I just found this video of Carly Simon’s surprise appearance at Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner this past Sunday night. All you young girl singers, this is what it’s all about.
This was shot on a Panasonic Lumix TZ40. Not bad.
Adele Grammy Update: She Was Supposed to Sing A Different Song, Not “All I Ask”
Here’s a little intel on Adele and her botched performance of “All I Ask.”
Exclusively, I can tell you she was not supposed to sing “All I Ask.” That may have been one reason why the whole piano-microphone thing was so botched.
My sources tell me she was scheduled to sing “When We Were Young.” It’s a much better song, and it’s her single of the moment that Sony was trying to promote. She’s sung it a few times recently.
So what happened? “She decided she wanted to do something stark that would stand out,” says my insider. So “All I Ask” was hastily put together. The rest, as we know, is history and burgers. My source insists it was a technical glitch that made Adele sound so horrid. But I say — and so do others in the Staples Center– it was just human error. Adele couldn’t hear what was going on, and followed the piano into a hole.
It happens. Or as Adele put it so well, “Shit happens.”
Adele Gets Huge iTunes Bounce from Grammys Despite On Stage Disaster
Things didn’t go well on stage for Adele and she consoled herself with burgers.
But this morning she can also console herself with this news: her “25” album is back at number 1 on iTunes. And three of her singles including “All I Ask”– the song that was botched on the show– are in the top 15.
On the iTunes album chart, all of the top 10 is by performers who appeared on the Grammy show– including Andra Day, Alabama Shakes, and the “Hamilton” soundtrack. “Hamilton” is in the top 10. Wonderful.
Who didn’t get a bounce? Justin Bieber. His lackluster performance on the show sends his “Purpose” album down to number 17. Sorry!
My new fave singers from the weekend: Tori Kelly and Elle King. I wish the public could have heard Tori a the Musicares dinner. She has an earthy voice, and should be singing more R&B.
Adele Skips Sony Music Grammy Party for In-and-Out Burger After Performance Debacle
Sony Music– which had no nominations for Album of the Year and very little else– really needed Adele to make it to their party at the swanky Hotel Bel Air.
But Adele was “pissed,” according to my spies, after her performance of “All I Ask” went awry on the Grammy show. She left the Staples Center in a huff and headed to In-and-Out Burger.
My insiders at the Sony party (where celebs were confined to mostly John Legend and Tony Bennett) say she never arrived. There are no photos of her.
Neil Portnow, head of NARAS, is graciously taking responsibility for Adele’s flat performance on the show saying it was a technical glitch. He may be right. We certainly couldn’t see Adele in the auditorium because of the blinding light cast into the audience from backstage. But also it may have been that she is simply human. Also, that song — “All I Ask” — is terrible, was a poor choice.
Meanwhile, Beyonce was also absent from the Sony party after her very late arrival at the Grammys caused the last two awards presentations to be reversed so she could be the final presenter.
What a crazy night- Pierre Cossette would never have tolerated any of this stuff.
Grammys: Rihanna, Lauryn Hill Rehearse Then Skip Live Show, Adele Glitches, Gaga Kills
Think it’s easy to put on a three hour live show with a bunch of nut cases? Ken Ehrlich really got hit with it last night for the Grammy Awards. At rehearsal, Rihanna came and sang her song twice. My spies say she sounded fine and there was no sign she was ill. Lauryn Hill rehearsed with The Weeknd, had no problems, they say.
But when the show went live, neither Rihanna nor Hill was on the premises. Whoops!
What else could happen? Well, Adele’s number, “All I Ask,” was totally botched. First she sounded flat and the song was a disaster– in the theater. Then, someone had the idea of backlighting her by aiming a gigantic Kleig light into the audience from behind the stage. All we saw in the theater was this blinding light. Half the audience had their hands over their eyes. This is what we saw of Adele’s performance live in the Staples Center:
What else? 
Album of the Year and Record of the Year had to be reversed. Album of the Year is the last award usually. But Beyonce and Jay Z didn’t waltz into the backstage area until the last minute. They were very late. So Album of the Year went first, with Earth Wind & Fire giving the big award to Taylor Swift. Then Beyonce came out and gave Record of the Year to “Uptown Funk.” It was weird. It was like giving Best Actor out at the Oscars after Best Picture.
Then was the whole business with “Hamilton.” The Grammys had the Broadway show present a special number on a dark night, live from their New York theater. Then they announce the “nominees” for Best Broadway album– ha ha, like someone else was going to win. Surprise! They just happened to have a Tony at the theater in New York. LOL, as they say.
Meanwhile Lady Gaga continued to have her golden run, performing 10 David Bowie songs in a medley. It was absolutely brilliant. Nile Rodgers joined her for “Let’s Dance,” which he produced for Bowie. The set showed off a little bit of Bowie’s incredible catalog. He would have loved the whole thing.
And than god for Bonnie Raitt. Her tribute to BB King, with Chris Stapleton and Gary Clark, Jr, was the zenith of the evening. And it kind of set the stage for a sharp, sharp number by Alabama Shakes. I was with Bonnie when BB told her, at Radio City one night, that she was the best slide guitarist he knew. It was quite a moment. On Monday she sounded magnificent and looked like a million bucks too.
PS Adele was not happy when she came off stage. “She was pissed,” says a source. “She knew it didn’t sound good.” And yet, her fans probably didn’t care. But why that song? “When We Were Young” is so much better.
More to come…
Grammy Exclusive Preview: Adele “All I Ask,” Lady Gaga Singing 10 Bowie Songs in Medley, Michael Jackson “Off the Wall” Tribute, Stevie Wonder Honors Maurice White
Here’s what I’m hearing about tonight’s Grammy show: Lady Gaga’s David Bowie tribute comprises 10 of the late Ziggy Stardust’s hits. She will steal the show, undoubtedly. Among the songs in her medley are “Heroes,” “Changes,” and “Let’s Dance.”
Taylor Swift is opening the show with “Out of the Woods.” The “Hamilton” will perform early in the program, live from New York.
Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire will get a tribute from Stevie Wonder and Pentatonix. They’re doing “That’s the Way of the World.” Natalie Cole, Ben E. King and Percy Sledge are relegated to the In Memoriam section.
Miguel will sing Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of My Life” as a nod to the anniversary of “Off the Wall.”
Right after that Adele will sing “All I Ask” with piano accompaniment. Is that her next single? No “When We Were Young” or “Water Under the Bridge.” The seven second bleeper button will be on just in case…
Plus there’s a Lionel Richie medley, and loads of other performances including well, you’ll see…
Oscars: “Spotlight” Actors Had to Wear Khakis and Button Down Shirts Every Day, Forget About Sleeping in A Horse Carcass
Yes, Leo, it was really cold shooting “The Revenant.” And you slept in a horse carcass.
But all the actors nominated for Oscars this year operated under tremendous duress.
The “Spotlight” cast was forced to wear khakis every day. They had to make sure they were pressed properly. They had to wear button down shirts. Have you ever seen actors when they’re not working? Khakis are anathema. They favor t shirts. If they wear dress shirts, they are never tucked in. And this went on for over 30 days.
Michael Fassbender had to wear many different kinds of eye glasses in “Steve Jobs.” Sometimes for hours on end. Also, four or five kinds of jeans. He slept in a hotel on most nights, far from home.
Bryan Cranston sat in a bathtub continuously filled with lukewarm water for “Trumbo.” He wore Salvador Dali’s mustache. He never complained once.
Matt Damon filmed in outer space. Plus he had to learn gardening. And weightlessness. He had to sleep in a crater and drink Tang.
And don’t even get me started about Eddie Redmayne. All that waxing. And constantly being mistaken for Jessica Chastain.
So, Oscar voters, consider all this when you’re voting for Best Actor. And Best Picture.
Grammy Awards: All Album of the Year Nominees Come from One Record Company
Album of the year tonight– whoever wins, Lucian Grange will be happy. He’s the head of Universal Music Group. All five nominees for Album of the Year come from UMG. No Sony-Columbia-Epic, no Warner Music or anyone else.
Sony will wait until next year when Adele’s “25” is eligible, and hope that nothing better comes along in the meantime.
UMG has Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Chris Stapleton, and Alabama Shakes on various labels throughout their empire. Swift is the likely winner, but anyone of them could get a surprise win.
It’s pretty much the same for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Only Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” on Warner-Atlantic, is the exception.
So stay tuned…
Carly Simon Surprise Appearance One of Many Hits at Clive Davis’s Star Studded Pre-Grammy Party
Clive Davis’s 40th anniversary pre-Grammy dinner was off the hook both on and off stage. Carly Simon flew in from Martha’s Vineyard and surprised the A list crowd with a rare performance of “You’re So Vain”– featuring son Ben Taylor on guitar and vocals– that drew a thunderous standing ovation. I’ve never seen the crowd react like that, and everyone sang along. Carly’s voice remains mellifluous and despite her famous stage fright, she held the crowd in the palm of her hand.
Other performers included Nirvana with Beck on a David Bowie tribute–“The Man Who Sold the World”– plus Melissa Etheridge, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, Fetty Wap, Elle King, Tori Kelly, Adam Lambert with Jack Antonoff, Andra Day, and Barry Manilow. Plus there was an emotional screening of Whitney Houston singing “The Greatest Love of All” from 1990.
And then there were the guests in the Beverly Hilton ballroom: from Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach, Joe Walsh (married to Barbara’s sister Marjorie) and Olivia Harrison (with Lesley Glover ex wife of Dave Edmunds) to a table that included– yes one table– with Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin, Michael Keaton, Chris Rock, and Caitlyn Jenner with a date (Candice Cayne). Another table with Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton in full PDA, also Christina Aguilera.
Plus: Jane Fonda and Richard Perry, whose table Carly joined after her performance, Sherry Lansing, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Clarence Avant. Denise Rich had a table with Nikki Haskell, Beverly Johnson, David Foster. Peter Fonda, Jon Voight, Stephen Stills, Herbie Hancock, Diane Warren, Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, Courtney Love with Nick Jarecki, Jamie Foxx, Janelle Monae.
Katie Couric came for the first time to a Clive Davis party with husband John Molner. Les Moonves and Julie Chen, Alan and Debbie Grubman all came in after attending Jimmy Iovine’s wedding at David Geffen’s house. Russell Wilson was there with Ciara, and Harry Styles of One Direction was low key, as was famed songwriter-producer Max Martin.
Whew!
On table featured Alice Cooper, and his famed manager Shep Gordon along with KISS’s Gene Simmons, Shannon Tweed, and Paul Stanley. Near them was a Broadway table– Matthew Morrison, “Color Purple” producer Scott Sanders, and amazing songwriting couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who are characters in “Beautiful” on Broadway and authors of dozens of Brill Building hits including “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling.” Legendary songwriter Mike Stoller with wife Corky, and Valerie Simpson, were near by.
Again, breathe. Weird Al was there. Sean Parker of Facebook fame. Dave Koz, Kenny G. Kathy Griffin, who took a hilarious bow when Clive introduced her. Lorraine Bracco looked beautiful. Larry and Shaun King. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Bob Costas. Josh Groban. Sammy Hagar. Cameron Crowe. I ran into Pat and Gary Houston, Whitney’s sister in law and brother.
There were tables of lawyers and agents, like Joel Katz, Don Passman, and John Branca. NARAS president Neil Portnow gave famed manager Irving Azoff the Icon Award and Irving– feared by many– almost started crying when he talked about Glenn Frey of the Eagles, his great friend who just died.
Nancy and Paul Pelosi, and Valerie Jarrett, came from Washington. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California greeted fans.
I ran into at least two people who are distantly related to me. I met many new wives, second and third wives, fiancees and girlfriends who’d succeeded last year’s companions. Clive made lovely mention of Natalie Cole, BB King, and Percy Sledge, and Michael Ahearn, who produced the party for years. Jackie Collins was sorely missed.
There were ZERO Kardashians or reality show people other than Caitlyn, who let me tell you is about six foot six in heels.
PS Met Zayn Malik, formerly of One Direction who did the photo op and skedaddled despite being an artist signed to RCA (part of the extended family of this party) whose label heads Tom Corson and Peter Edge were also there. He is slight, with very tall hair and many tattoos. The whole proceeding may have been too overwhelming for him.
Second PS shout out to Sirius radio’s Tracey Jordan, and New York pr expert Gwen Quinn, ex officio of the Aretha Franklin inner circle. The Queen of Soul’s ears must have been burning!
Photo attached c2016 Showbiz411. Who wouldn’t want to be Richard Perry? Lives with Jane Fonda, his most famous recording artist is Carly Simon. Here they are, all together in a rare moment.
Brits Choose “Revenant,” Leo, Brie, Kate, Mark Rylance, Innaritu for BAFTA Awards
BAFTA Awards: not an indicator of Oscars, but they liked “The Revenant” a lot– best picture, director, actor with Alejandro Innaritu and Leonardo DiCaprio picking up awards. Brie Larson won for “Room”, Kate Winslet won for ‘Steve Jobs,” and Mark Rylance for “Bridge of Spies.” “Spotlight” and “The Big Short” received screenplay awards.
BEST FILM
THE REVENANT
Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon
LEADING ACTOR
LEONARDO DICAPRIO
The Revenant
LEADING ACTRESS
BRIE LARSON
Room
DIRECTOR
THE REVENANT
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
PRODUCTION DESIGN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
WILD TALES
Damián Szifron
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SPOTLIGHT
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT
Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
NAJI ABU NOWAR (Writer/Director) RUPERT LLOYD (Producer)
Theeb
COSTUME DESIGN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Jenny Beavan
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
KATE WINSLET
Steve Jobs
ANIMATED FILM
INSIDE OUT
Pete Docter
SUPPORTING ACTOR
MARK RYLANCE
Bridge Of Spies
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD
(voted for by the public)
JOHN BOYEGA
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan
SOUND
THE REVENANT
Lon Bender, Chris Duesterdiek, Martin Hernandez, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom
EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Margaret Sixel
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EDMOND
Nina Gantz, Emilie Jouffroy
BRITISH SHORT FILM
OPERATOR
Caroline Bartleet, Rebecca Morgan
ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Ennio Morricone
DOCUMENTARY
AMY
Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE REVENANT
Emmanuel Lubezki
MAKE UP & HAIR
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
BROOKLYN
John Crowley, Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Nick Hornby