Chris Brown to Perform at Grammys

Chris Brown is reportedly going to perform at this year’s Grammys. This will be Brown’s first appearance at the Grammys since his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna during Grammy weekend.

Despite being nominated in years since, Brown has not attended the ceremony. The performance is not meant to be formally announced prior to the show.

Brown is up for three Grammys, including Best R&B Album for his 2011 opus, F.A.M.E., as well as Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for his track “Look at Me Now,” which also features Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes.

Is Taylor Swift’s New Album About Jake Gyllenhaal?

In the latest issue of Vogue that features Taylor Swift on the cover, the young artist says her new album will be about an “absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak,” prompting speculation in the media that the latest subject of her songwriting skills may be her short-lived 2010 romance with Jake Gyllenhaal.

Swift, 22, told Vogue magazine that she was working on her fourth album, and is currently single.

“There’s just been this earth-shattering, not recent, but absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak and that will turn out to be what the next album is about,” she told Vogue in a cover story for its February edition.

“The only way that I can feel better about myself – pull myself out of that awful pain of losing someone – is writing songs about it to get some sort of clarity,” she said.

Swift dated acting star Gyllenhaal for about three months in late 2010 before their much-photographed relationship ended suddenly around the Christmas holidays that year. U.S. celebrity magazines claimed that Gyllenhaal had ended the relationship because he was unhappy at the attention the couple was generating.

Swift told Vogue she did not feel like dating at the moment. “I really have this great life right now, and I’m not sad and I’m not crying this Christmas, so I am really stoked about that.”

Asked whether she was crying last Christmas, Swift replied, “I am not gonna go into it! It’s a sad story!”

Swift gave no details, but media speculation over whom she was talking about quickly fell on Gyllenhaal, her last known relationship.

LL Cool J to Host Grammys

Rapper and actor LL Cool J will be the first official host of the Grammy Awards in seven years, the Recording Academy said on Wednesday.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of music’s biggest night,” said the two-time Grammy award winning host. “I will always have fond memories of my first Grammy Awards and to now be hosting the Grammy show, in the company of so many other incredible artists, is a dream come true.”

LL Cool J, who has been the host of the Grammy nominations concert since its first live broadcast in 2008, is the first emcee of the awards program since 2005 when Queen Latifah headlined. Since then, music’s biggest night has not had a host.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 12 in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on CBS.

Lady Gaga Tops Forbes List of Highest Earning Women

Lady Gaga crushed her female musician competitors in 2011, at the top of a list of highest earning women with an estimated $90 million in income, according to a Forbes.com survey.

Gaga made more than double her nearest rival, country/pop artist Taylor Swift, thanks to multiple endorsement deals and an estimated $1.3 million nightly gross ticket sales from her concert tour.

Swift earned about $45 million, thanks to her hit album “Speak Now”, perfume line, and other deals, just ahead of “Teenage Dream” singer Katy Perry with $44 million.

Forbes.com drew up its list from data on pre-tax income compiled through record sales, touring data and interviews with music lawyers, managers and concert promoters.

Beyonce’s 2011 income dipped to an estimated $35 million, mostly because of her relatively small amount of touring this year, but her new album “4″, fashion line, and two fragrances helped to put her in 4th place.

Rihanna rounded out the top 5, earning an estimated $29 million from sales of her album “Loud”, and endorsements from cosmetics company CoverGirl.

Jason Aldean Biggest Winner at American Country Awards

34-year-old Jason Aldean walked away from Monday’s American Country Awards, which were held in Las Vegas, with six awards, including artist of the year and record of the year for My Kinda Party.

“This is getting a little ridiculous now,” he said after he won his second award. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s been a crazy year.”

In addition to the night’s top two honors, Aldean also won for touring artist of the year, male single of the year for “My Kinda Party,” and vocal collaboration single of the year and music video collaboration of the year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” featuring Kelly Clarkson.

Carrie Underwood won three, and another American Idol alumn, season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, earned new artist of the year honors.

Carrie Underwood Scores Big at American Country Awards

Monday night at the American Country Awards in Las Vegas, Carrie Underwood collected 3 awards at the event, including Female Artist of the Year, and Music Video and Single of the Year by a Female Artist for “Mama’s Song.”

These kinds of shows are typically another easy win for Taylor Swift, but despite six nominations, she ended the night with no awards.

Swift Discusses New “Different” Album and Working with Minaj

After another big year from Taylor Swift, the country pop crooner discusses her new upcoming album, saying that her new songs are not about “moving on” and this fourth release will be a much different feel than her other three albums.

When asked what experiences stirred such an emotional album, Swift said, “I can’t tell you, because it’s a secret. It will be unveiled when it all comes out, because they all seem to have a theme to them, the records that we’ve put out so far, and this one is no different. It’s very different in what it’s about, but it’s no different in the fact that it has its own name.”

In speaking of Nicki Minaj, who she had a chance to perform with, Swift said, “I love her. One of my favorite moments of the tour was when she came out at the Staples Center and sang ‘Super Bass’ with me, which was, like, the coolest thing. It was like a dream come true, so it’s amazing to get to run into her and see her around, and I’m just such a fan.” When asked if Swift would ever collaborate with Minaj, she answered, “I mean, we’re not working on anything right now. But I would love to at some point. That would be amazing.”

Adele, Bruno Mars and Kanye West Lead Grammy Nominations

Announced Wednesday were the Grammy nominations, and leading the lineup was Kanye West with a total of seven nominations, mostly for the song, “All of the Lights.” His album was left off of best album contention.

Following Kanye are Adele and Bruno Mars, each competing for album, record and song of the year. Both singers earned six nominations each.

Rock superstars the Foo Fighters also racked up six nominations, most notably for Album of the Year for “Wasting Light.” Also up for top album honors, aside from Adele’s “21″ and Mars’ “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” is Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Rihanna’s “Loud.”

The surprise artist thrown in the mix is Bon Iver, an indie-folk singer who appeared on much of Kanye West’s album “Twisted Fantasy.” Iver is up for Record of the Year for “Holocene,” which also snagged a nomination for Song of the Year, and is competing against Nicki Minaj, Skrillex, J. Cole and The Band Perry for Best New Artist.

The 54th Grammys will be held Feb. 12 in Los Angeles on CBS. Tune in to see all the winners!

Lady Gaga to Open and Close Grammy Nomination Show

Pop superstar Lady Gaga will be both the opening and closing act on Wednesday night’s (November 30) Grammy Nominations Live!! telecast.

Gaga tweeted about the news after her rehearsals, revealing that one of her two performances would be a collaborative effort, tweeting, “I am so excited to open and close the Grammy Nomination concert tomorrow night! What a blast rehearsing with Jennifer [Nettles] and Kristian [Bush]. Sugarland!”

Gaga and Sugarland will share the stage with a host of other big-name acts, including Rihanna, Usher, Lupe Fiasco, Ludacris and country crooner Jason Aldean. The event will once again be hosted by LL Cool J, who this year will also take part in a special tribute to the classic hip-hop track “The Message,” joining Rick Ross, Common and members of the Furious Five.

Catch the special performance — along with Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Usher, Ludacris, Sugarland and more — at 10 p.m. ET/PT tonight on CBS.

Taylor Swift’s Newest Music Video “Ours” Releases on Friday

Country pop superstar Taylor Swift has an early holiday gift for her fans – a new music video. The newest single “Ours” from the grammy-winning artist will premiere Friday evening E!.

The track “Ours” is featured on a bonus edition of her 2010 album, and is a sweet country tune about falling for someone everyone thinks you shouldn’t. Swift performed the new single at the CMA Awards earlier this month.

Swift is currently busy writing her next album, which will be released next year. “I’ve just been so excited about what’s gonna happen in the next year,” she said. “I’m also really excited about [the next album]. I’ve been writing all the time. I’ve been writing so much for the new record. I can’t believe I’m saying that already: It comes out in a year, but I’m already excited about it.”

With the end of the year quickly approaching, Swift is busy with writing and working through the holidays. Swift expressed her joy and love for the holidays, saying, “I’m excited about the holidays,” she said. “I love Christmas. I love the whole buildup to Christmas and the way that everything is exciting and wintergreen-ish and Christmas tree-ish.”

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