Bruno Mars will open the 2016 American Music Awards show, marking his first performance on the AMA stage. Mars, who won the Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist award in 2011, has scored seven AMA nominations in the past. The singer/songwriter/producer has just scored his latest hit with "24K Magic," which debuted at NO. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, earning Mars his highest debut to date.
The 2015 American Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Drake broke a 32-year record for the most AMA nominations with 13 nods, beating Michael Jackson's previous high mark of 11 from 1984. The "Hotline Bling" rapper leads all 2016 American Music Awards nominees with nods in categories including Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Album, Favorite Rap Artist, Favorite Rap Song and Favorite R&B song, among others. If he wins in any of the categories it will make his first AMA win.
Rihanna is just behind Drizzy with seven nominations, with Adele and Justin Bieber picking up five nominations each, followed by four nods each for Beyonce and The Chainsmokers and three forBryson Tiller, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Fetty Wap and The Weeknd.
Drake will go up against Adele, Beyoncé, Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Underwood and The Weeknd for Artist of the Year; the 10 nominees will be narrowed to five based on the votes received through Monday, November 14 at 8:59 a.m. PT. Voting for Artist of the Year will close on Thursday, November 17 at 8:59 p.m. PT.
The winner will be determined by the total votes received throughout the entire voting period. If Bieber wins the award he will tie current record hold Taylor Swift for the most wins (3). With eight past wins and this year's five nominations, Bieber needs just one win to become one of the top 10 AMA winners of all time.
Fans can vote for all category once per day, per platform in one or both of the below ways. For New Artist of the Year Un-leashed by T-Mobile, fans can vote 100 times per day, per platform at AMAvote.com or by posting a tweet that includes the nominee's Twitter handle, the category name and #AMAs within the post(s). The 2016 American Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are executive producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are producers.
Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar Honored at BET Hip-Hop Awards
Snoop Dogg received the "I Am Hip Hop" award at the 11th annual BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta on Saturday.
Kendrick Lamar introduced Snoop Dogg in front of a packed crowd at the Cobb Energy Performing Centre. Lamar said Snoop Dogg "paved a way into many hearts" with his authentic rap flow and infectious persona.
When Snoop Dogg accepted his award, he said he felt misunderstood at the beginning of his career and made feel-good music for listeners.
Lamar took home Lyricist of the Year. After claiming his award, Lamar continued to praise Snoop Dogg. The rapper also told the crowd music is one of the best ways to bring people together, and thanked BET for putting together the show.
Fat Joe and Remy Ma won Track of the Year award for their song "All the Way Up." The Hustler of the Year honor went to DJ Khaled, and Best New Hip-Hop Artist was earned by Chance The Rapper, who was not in attendance.
Desiigner closed out the show with "Tiimmy Turner."
T.I. and several others offered passionate statements against police brutality of African-Americans.
Wearing all black, T.I. performed his politically charged song "We Will Not" as a stage full of people sporting the same dark attire held up "Black Lives Matter" signs. The rapper said he was motivated to write the song after hearing about a series of deaths of unarmed black people who were shot by police including Sandra Bland and Philando Castile.
Big K.R.I.T and Lecrae, a Christian rapper, expressed their thoughts on the matter through their own poems, and radio host Sway Calloway stood alongside Khaled and said, "We're at war." Actor Shameik Moore encouraged people to cast their vote.
T.I. said at the end of his performance that blacks should unite, adding, "They can't kill us all."
Gucci Mane, recently released from prison, was the first to hit the stage at the show. He performed four songs, kicking his set off with "First Day Out" and "First Day Out Tha Feds." The rapper was released in late May from a Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana.
He served a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated assault for attacking a fan at an Atlanta nightclub. That sentence ran concurrently with a 39-month federal sentence he was given in 2014 for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
First-time host DJ Khaled followed with "Holy Key" with soul singer Betty Wright and a choir dressed in gold.
For the third straight year, Drake topped the nominees with 14 nominations.
The show will air Oct. 4 on BET.
Kendrick Lamar & Snoop Dogg At BET Hip-Hop Awards 2016 Source: BillBoard
2016-09-07
Gucci Mane Teases New Music With OutKast, Lil Wayne & More
Gucci Mane has long built a reputation as one of the hardest-working rappers in the game, and following his release from federal prison in late May of this year, he's gotten right back to business. In a Snapchat video posted over the weekend, Gucci claimed to have recorded verses with Lil Wayne, Project Pat, Boosie Badazz, E-40 and OutKast, all in one day.
Slight work for Guwop, perhaps, but alarm bells went off for fans at the mention of OutKast. Big Boi and Andre 3000 haven't appeared together on a record since the 2007's collaborative record "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" with UGK, and while the ATLiens' 2014 reunion tour sparked rumors of a new release, nothing has materialized so far. Lately, however, Three Stacks has been more active than usual with guest appearances on albums from Frank Ocean and Travi$ Scott, while Big never truly faded from the scene, having release two solo albums and a collaborative project with Phantogram in recent years.
So Gucci's assertion that he did a record for OutKast (as opposed to with OutKast) seems like it could be significant; or it could just be a slip of the tongue. After all, it's possible that any of these collabs could wind up on Gucci's own upcoming project, Woptober, which will be his second full-length release since becoming a free man once again.
After featuring just Young Thug, Kanye West and Drake on his comeback LP Everybody Looking, Gucci's been getting back in the saddle in terms of doling out verses, contributing to cuts from West, Dreezy, Rae Sremmurd, Kodak Black, DJ Khaled and more in recent months. But if he can get Andre and Big Boi back on the same track again for the first time in almost a decade, it could be his greatest accomplishment to date.
But before fans get too excited, Gucci's claim was tempered by a rep for Andre 3000, who tells Billboard, "There is no OutKast album in the works."
XXL captured the snap on Instagram.
Gucci Mane's 50 pound weight loss Source: BillBoard
2016-08-29
Drake Congratulates Rihanna's MTV VMAs Honor With Giant Billboard
Drake sure knows how to make a statement.
Ahead of 2016 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (Aug. 28), where Rihanna will be honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, the Toronto MC bought a large billboard in Los Angeles to congratulate the diva.
"Congratulations to Rihanna from Drake and Everyone at OVO," the billboard read.
The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Rihanna. "When he extra," she captioned an Instagram photo of the large sign, along with a heart and trophy emojis.
Rumors have been swirling that the two music stars are secretly dating, which would explain why Drake would go to so much effort to congratulate the singer. Or perhaps it was meant to drive awareness of Drake's song "Too Good," which features Rihanna and has been climbing the Hot 100.
Drake, meanwhile, has multiple VMA nods for his “Hotline Bling” video. The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards airs live from New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET
Drake and Rihanna at MTV awards 2016 Source: BillBoard
2016-08-16
French Montana to Launch Las Vegas Residency With TAO Group
French Montana is gearing up for an exclusive Las Vegas residency with the TAO Group this fall.
The Epic Records rapper will perform hits past and present at TAO, LAVO and Marquee. His residency is scheduled to begin Sept. 17 at Marquee Nightclub with later dates yet to be announced.
The hip-hop artist will join the likes of Britney Spears, Rod Stewart and Jennifer Lopez, who occupy the strip with their fan-favorite hits. Montana holds six Hot 100 hits, with features on songs by Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jeremih, Kodak Black and Rick Ross.
The rapper is expected to drop his upcoming second studio album MC4 this week. The album is a continuation of Montana’s Mac & Cheese series. Tracks from the upcoming sophomore album will be included in Montana’s set during his residency with TAO Group. Source: BillBoard
2010-08-04
Lady Gaga receives record VMA nods
Lady GaGa is set to dominate the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) - the pop star has landed a record-breaking 13 nominations.
The "Poker Face" hitmaker haul marks the most ever VMA nominations scored by one artist in a single year.
Gaga has received nods in a string of different categories including Best Pop Video, Best Dance Music Video, Best Female Video, Best Choreography and Best Collaboration.
The delighted singer says, "I'm so honoured for all the little monsters (fans) and self-professed freaks of the universe to have more VMA nominations in a single year than any artist in MTV history. Ironically, I'm even more proud it's an unlucky number - 13.
"A long time ago the world told me and my little monsters we would never be heard, together we changed the rules. God put me on Earth for three reasons: To make loud music, gay videos and cause a damn raucous (sic). Thank you, MTV!"
Gaga will compete against herself in for Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and the Video of the Year - her Video Phone collaboration with Beyonce will go head-to-head with Bad Romance in all three categories.
"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, "California Gurls" by Katy Perry and Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" will also compete for the Best Female Video award, while "California Gurls", "Tik Tok" and "Nothin' On You" by B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars will also fight for the Best Pop Video honour.
Rap superstar Eminem, who landed eight nominations, will challenge Gaga for the coveted Video of the Year title with his single "Not Afraid", while the song will also battle for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video. Drake's star-studded "Forever", which features Eminem alongside Kanye West and Lil Wayne, is also a contender for Best Hip-Hop Video.
Meanwhile, Ke$ha's hit track has also scored the pop star a nod for the Best New Artist prize, going up against Justin Bieber ("Baby"), Jason Derulo ("In My Head"), Nicki Minaj ("Massive Attack") and Broken Bells ("The Ghost Inside").
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on 12 September. Source: Ananova
