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This show has been on TV so long the reruns are starting to have grandchildren.
And the numbers keep going up! Last night “SVU” was up around 5.4 million total viewers. Its mounting success in season 24 has turned its lead in, “Law & Order,” into a hit with 4.9 million viewers.
But now even “Organized Crime” at 10pm is showing signs of life at last, around 3.7 million. Dick Wolf rules NBC on Thursday night, that’s for sure.
Will we ever see Benson and Stabler get together? Let’s hope not. They’ve got to keep it at a hot question hovering in the air like the Chinese balloon!
Grammy weekend started with a bang Thursday night at the Hollywood Athletic Club with a swanky party thrown by Warner Music and Records, and Atlantic Records.
But the main focus was a performance by Omar Apollo, the hottest new young artist in the business. Plenty of stars like Nile Rodgers, Whiz Khalifa, Bebe Rexha, Saweetie, and Lauren Daigle were there, plus Warner Music owner Len Blavatnik and his whole family to see Omar kill it with ap private. Omar is a mix of R&B, pop, and rock with lots of melody and amazing voice — wonderful old school falsetto — that should propel his career pretty quickly. Right there applauding: Warner Music chief Tom Corson plus Atlantic’s Craig Kallman, and Julie Greenwald, who are getting the big NARAS Award tomorrow night at Clive Davis’s party.
If Omar Apollo doesn’t win best New Artist on Sunday night, don’t despair. Next year he’ll be back with a bunch of hits and nominations! Catch him this spring when he opens for SZA on tour!
I’m hearing that Clive Davis’s return to post-pandemic pre-Grammy glory on Saturday night will be something to remember for all time.
Already bandied about as performers are Lizzo, Jennifer Hudson, and Maneskin. There’s also a Big Star I’m not allowed to reveal that will make the celebrities in the Beverly Hills Hilton ballroom go nuts.
And who’s coming? From what I can figure out, the guest list already includes beloved former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, plus this list slipped to me by a spy:
Lil Nas X
Janelle Monae
Machine Gun Kelly
Diane Warren
Beck
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
T.I.
Nancy Pelosi
Tim Cook
Will.I.Am
Toni Braxton
Ted Sarandos
Clarence Avant
Brandi Carlile
Wiz Kalifa
Magic Johnson
Sheryl Crow
Alice Cooper
Lil Wayne
Kenny Babyface Edmonds
Missy Elliott
Peter Asher
Judy Collins
Usher
Timbaland
Demi Lovato
Tamron Hall
Olivia Harrison
Michele Lee
Magic Johnson
Don Lemon
H.E.R.
Dionne Warwick
Sharon Stone
Adrian Brody
Elvis Costello
Diplo
Brian Grazer
Pat Houston
Max Martin
Gayle King
Avril Lavigne
Lars Ulrich
Hello! Clive is almost 91 years young and there is no one else like him in entertainment, music or movies or anything else. Stay tuned for updates. No will have the energy for the actual Grammys on Sunday at this rate! And half the town will be home Friday night resting up for this memorable gathering!
Back in June when Beyonce released her now Grammy nominated “Break My Soul” I wrote about its origins: the record is sampled largely from Robin S.’s 1993 disco hit, “Show Me Love,” written by Allen George and the late Fred McFarlane. (He died in 2016.)
In June, I left a message for Allen George about the excitement of having his record sampled by such a big star. The message got mislaid. He called me back tonight. Is he going to the Grammy’s, I wondered? “Break My Soul” is nominated for Song and Record of the Year, and Best Dance/Electronic Recording. Also, the Terry Hunter remix is nominated for Best Remixed Recording.
(Also PS, George wasn’t invited to the Big Show, has never spoken to Beyonce or anyone involved with “Break My Soul.”)
Among George’s other hits: producing the classic 1986 pop dance hit “World Domination” by the Belle Starrs. More recently he’s worked with Jason DeRulo, Chris Brown, and Kid Ink.
Allen George is not unhappy with Beyonce, but he is upset about the Academy rules. “It’s not fair,” he told me. “I wrote that record. It wouldn’t exist without Show Me Love. I wrote the song that got nominated. These samples in songs that get nominated– they don’t honor the original artists, and they didn’t when their records came out. They’re [the Academy] being a gatekeeper, don’t be a gate keeper. They say, You can’t come to our party!”
In truth, Allen has a good sense of humor. He’s rooting for Beyonce to win Best Song anyway. “How can she not win?” he asked rhetorically. “That record was a game changer for her. It brought her new audiences.”
By the way, “Show Me Love,” he says, was sampled on three big records last year including “Used to Know Me,” by Charlie XCX. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. Meantime, Allen is not letting any grass grow under his feet. He’s writing a theme song for a new movie starring Loretta DeVine. He’s opening a new studio in Englewood, New Jersey. “I want to start making some new music,” he says. “The stuff that’s out there is no good, no one can play an instrument!”
The Grammys are coming this Sunday to CBS. Today they announced a curious group of presenters besides host Trevor Noah.
They include Dwayne The Rock Johnson, actress Viola Davis, Billy Crystal, James Corden, Billy Crystal, Olivia Rodrigo, and Shania Twain. The last two are singers. The others, I have no idea what’s going on.
As I reported earlier, there will be a tribute to Loretta Lynn led by Kacey Musgraves. And a tribute to Christine McVie from her Fleetwood Mac bandmate Mick Fleetwood, plus Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt. There’s also supposed to be a big hip hop tribute. Performers include Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, and Harry Styles.
Who won’t be performing? Adele, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce.
The lineup for the Grammys is as eclectic as the one for Friday night’s Musicares tribute to Motown, which so far doesn’t include Stevie Wonder or Diana Ross, but does have Rita Wilson, Brandi Carlile, Chloe x Halle, Sheryl Crow, Lalah Hathaway, Samara Joy, John Legend, Michael McDonald, PJ Morton, Mumford & Sons, Trombone Shorty, Molly Tuttle, and Sebastián Yatra. There’s a noticeable lack of actual Motown musicians.
Well, eclectic is in this year. And surprises abound. We will all be watching.
The new group of Rock Hall nominees has been announced and they are eclectic to say the least. Remember, this group will be winnowed down to five or six.
They include The Spinners, Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, The White Stripes, Tom Morello and Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, George Michael, Warren Zevon, Sheryl Crow, Joy Division/New Order, Missy Elliot, Iron Maiden, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Lauper is in. Zevon is in. I’d like to see The Spinners finally get some love. Missy Elliot is rap but she might make it. Morello is very popular among rock journalists. Jack White of the White Stripes, ditto. Kate Bush had a huge revival last year courtesy of “Stranger Things,” but I don’t think that will help.
And then there’s this whole matter of Willie Nelson. How can he not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? How is it that he’s not in already? Yes, he’s country. But this man is beyond labels. There should be six inductees because of him and because they waited so long to induct him. He’s still putting out albums!
The others all have merit but will have to wait.
I do hope the Hall has an Early Influencers category this year and chooses Chubby Checker and the late Mary Wells at last. It’s only right.
Last night in LA Tom Brady appeared at the premiere for “80 for Brady.”
This morning comes his well timed retirement announcement. Maybe that will boost the box office receipts this weekend.
Ozzy Osbourne is suffering. He’s had to cancel his next UK and European tour, he says, because of spinal injuries — despite painful surgeries. Ozzy was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2003 and after twenty years it’s obviously catching up with him. “My singing voice is fine,” he reports. He can make records. His most recent is nominated for a Grammy Award this weekend.
The main thing, after 50 years of performing, is that he takes care of himself. At 74 years old, he’s allowed to slow down!
This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans… pic.twitter.com/aXGw3fjImo
That’s it for Dr. Phil. He’s pulling the plug on himself after 21 seasons come this spring.
Phil McGraw has the number 1 talk show, or sometimes number 2 as it battles with Live with Kelly and Ryan. But his average audience is around 1.5 million people a day.
Dr. Phil is 72 and has a net worth of $460 million according to reports. So why not hang it up?
McGraw says in a statement:
I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television. With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do.
The Spirit Awards have been getting lower and lower ratings for years. They bounce around at the level of 60,000 viewers.
The result is they’ve been dropped by the IFC Channel and have no broadcast home. No more big show. It’s over.
Now the Spirit Awards will stream only, on the IFC streaming channel and IMDB.com. That’s pretty disappointing. But the Spirit Awards have kind of done to this themselves over the years. The glory days of John Waters as host and really great movies getting attention are long in the past.
Hasan Minhaj will host the show on Saturday, March 4th. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” should be the big winner, setting up the Oscar winner as something else entirely.
