This year’s Grammy nominees were announced yesterday, and NEW artists – especially the women – did well. Lizzo has the most nominations with eight, including a nod for Best New Artist. It’s the first time in 15 years that a new artist scored the most nominations. Kanye West was the last to do it, back in 2004. He got 10. Lil Nas X is the top male nominee. Billie Eilish is the YOUNGEST artist to be nominated in all four categories. She’s 17. That record had been held by Mariah Carey, who was 20 when she did it in 1990. Billie is also the youngest artist in Grammy history to get an Album of the Year nomination. The old record was held by Taylor Swift, who was 19 when she did it in 2009. The Best Spoken Word category – Michelle Obama is facing off against John Waters and the Beastie Boys, among others. CBS will air “The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards” live on January 26th.
With all the chaos swirling around us, we need a story that will warm our hearts. JENNA BUSH HAGER gave birth to a baby boy this past August. Sadly, his great-grandparents, former President GEORGE BUSH and his wife BARBARA, never got to meet him. Jenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after they were both gone. But that didn’t stop Barbara from looking out for him. Jenna says, “This is such a beautiful thing: My grandmother needlepointed a lot of stockings, reserves, for great-grandchildren that would be after she died. What a beautiful blessing and what a beautiful thing that she did so that all three of my kids will . . . have a stocking that [their] great-grandmother sewed.”
On Tuesday night, LeBron James got a triple-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s when your points, rebounds, and assists are all in the double digits. He had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. And with that, LeBron now has a triple-double against all 30 NBA teams . . . making him the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double against every other team in the league. But he might not hold the record by himself for much longer. RUSSELL WESTBROOK only has one team to go, and ironically, it’s also the Thunder. Maybe it’s DOUBLE-IRONIC, because Westbrook played his entire career at Oklahoma City, before being traded to Houston in the offseason.
OPRAH’s 2020 Vision Tour – also known as her “I Swear I’m Not Running for President Tour” – will be loaded with special guests. Each of the 9 stops on the tour will feature ONE of the following: Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, The Rock, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Gayle King. The purpose of the tour is to, “motivate audiences to make 2020 the year of renewal and celebrate all we are meant to be.” It’ll include interactive sessions like workbook exercises and DANCE PARTIES. The tour starts on Janu 4th in Fort Lauderdale, and wraps up on March 7th in Denver.
There’s a new movie in theaters called “Harriet”, about abolitionist and American hero HARRIET TUBMAN. It’s been in the making for 25 years. Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard says he first started trying to make it happen in 1994. At that time, a studio executive suggested that JULIA ROBERTS play the title role. When someone pointed out that Julia is – NOT BLACK, the guy said, “It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.” Tubman is played by CYNTHIA ERIVO, who IS black. But there’s even a little controversy over her casting, because she’s not American. She’s British.
ZAC EFRON is heading into the wilderness for 3 weeks, for a series called “Killing Zac Efron”. Zac will try to survive 21 days in the jungle of a remote island with only basic gear, a guide partner and a camera crew. He says, “I tend to thrive under extreme circumstances and seek out opportunities that challenge me on every level. I am excited to explore any uncharted territory and discover what unexpected adventure awaits.” The show will be on Quibi an upcoming streaming service.
Someone did a list of 20 recent songs that are guaranteed to live on forever, and the Top 3 are: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, and “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker.
BRAD PAISLEY puts guitars in the freezer. It came up when “People” interviewed actress ASHLEY WILLIAMS, who plays Jim’s wife on “The Jim Gaffigan Show”. Ashley is also the sister of Brad’s wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. She and Kimberly were on the phone talking about making dinner . . . and when Kimberly opened the freezer she saw three guitars inside. She had no idea why they were there. Supposedly it’s a way to “relic” guitars – make them look old.
TAYLOR SWIFT was among the snubs when the Grammy nominations were announced yesterday . . . although she DID get three nods. She was also considered one of the bigger snubs last year.
TANYA TUCKER has been around since the ’70s, but has never won a Grammy. Well yesterday she found out she’s up for 4 nominations. Her album “While I’m Livin'” is nominated for Best Country Album. And “Bring My Flowers Now” is up for Song of the Year, Best Country Song, and Best Country Solo Performance. She said, “I can’t believe it. Four Grammy nominations. Thank you to the Recording Academy, my whole team, and of course, all of YOU for showing such love and support for this album. Now I’m gonna enjoy my mimosa and let this all sink in.”
ERIC CHURCH picked up 2 Grammy nominations yesterday. “Desperate Man” is up for Best Country Album, and “Some Of It”, which is one of the tracks on the album, is up for Best Country Song. But it almost didn’t make the album. It wasn’t on the first version that Eric submitted. But his wife knew it should be, so she played it for him and some friends one night, and they all agreed a mistake was made. He said, “The record was done, but I said, ‘I’ve gotta do this, I have to add this song.’ And it made the album. [It] might be my favorite album now that it’s on there.”
CARRIE UNDERWOOD has released her “Drinking Alone” video. She plays a nightclub singer and the guy she gets close to, and “drinks with” kind of looks like her husband, Mike Fisher. But younger. The Nashville Predators recently hosted the first-annual Mike Fisher Celebrity Clay Shoot. Carrie was there to support Mike, and do some shooting of her own. Proceeds benefitted local nonprofits.
THOMAS RHETT just released 2 Christmas songs. One is a brand new track he co-wrote called “Christmas In The Country”. The other is his take on, “The Christmas Song”. No word on a holiday album.
Little Big Town detailed their 9th studio LP Nightfall, which will be released January 17th. The new album features their Grammy-nominated “The Daughters” as well as their current single “Over Drinking,” both of which will be available with pre-orders starting Friday. Nightfall preorders will also include the new track, “Sugar Coat”. The official music video for it is set to premiere Friday at 11 a.m. The clip, shot outside Nashville stars Kate Bosworth Isaiah Stratton. On January 16th, Little Big Town will play an album release show at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
NASCAR stud JIMMIE JOHNSON is retiring after the 2020 season.
“Thursday Night Football” at 8:00 pon Fox. The Houston Texans host the Indianapolis Colts.
The ABC fall finales of “Grey’s Anatomy” at 8:00
“Seth Meyers” – Dolly Parton,
Carly Rae Jepsen is 34.
Ken Griffey Jr. is 50.
Troy Aikman is 53.
Goldie Hawn is 74.
Marlo Thomas is 82
