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Pop ladies rule at Grammy Awards

Posted by NollywoodMohits on February 14, 2011 at 2:05am

Lady Gaga emerged from an egg-shaped cocoon for her performance - Footage courtesy The Recording Academy/CBS


Country trio Lady Antebellum and pop star Lady Gaga were among the winners at the most prestigious ceremony in the music calendar, the Grammy Awards.

Lady Antebellum won five prizes, including song of the year and record of the year for their hit Need You Now.

Lady Gaga, who was carried down the Los Angeles event's red carpet in a giant egg, won three awards including best pop vocal album for The Fame Monster.

Rapper Jay-Z and soul star John Legend also picked up three awards apiece.

Jay-Z's haul included two trophies for Empire State of Mind, his duet with Alicia Keys, while Legend was rewarded for his collaboration with hip-hop group The Roots.

Eminem led the field going into the ceremony, with 10 nominations. But the star picked up just two awards - best rap album for Recovery and best rap solo performance for Not Afraid.

He had been tipped to win best album, but that award went to impassioned Canadian rockers Arcade Fire for their third studio album The Suburbs.


Grammy winners - main categories

Lady Antebellum
  • Record of the year - Lady Antebellum (above), Need You Now
  • Song of the year - Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
  • Album of the year - Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
  • Best new artist - Esperanza Spalding
  • Best female pop vocal performance - Lady Gaga, Bad Romance
  • Best male pop vocal performance - Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are
  • Best pop vocal album - Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster

Another shock came in the best new artist category, where singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding beat pop heart-throb Justin Bieber and hip-hop newcomer Drake to become the first jazz artist to win that award.

British breakthrough artists Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons also lost out in that category.

But UK artists fared better elsewhere. Veteran guitarist Jeff Beck, who had seven nominations, was the leading British nominee going into the ceremony. He scooped both best pop instrumental performance and best rock instrumental performance.

Sir Paul McCartney won best solo rock vocal performance for his live album Good Evening New York City, while a Beatles box set won best historical album.

Other British winners included synth-pop duo La Roux, who won best electronic/dance album, Iron Maiden, for best metal performance, and Sade, for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals.

Stadium rock band Muse picked up best rock album for The Resistance. The trio, who performed at the ceremony, saw off competition from veterans Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and Jeff Beck.

But Young did triumph over Muse in the best rock song category. His track Angry World, from his album Le Noise, was also up against tunes by Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon and the Black Keys.

Neil Young Rock legend Neil Young won his first Grammy for his music

"This is my first Grammy for music, and it's appreciated greatly," the 65-year-old Canadian legend said.

In other categories, Rihanna's Only Girl in the World was named best dance recording and US rock duo The Black Keys picked up best alternative album for their sixth release, Brothers, beating Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire.

The ceremony at the Staples Center featured a string of flamboyant, star-studded performances and collaborations.

The show began with a tribute to soul queen Aretha Franklin, who is recovering from an operation, performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and Yolanda Adams.

Lady Gaga then emerged from her egg-shaped cocoon to take to the stage to perform her new single Born This Way.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow joined a feather-clad Cee Lo Green Jim Henson's puppets to give a colourful performance of the hit single Forget You.

And Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger earned a standing ovation for his debut Grammy performance, delivering a rendition of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love in tribute to Solomon Burke, who died last year...

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I like it on the Bed ... guys, If you see this on a ladies Facebook status do not be alarmed !

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on October 8, 2010 at 3:30am
I did a doubletake when I saw a friend's Facebook status update today : "I like it on the kitchen table." Probably just a private message mistakenly posted as a status update.

Then my sister posted, "I like it on the hall floor," and after a moment of feeling vaguely icky, I knew something was up. So I Googled and, of course, found that it's the latest viral breast cancer awareness campaign taking Facebook by storm. (The "it" is actually where a woman likes to leave her purse/handbag.)



My friend Genevieve likes it on the barstool. My friend Jalade likes it in the car.

Bobos please Get your minds out of the gutter.

They're talking about their purses.

Titillating the Facebook newsfeeds today, women are posting where they like to keep their purses when they come home, but they conveniently leave out the word "purse."

Men are not supposed to know what it means. So stop reading now, men.

The trend follows the January Internet meme in which women posted the color of their bra as their Facebook status.

Both are to raise awareness of breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Month. (It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but that's another story entirely.)

The question remains whether the viral campaign actually does raise awareness or just raises eyebrows.

One response to a Facebook status: "Woah is right. Overshare."

Update, 10:45 a.m.

Men: Hmph. Some of the not-so-fair sex have complained that this post is sexist as they are forbidden to read past the jump. Others have complained about the actual Internet meme: "Yeah, that's a great way to get men on board with breast cancer awareness month...alienate them."

We suggest going with the flow, men. Men can put purses places these days too.

Oh, and ladies, go take a breast exam..
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Jacob Zuma's three first ladies

Posted by Jane Okinedo on January 10, 2010 at 7:09am
The question that has had South Africa's media all of a twitter is: "Who amongst Jacob Zuma's three wives will be the country's next first lady?"Mr Zuma, a Zulu, has married at least five women since 1973 and has 19 children.Mr Zuma has remained close to his ex-wife, who will also be at the ceremonyThe 67-year-old is still married to his first wife Sizakele Khumalo, to Nompumelelo Ntuli, 34, whom he married in 2007, and to his most recent wife Thobeka Mabhija, described by the South African media as a 35-year-old "Durban socialite".Another wife, Kate Mantsho Zuma, committed suicide in 2000, and he divorced Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in 1998, but she remains a close political adviser and has served as a minister in government.Saturday's inauguration ceremony - the first for a polygamous president in South Africa - may have provided a hint.While Mr Zuma's three wives were all said to be present, only first wife Sizakele Khumalo accompanied him on stage.He introduced her to the crowd but then added: "You will see other wives some other time."HonestyPolygamy is still common in rural KwaZulu Natal, where Mr Zuma is from.According to political analyst Protas Madlala, many Zulus who are Christian have turned away from the practice, but it persists in rural areas because of the low standard of education and enduring poverty there.Traditionally, the whole family would live in the same compound, with each wife maintaining her own round house, or rondavel.People who stick to the traditions say that they may have more than one wife, but Christians maintain strings of mistresses, hidden awayPolitical analyst Protas MadlalaThe first wife is usually expected to have some say in choosing the subsequent wives, to make sure the husband does not choose someone she will quarrel with."The man is expected to rotate his nightly visits," says Mr Madlala."I am a Westernised African, with an education, so I wouldn't go for a polygamous marriage," Mr Madlala says."But rural poverty definitely plays a part in keeping the tradition alive. Parents may depend on the bride prices that are paid, and may ask their children to go into it."He says that although polygamy is not as common as it once was, traditions are associated with openness and honesty."People who stick to the traditions say that they may have more than one wife, but Christians maintain strings of mistresses, hidden away."Sexual politicsBy being closely associated with traditional practices, including polygamy, Mr Zuma has managed to create an image of himself as a straight-talking honest man among rural supporters across South Africa's ethnic lines, Mr Madlala says.Nompumelelo Ntuli cast her ballot alongside Mr Zuma in AprilThis despite a well-publicised rape trial where Mr Zuma admitted having unprotected sex with a family friend who was HIV positive.Mr Zuma was acquitted of the charge.But the furore did not seem to matter to Zulus, who voted for Mr Zuma in their droves, abandoning the traditional Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party."Many people I spoke to said they voted for Mr Zuma, not the African National Congress," Mr Madlala said.He suspects that support came through amongst rural Xhosas too.But should sexual politics have an influence over voters' choices?Steven Friedman at the University of Johannesburg says not."If as a politician you believe it is OK to rape or treat people with violence then that will have an effect on the way you deal with public challenges.""But if you think it's OK to marry five women I don't think it would."Mr Zuma is deeply committed to traditional beliefs, he says."But I'm sceptical if the electorate cares much about it."TraditionSo why has there been such a flurry of media articles about who will be the "first wife"?A lot of the media speculation has been driven by American news values, something that doesn't really have much to do with South African political cultureSteven FriedmanUniversity of JohannesburgThe ANC has said the matter is a personal one and there is no protocol to dictate who Mr Zuma should choose to be his "first wife".It has also been suggested that one of Mr Zuma's daughters could take on the role.But Mr Friedman says there is nothing in the constitution about any role for the president's spouse."A lot of the media speculation has been driven by American news values, something that doesn't really have much to do with South African political culture."So does Zulu culture indicate who will get to shake Barack Obama's hand or take tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace?Mr Madlala says it is likely that Mr Zuma will not have to choose one woman to be his official companion at state occasions or visits.The Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu frequently takes more than one of his five wives with him on visits, he says."It may be that to avoid antagonising some of them he takes them all to state occasions."Or he may rotate among them, like the nightly visits."
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