daytime show with fox will be called anderson (hmm...similar to oprah, right?). while cooper was originally rumored to replace regis on live! with regis and kelly, it looks like he'll be flying solo. cooper's show is set to premiere next fall, and will reportedly replace oprah in some markets. the show sounds very similar to oprah's, with a mixture of hard-hitting news features and celebrity guests. here's a sneak peak of the personality anderson might show on his show from sunday night's watch what happens live! on bravo.

the next rumored oprah replacement is chicago-based couple giuliana and bill rancic. the e! host and apprentice winner currently star in style network's bill & giuliana and recently penned a book together, i do, now what? while i can't exactly see why g would want to walk away from e!, it makes sense to have a more stable life in chi town, where she and bill can focus on the family they've wanted for a while now. plus, harpo's enormous studio space will be completely open now that oprah is moving her operations to california. here's a clip of bill and giulianna in action from their style show.

and, speaking of oprah, check out the latest promo from her oprah winfrey network, which launches in just a couple of weeks.

day 3.6

rudd takes snl out of rut

last night, paul rudd hosted saturday night live for the second time. the veteran funny man brought some life to a season of snl that's had its moments, but is far from consistent. naturally there were some duds (they keep brining back this bizarre talk show concept that just doesn't work, and are already over-using jay pharoah). the new cast members (most notably vanessa bayer) are definitely helping out, but snl still relies heavily on kristen wiig to carry a lot of the bits. here are some highlights.

day 3.5

little j sings!

everyone seems to really hate taylor momsen. i still like her. especially when she sings covers of songs by cee-lo green with her band, the pretty reckless.

day 3.4

she's just being miley

you would think disney would implement some sort of anti-drug campaign by now, right? miley cyrus is the latest disney princess to be flung back into the scandal spotlight. a video of hannah montana herself taking some hits from a bong were leaked today. no word on who sent the tape to tmz, but i would venture to guess it was one of miley's "friends" at the party where it was taped. in the video (above) miley goes on a quick trip through happy town, with almost the entire clip filled with her giggling. the video was supposedly filmed at a birthday party for miley at her l.a. area home. don't these starlets know not to do stupid things? or at least not tape them? it's not that hard to avoid being filmed - it's not like miley wasn't aware she was on camera! miley is quickly turning into just as big of a liability for disney as lindsay lohan became after she left the mouse house.

billy ray cyrus addressed the controversy on his twitter saying:

sorry guys. i had no idea. just saw this stuff for the first time myself. im so sad. there is much beyond my control right now.

now if only miley had never deleted her twitter. can't wait to hear her response to the video in the coming days. i guess the good news is that what miley did was completely legal - she was apparently smoking the herb salvia, and not mary jane. the mexican herb is legal in cali, but can produce similar side effects to weed.

day 3.3

'tis the season

day 3.2

christina applegate is one of my favorite people

...and this is why.

day 3.1

dirty laundry is 3!

i've been keeping you aware of my thoughts on all these pop culture for three years now, so i'm taking the day off.

day 2.365

vh1's supports the troops

last night, vh1 brought some quality entertainment to the troops with the return of their divas series. this time around, the music channel formerly known as "old people mtv" brought along katy perry, nicki minaj, sugarland, paramore, keri hilson, heart and grace potter & the nocturnals (who i've never heard of...). funny lady kathy griffin hosted the special - here are some of my favorite highlights.

kathy griffin opened the show with - what else? - a comedy sketch, titled "operation ragin' cougar," where she basically gave some marines a bunch of crap, and made plenty of pop culture jokes.

then kathy made her grand entrance, showing off her self-proclaimed "hot bikini bod." and, of course, there are plenty more celeb-unfriendly jokes. oh, and plenty of dirty jokes involving military terminology, which seemed to go over really well with the audience. and, of course, kathy had to pull out her top-secret "don't even think about it" list of rules from the base to talk about.

my favorite performance of the night - katy perry and nicki minaj's take on "girls just wanna have fun" - wasn't posted on vh1's web site (all they had was a short :30 preview), but i was able to find this clip from someone who was live in the audience.

each act performed their own mini-concent, with katy perry performing three of her biggest hits.

check back later for more performances from vh1 divas. in the mean time, click here to see other highlights.

day 2.364

back tomorrow

with a full vh1 divas support the troops recap.

day 2.363

the grammys, take 2

here are some more nominees, and my picks for who will take home the grammy trophies in february.

best alternative music album

• the suburbs, arcade fire
• infinite arms, band of horses
• brothers, the black keys
• broken bells, broken bells
• contra, vampire weekend

arcade fire blew up this year, and because of that i think the academy will give them the nod. if not them, look for perennial nominees vampire weekend to take home the statue.

best female r&b performance

• "gone already," faith evans
• "bittersweet," fantasia
• "everything to me," monica
• "tired," kelly price
• "holding you down (going in circles)," jazmine sullivan

the return of monica! the '90s radio-staple made quite the comeback in 2010, and i expect the star to top of her return year with a grammy.

best male r&b 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

usher is the only name on this list that everyone knows, and because of that expect him to take home the trophy. 2010 was also the year of the comeback for usher, though he never faded quite like monica did.

best r&b performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "love," chuck brown, jill scott and marcus miller
• "take my time," chris brown and tank
• "you've got a friend," ronald isely and aretha franklin
• "shine," john legend and the roots
• "soldier of love," sade

this category is tricky - will the academy go old school with aretha? or will something more modern be rewarded. i'm going to say it will come down to john legend and sade (who i still think is just one person, but she keeps being nominated as a group so i don't know. based on the theme of return that i've chosen for the r&b categories so far, i'm going to say sade will get this award.

best r&b album

• the love and war masterpiece, raheem devaughn
• back to me, fantasia
• another round, jaheim
• wake up!, john legend and the roots
• still standing, monica

hands down, john legend and the roots will grab this one.

best contemporary r&b album

• graffiti, chris brown
• untitled, r. kelly
• transition, ryan leslie
• the archandroid, janelle monae
• raymond v. raymond, usher

usher. no explanation needed.

best rap solo performance

• "over," drake
• "not afraid," eminem
• "how low," ludacris
• "i'm back," t.i.
• "power," kanye west

it's the year of the comeback, right? that's why eminem will grab this one. he came back stronger than ever, and nabbed more nominations that anyone else for this year's grammys.

best rap/sung collaboration

• "nothin' on you," b.o.b. featuring bruno mars
• "deuces," chris brown, tyga and kevin mccall
• "love the way you lie," eminem and rihanna
• "empire state of mind," jay-z featuring alicia keys
• "wake up! everybody," john legend and the roots

because this is the rap category, i think eminem and rihanna's "love the way you like" will take home the award.

best rap album

• the adventures of bobby ray, b.o.b.
• thank me later, drake
• recovery, eminem
• the blue print 3, jay-z
• how i got over, the roots

even though it wasn't as radio-friendly as eminem's recovery, jay'z the blue print 3 challenged music as it is now, and is far more artistic than a lot of the other rap you hear. i expect mr. beyonce to take home this trophy.

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

this year's award show darling has been miranda lambert, and i expect her to be just as successful at the grammys as she has been the rest of the year.

best male country vocal performance

• "macon," jamey johnson
• "cryin' for me," toby keith
• "turning home," david nall
• "'til summer comes around," keith urban
• "gettin' you home," chris young

to be honest, i don't know any of these songs. so, based on the artists alone, i'm going to say keith urban will take this trophy - but don't count on my word.

best country performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "free," zac brown band
• "elizabeth," dalley & vincent
• "need you now," lady antebellum
• "little white church," little big town
• "where rainbows never die," the steel drivers

lady antebellum, end of story.

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

it won it at the cma's, and it will win it again at the grammy's. miranda lambert's revolution proved that the former nashville star-contestant is a forced to be reckoned with in the country world. revolution produced multiples hits, and i can only expect one or two more off the record before lambert releases another.

and, again, to see the full list of nominees, click here.

day 2.362

get tangled

tangled is disney's redemption movie. after the flop that was last year's the princess and the frog, the rapunzel-focused tangled is a return to the disney magic of the 1990s. while there aren't nearly as many musical numbers as princess and the frog (or any of the earlier disney flicks), the film's styling and storyline are far more entertaining. tangled puts a different spin on the rapunzel story that i had never heard/seen before, which made it a lot less predictable than i was expecting. and, because it was a children's movie, it definitely passed the watch test - i think i might have looked one time. mandy moore and zachary levi are perfect fits for their characters (rapunzel and flinn rider, respectively), and the mosty unknown supporting cast does a great job bringing the crazy group of characters to life. definitely check out tangled to get back in touch with your younger self.

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grammy's 2011

last night the recording academy announced the list of nominees for next year's grammy awards. the list is the most representative of what music is actually popular and being played on radio that i think i've ever seen. i can't name one upset (the acts i could think of, like taylor swift and her latest release speak now, will be counted toward the 2012 show), but there were definitely some surprises. below is a list of the nominees in the major categories, and who i think will take home the statues when the show airs february 13 on cbs.

record of the year

• "nothin' on you," b.o.b. featuring bruno mars
• "love the way you lie," eminem featuring rihanna
• "fuck you," cee lo green
• "need you now," lady antebellum
• "empire state of mind," jay-z and alicia keys

no song generated as much buzz or permeated every facet of pop culture (i mean they used it in sex and the city 2, and glee did a cover, people) quite like "empire state of mind." i think the academy likes when unexpected collaborations become successful - it seems like only "love the way you lie" could compete with jay-z and alicia. but, if anyone will take the award away from new york's favorite duo, it will be "need you now," arguably the most over-played song of 2010.

album of the year

• the suburbs, arcade fire
• recovery, eminem
• need you now, lady antebellum
• the fame monster, lady gaga
• teenage dream, katy perry

depending on how the academy votes, i could see katy taking this one. her album is the most recent and has generated the most hits. gaga's fame monster could also be a contender, having produced multiple nominated tracks. i definitely think the competition will be perry v. gaga come grammy night.

song of the year

• "beg steal or borrow," ray lamontagne
• "fuck you," cee lo green
• "the house that built me," miranda lambert
• "love the way you lie," eminem featuring rihanna
• "need you now," lady antebellum

lady a will ride this nomination all the way to the grammy hall of fame. "need you now" seems like it got more radio play that any other song this year - i even started avoiding it, even though i really, really liked the song when it first came out. cee lo's song is too new, and along with "love the way you lie," is a bit controversial. lambert's "the house that built me" has racked up a lot of awards this season, but expect her to get her recognition in the country categories.

best new artist

• justin bieber
• drake
• florence and the machine
• mumford & sons
• esperanza spalding

the academy has a history of giving this award to the person most anticipated to have an impact on modern music, not the most popular or famous star. i think florence and the machine is popular enough, yet still indie enough, to steal the award from j biebs.

best female pop vocal performance

• "king of anything," sara bareilles
• "halo (live)," beyonce
• "chasing pirates," norah jones
• "bad romance," lady gaga
• "teenage dream," katy perry

this is probably one of the tougher categories. there are the traditional, super-talented vocalists (i.e. bareilles and jones), the pop stars who are half performance (gaga and perry) and the r&b superstar (which is beyonce, duh). as "halo" is a song very much about vocals, i can see it taking the trophy, but really anyone in this category could win.

best male pop vocal performance

• "haven't met you yet," michael buble
• "this is it," michael jackson
• "whataya want from me," adam lambert
• "just the way you are," bruno mars
• "half of my heart," john mayer

buble is the classic pop singer, and "haven't met you yet" was really his first original song to take off on radio. jackson most likely just garnered a nomination because he was michael jackson, king of pop. lambert could steal the statue, but chances are he's a little too much for the academy. mars is too new, and mayer's music all sounds the same - there's no good reason to give unoriginality an award.

best vocal performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "don't stop believin'" (regionals version), glee cast
• "misery," maroon 5
• "the only exception," paramore
• "babyfather," sade
• "hey, soul sister" (live), train

while i would really like the cast of glee to take this category, i'm betting that train will get it instead. train's career-launching track "drops of jupiter" (yes, these are the same people) was a huge awards magnet, and "hey, soul sister" was the track that brought train back into the pop culture realm. it would be a nice way to welcome the group back. plus, i thought sade was just one person...

best pop collaboration with vocals

• "airplanes - part ii," b.o.b. featuring hayley williams and eminem
• "imagine," herbie hancock, pink, india.arie, seal, konono no. 1, jeff beck & oumou sangare
• "if it wasn't for bad," elton john featuring leon russel
• "telephone," lady gaga featuring beyonce
• "california gurls," katy perry featuring snoop dog

"telephone" has the perfect mix of music credibility and popularity to take this category. you have two strong singers, who come from different genres, collaborating to make one of the biggest songs of 2010. gaga and beyonce will be hard to beat.

best pop vocal album

• "my world 2.0," justin bieber
• "i dreamed a dream," susan boyle
• "the fame monster," lady gaga
• "teenage dream," katy perry
• "battle studies," john mayer

gaga. gaga. gaga. lady gaga will take this category for every reason possible - she writes her own material, is original and is bringing music to a new place. vocally, she's the strongest of the group (maybe other than boyle, but i doubt her disc of covers will nab her the trophy).

to see the rest of the nominees (r&b, country, rock, rap, etc.) click here. look for my thoughts on those categories later this week.

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blah

back tomorrow.

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watch this

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and the oscar hosts are...

two potential nominees! the academy tapped anne hathaway and james franco to host the 83rd annual academy awards in february. this is quite the change from, well, every year prior. the usual go-tos for hosts are comedians (see: billy crystal, steve martin, ellen degeneres), or the occasional song-and-dance man (i.e. hugh jackman), but to have two oscar-caliber actors host? it's a nice twist. according to deadline, the reasoning behind the pick was the fact that franco and hathaway have both hosted some of the best saturday night live episodes of recent years, which i'll agree with. i just want to know how they'll handle the hosting duties along with being nominees, with franco getting a lot of buzz for his role in 127 hours, and anne for her take in love and other drugs. this is the second year in a row that the academy tapped dual hosts for the job, which helps break up the drudgery of 3 hour long shows, and gives more opportunity for anne and james to play off one another. it will be interesting to see how the duo plays off one another, though, since i don't think they've worked together before (though there was talk of the duo taking on the lead roles in an alien prequel earlier this year). while i can say that i was pulling for someone like chelsea handler or neil patrick harris to take on the job this year, this surprising announcement is just as satisfying. be on the lookout for anne and james on february 27, when the show airs on abc.

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lil kim is mad

and is expressing her anger - at nicki minaj - through song. check out "black friday," an obvious nod to nicki's album title pink friday above.

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love and other drugs and two hours of entertainment

i had high expectations for love and other drugs. and they were met. and then they were exceeded. the anne hathaway/jake gyllenhaal romantic dramedy barely passed my watch test - i looked at the time more than once throughout the screening - but it did hold my attention. the film follows jamie and maggie, two twenty-somethings who are more interested in the no-strings attached lifestyle, than one with strings. but, it's for very different reasons. jamie (gyllenhaal) is the bachelor every guy wants to be - good looking and gets with every girl he wants. maggie (hathaway) is the free-spirited artist every girl wishes she could be, but with a twist - she has early on-set parkinson's. shocker, right? love and other drugs revolves around the romance that comes when you try to make sex work without love. the parkinson's situation is on the table from jamie and maggie's first meeting, so don't think it's a big plot twist. the biggest surprise was the amount of nudity in love and other drugs. hathaway's hathaways are on display at least three times, and gyllenhaal's backside makes just as many appearances. the supporting cast - notably josh gad as gyllenhaal's web-savvy millionaire younger brother, oliver platt as his co-drug rep and hank azaria as a doctor who can't enough of the little blue pill - help balance out the movie, and add to the potential oscar pull this flick might have. if you liked up in the air, then definitely check love and other drugs out. you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wince in pain (if you're a guy) and, most of all, you'll have a good time. love and other drugs is just the kind of movie you'll want to watch this holiday season.

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sorry?

i got nothing.

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gobble, gobble

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i got...

nothin. sorry?

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tina fey is rolling in her grave...

and she's still alive! the trailer for mean girls 2 hit the internet yesterday and it's, well, the ugliest fucking skirt i've ever seen. imitation is the best form of flattery, and that's where they should have left this. the sure to be abcfamily movie special should have been just that - a made-for-tv knock off of the original, without any reference to the original. saying this is mean girls 2 implies we're going to get the same fast-paced, pop-culture referencing writing fey delivered in the beginning. what we're really getting is the stars of the disney channel (at least 4 of the main characters have appeared on one show or movie on the mouse-net) attempting to recreate the sarcastic wit of the original, which they are far from. i can't wait to hear what tina has to say about this the next time she's interviewed, especially since her friend, and mean girls star, tim meadows agreed to be in this cast, too. check out the cringe-worthy trailer above. the movie is shot with what looks like an hd handicam and features a lot more sight-gags than a movie should - and it's just the trailer!

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the american music awards

or should i call is the justin bieber awards? the american music awards aired live on abc last night and the fan-voted prizes went to...well, the fan favorites. the big winner of the night was justin bieber, who took home 4 trophies. here's a look at the full list of winners, and some of the performance highlights.

artist of the year

• justin bieber

pop/rock

• male artist: justin bieber
• female artist: lady gaga
• band, duo or group: black eyed peas
• album: justin bieber, my world 2.0

soul/r&b

• male artist: usher
• female artist: rihanna
• album: usher, raymond v. raymond

rap/hip-hop

• male artist: eminem
• album: eminem, recovery

country

• male artist: brad paisley
• female arist: taylor swift
• band, duo or group: lady antebellum
• album: carrie underwood, play on

adult contemporary

• artist: michael buble

alternative rock

• artist: muse

latin

• artist: shakira

t-mobile breakthrough artist

• justin bieber

if i had it my way, fan-voted award shows wouldn't be voted on until the night of the show. every nominee would be required to perform, and the viewers would vote on that performance. until then...

after thanking michael jackson awkwardly for one of his awards, justin took the stage to sing "pray." as one of the people i follow on twitter said, every elementary school choir across the country will be adding this song to their holiday pageant.

speaking of children's choirs, katy perry was backed by one of the creepiest ones during her rendition of "firework." too bad they couldn't make fireworks shoot out of her chest like in the music video

christina aguilera continues to promote her movie debut, burlesque, with on-air performances. her latest album didn't get this kind of publicity.

ke$ha was, surprisingly, one of the highlights of the night. except for the bizarre guitar crashing moment at the end of the performance.

enrique iglesias continued his comeback effort with this performance, featuring pitbull. at least he sang live?

rihanna opened the show this year, singing a medley from her latest album, loud. like other nominees (ahem, taylor swift), live performance is not riri's strong suit.

and speaking of taylor, she performed the "taylor lautner song," also known as "back to december." her new look - straight hair and bangs - plus a sample of one republic's "apologize" proved that taylor may finally be moving on from tweenage dreams of lollipop kingdoms and fairytale romances.

the backstreet boys and new kids on the block closed the show with a mash-up of their greatest hits. it was definitely what everyone '90s kid has been waiting for...or been trying to avoid.

and my favorite performance of the night came from a pregnant p!nk. p!nk is one of the few performers who consistently looks like she's having a good time on stage.

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the ama's are on!

i'll be live-tweeting the american music awards over at twitter.com/bricesander. check back here tomorrow for a full recap!

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listen to the latest episode of glee...

before you even watch it. here are 4 full-length previews of songs from tuesday's new episode, "furt." the episode is wedding-themed, and features the cast singing two bruno mars songs. sounds like it won't disappoint. actually, when has glee ever really disappointed? one song ("ohio") even features the vocal stylings of guest star carol burnett, as sue sylvester's nazi-hunting madre.

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day of travel...

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back manana.

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dear gwyneth paltrow,

i'm slightly obsessed.

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movie trailer mania

here's a look at the movies you'll be seeing over the next couple of months.

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slightly obsessed

tomorrow night's episode of glee is looking better everyday. in addition to kicking off gwyneth paltrow's guest stint, "the substitute" also features mini versions of every new directions member. check out a behind-the-scenes clip featuring the cast and their mini-mes.

also

i wish this were real.

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scarjo on snl

saturday night live is really getting back into the groove this season. and returning hosts only make it better. scarlett johansson made her 3rd appearance last night on the sketch show, and brought some of the funniest skits to the air. check out my faves below.

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what's the story, morning glory?

rachel mcadams is back! it seems like the woman who brought us regina george has been absent for a while now, but i'm glad she's back. especially in morning glory. the movie follows becky (mcadams), a down-on-her-luck tv producer who gets the chance to bring a struggling morning show back to life. the movie has a very similar spirit to the devil wear prada, which shouldn't be much of a surprise because the same person wrote both movies. it's very witty, very sarcastic and very relatable, especially for anyone in or about to be in the tv biz. while it's a little predictable, there are still some twists that make it worth watching. the supporting cast - namely diane keaton and harrison ford - help bring the whole flick together. morning glory passed my watch test (i think i only looked at the time once or twice) and made me laugh harder than i have in a long time. definitely check it out.

life as we know it as i saw it

this movie's been out for a while, but i thought i'd still but my two cents in. especially because i was pleasantly surprised. i was half-expecting to be entertained, half-expecting to be out of my mind like i seem to be in every other katherine heigl movie. but life as we know it was 100% entertaining. when complete opposites holly (heigl) and messer (josh duhamel) are forced to co-parent their god-child, sophie, after the death of her parents, everything and anything seems to go wrong, as you'd expect. but through laughter, sex and wine they're able to make it all work. life as we know it is one of the most predictable movies i've probably ever seen, as i think you'd expect, but, like morning glory, there are a couple of plot twist that kept me interested and involved. life as we know it strikes the perfect balance between out-right comedy and drama, giving everyone something to relate to. i don't know how much longer it will stick around in theaters, but definitely catch it before it wanders off into the waiting-to-be-on-dvd abyss.

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gwyneth comes to glee

the queen of goop makes her glee debut with next week's episode, and here's your first listen. the oscar winner plays a substitute teacher who covers for mr. schu. the kids (with what looks like the exception of rachel) fall for her, and so does mr schu. she sings "forget you," the kid-friendly version of cee-lo's "fuck you," and a mash-up of rihanna's "umbrella" and "singing in the rain" (check them out above). i don't know that i'm sold on gwyneth as a performer - she's a little stiff and awkward - but i don't mind her voice, and i'm pretty excited for her turn on glee. and her upcoming movie country strong, which is getting a lot of oscar buzz. paltrow also performed on the country music awards telecast this week. again, she was stiff and awkward. just wait for miranda lambert's face at the end of the performace...

here are some other performance highlights from the cma's.

when they announced reba was going to perform "one of beyonce's biggest hits," i was half-expecting beyonce to pop out. sadly, she didn't.

taylor swift sang "back to december," aka the taylor lautner song, and, well...we all know taylor's live performance skills aren't at the best. luckily she sang a ballad and not an up-tempo song.

sugarland is probably my favorite country act, but i don't love this performance. cma performers tend to do one of two things - either stand on the stage and sing alone, or have too much going on - and sugarland definitely fell into the latter category. the rest of sugarland's latest, the incredible machine, is better than "stuck like glue," and it would've been nice to hear something new.

kelly clarkson, who seems to think she's a country star some of the time, performed with jason aldean. it was one of the simpler performances of the night, but also one of the better ones. after hearing this, i wouldn't be surprised if kelly decided to put out a country album or two in the future.