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You Sing I Write's Weekly Wrap Up

Boy bands seem to be making a comeback this year. With the hysteria that UK’s One Direction is currently bringing to America, I can’t help but to remember growing up in the era of Backstreet Boys, N’ Sync and 98 Degrees. Two weeks ago One Direction performed at Radio City Music Hall. Since I work across the street, I learned firsthand that this is not just another music fad as girls lined up hours before the show and I heard screams from 44 floors up throughout the day.

On Wednesday I interviewed the boys of One Direction and got a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for the current music sensation. With back-to-back interviews lined up with little but a second break in between, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guys. Just a glimpse into their daily life made me thankful I never became a rock star. Stay tuned for my interview with One Direction later this week.

The Wanted are another UK band currently heating up the charts. After the success of “Glad You Came,” the group revealed details behind their next single, “Gold Forever.” Meanwhile, the All-American Rejects released the title track off their upcoming album, Kids In the Street while Lady Gaga’s ex continues to promote his book, The Drunk Diet: How I Lost 40 Pounds…Wasted.

Rihanna finally broke her silence about her recent collaboration with Chris Brown. “I reached out to him about doing ‘Birthday Cake’ because that’s the only person that really made sense to do the record,” Rolling Stone reports. “I thought about rappers, and I’ve done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track.”

While I’ve been covering pop music more closely as of late, I’m always happy to learn more about collaborations in the country world. For details behind Matt Nathanson and Sugarland’s latest hit, “Run” watch my video interview with him here.

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Features

ACM Awards Performances: Collaborations Steal the Show

It was a night of jaw-dropping collaborations, surprises and new music at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

“Alright Mandalay Bay, ready to see a little music history?” Sugarland’s Kristian Bush asked the audience before bandmate Jennifer Nettles and R&B/pop sensation Rihanna took to the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino stage.

And music history it was. Rihanna appeared alone in a knock-out white dress, singing the first verse of her new single, ‘California King Bed’ as Jennifer’s vocals could be heard in the background. Soon, Jennifer appeared side stage and the two alternated singing lead and harmonizing throughout the remainder of the track. The vulnerable ballad showcased each artist’s incredibly powerful vocals and was just one of the many unexpected collaborations of the night.

Brad Paisley kicked off the night of collaborations at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino with his current single, ‘Old Alabama.’ Wearing blue jeans, a black Alabama concert t-shirt and his classic white cowboy hat, Brad wowed the crowd with his guitar skills for his tribute to the iconic country band before they came out and joined him mid-song. Alabama walked onstage with their guitars in hand to screams and helped Brad close the song with a fast-paced guitar jam.

For my complete review and photos of last night’s ACM Awards, visit The Boot.

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Features

53rd Annual Grammy Awards Tonight on CBS

The Grammy Awards air tonight on CBS at 8PM ET/PT and will feature live performances by Christina Aguilera,  Jennifer Hudson,  Bob Dylan, Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga,  Miranda Lambert, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Drake, Rihanna and many more.

For complete coverage, be sure to follow me on Twitter as I’ll be live tweeting the show. Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to interview numerous Grammy winners, so be sure to click on my Q&As with past winners below and stay tuned for new interviews in the upcoming weeks!

Colbie Caillat

Lady Antebellum

Martina McBride

Pat Benatar

Taylor Swift

Train

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Benefit Features News

Musicians & Media Get Involved In Haiti

By now you’ve heard about the devastation in Haiti and the aftermath of the earthquake. Many musicians and media outlets have been doing their part to raise money and I thought I’d fill you in on two music related ventures — Paste Magazine‘s “Songs For Haiti” and MTV’s “Hope For Haiti.”

Paste Magazine is offering those who donate money to the Haiti earthquake relief unreleased songs from diverse artists including Ludacris, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird, Hanson, Low Anthem, Umphrey’s McGee, Switchfoot, Derek Webb and over 200 others. If you’ve already donated you still can still participate (just say where you made your donation) as all will have access to “Songs For Haiti” MP3s. All the money raised through Paste will be spread equally among three charities active in Haiti relief: Doctors Without Borders, The Red Cross and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

“We obviously don’t think people would need incentive to donate in this effort, but perhaps the campaign will inspire more music fans to get involved, or to encourage people who have already donated, to donate again,” said Josh Jackson, Paste Magazine Editor-In-Chief. “Music has always been a force that brings people together, and to have so many fantastic artists drop everything to contribute to this effort was very touching,” Jackson added.

I couldn’t agree more. For more information on “Songs For Haiti” and to donate click here.

Friday night, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT, MTV along with many other networks will host a night of performances to raise money for Haiti relief. The lineup includes Madonna, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Sting, Coldplay, Bono, the Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna.

Additional appearances include former President Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Muhammad Ali, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson and more.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday, January 22 via the following methods:

Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
Phone: 877-99-HAITI
Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

All musical performances will be available for purchase for 99 cents per song through iTunes beginning Saturday, January 23. iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order both the “Hope for Haiti Now” full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. All proceeds will benefit relief funds managed by Hope for Haiti Now charities.

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Song of the Week

Song of the Week: “Live Your Life”

“Life is an interesting journey, you never know where it will take you,” T.I. says introducing his music video. He continues, “Sometimes on the way to where you’re going you might think, ‘This is the worst time of my life.’ But you know what, at the end of the road, through all the adversity, if you can get where you wanted to be, you remember whatever don’t kill you will make you stronger, then all the adversity was worth it.”

Cue Rihanna and the song begins. Listen closely.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOFDaB1Sh20]

I like the song so much I made it my ringtone. So, whenever someone calls me I’m constantly reminded, “Just live your life.”

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News

Chris Brown + Rihanna, What’s Your Take?

I try to stay away from celebrity gossip on my blog and focus solely on the music — the inspiration behind the artist, their passion, accomplishments, etc. but all everyone has been talking about lately are the allegations behind the pre-Grammy incident with Chris Brown and Rihanna.

What happened?

No one really knows exactly what took place, but everyone sure has an opinion on it. With the recent leak of Rihanna’s photo to the media, I’m curious to what your take on it is? Do you feel it’s good to be discussing the situation as a means of bringing light to the subject of domestic abuse? Or, should we simply be giving both parties their privacy and stop interviewing family members and making our own allegations? What does this mean for both of their careers?

I’d love to hear what you think on the situation and what this means to the music industry.

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News

Grammy’s Tonight!

Tonight is the most important night of the year for many musicians — the 51st Grammy Awards! Who do you think will walk away with the most awards? Here‘s a list of all the nominations.

One of the most anticipated award each year is Best New Artist, this year’s nominees include:

* Adele

* Duffy

* Jonas Brothers

* Lady Antebellum

* Jazmine Sullivan

Tough choice! Be sure to tune in tonight on CBS at 8 p.m. for the results as well as performances by U2, Radiohead, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Katy Perry, John Mayer, B.B. King and many, many more! I’ll be updating the results throughout the show on Twitter, so be sure to follow me if you’re not yet!