(The GRAMMY Insider keeps you up to date about news on your favorite GRAMMY winners, including new album releases, tour updates, notable TV appearances, interviews, and more.)
Awards/Lists
Taylor Swift was the big winner at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards on May 19 in Las Vegas. The seven-time GRAMMY winner took home eight awards, including Top Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Female Artist, and Top Billboard 200 Album for Red. Other GRAMMY winners receiving awards included Fun., Gotye and Kimbra, Maroon 5, Mumford & Sons, Rihanna, and Skrillex. … Public Policy Polling has taken a survey of who Americans love (and hate), with plenty of GRAMMY winners appearing on the favorable side, including Adele, Beyoncé, Swift, and Justin Timberlake. Those falling on the unfortunate side of the spectrum included Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna. … Nominations for the annual BET Awards '13, taking place June 30, were announced with Drake leading the field with 12 nominations. … Adam Levine was honored with the President's Award at the 61st Annual BMI Pop Awards on May 14 in Los Angeles.
Music And Film/TV
Kanye West was the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on May 18, debuting "Black Skinheads" and "New Slaves" from his forthcoming new album. During the former performance, the 21-time GRAMMY winner angrily rapped against an abstract projected backdrop, which featured stark black-and-white images, vintage price tags and a message that read "Not for sale." According to an Instagram post by his main squeeze Kim Kardashian, West's new album will be titled Yeezus and will be released June 18. … Cee Lo Green will appear in "The Cee Lo Life," an unscripted series expected to premiere in 2014 that will follow Green as he prepares to bring Goodie Mob back to the stage with Big Gipp, Khujo and T-Mo. … Rihanna's design competition reality series "Styled To Rock" will premiere this fall and feature Pharrell Williams as one of three contestant mentors.
Lifestyle
Following comments from Beyoncé that surfaced last week wherein the singer said her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, "needs some company," sources have revealed that Beyoncé and Jay-Z are expecting baby number two. However, hubby Jay-Z has said the rumors are not true in a reply to a congratulatory email he received from New York radio station Hot 97. If they are pregnant, here's hoping the couple has set aside some savings for cravings. While in Dublin early last week, Beyoncé spent an estimated $1,200 on spicy takeout food.
Academics
Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine have donated $70 million to the University of Southern California for a new Academy of Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. … Willie Nelson has been named an honorary doctor of music by Boston's Berklee College of Music, along with Carole King and Annie Lennox.
On The Road
Sunset Strip veterans Linkin Park are set to headline the annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, which takes place Aug. 1–3 in West Hollywood, Calif. In related news, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington made an unexpected appearance as the frontman for Stone Temple Pilots on May 18 at the KROQ-FM Weenie Roast. The group, who recently parted ways with Scott Weiland, debuted a new song with Bennington, "Out Of Time," which is available for free download. Bennington will be honored with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award at the annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert on May 30.
Charts, Sales And New Music
Lady Antebellum's Golden debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking their third chart-topping release. … Natalie Maines' first solo album, Mother, debuted at No. 17. … Daft Punk's new album, Random Access Memories, is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with sales of up to 300,000 copies following its release on May 21, according to Billboard.biz. … Also on May 21, Darius Rucker will release his third country album, True Believers. … John Fogerty will celebrate the release of his new album, Wrote A Song For Everyone, and his birthday with a special concert in Los Angeles on May 28. … Rumor has it Lady Gaga gave fans a taste of her forthcoming new album, Artpop, during the launch party for Versace Versus on May 14 in New York.
Viral
A cover of David Bowie's classic "Space Oddity," recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield onboard the International Space Station, has gone viral with more than 14 million YouTube views. Hadfield's vocals and guitar were recorded on the space station (and mixed with supporting tracks by Emm Gryner, a Canadian musician who once sang backup for Bowie), leading some observers to call it the first music video made in space.
Real Estate
Looking for some new digs? The former home of Metallica's James Hetfield — a four-bedroom estate in Novato, Calif., — has been placed on the market for a reported $3.4 million. … After reportedly dropping more than $17 million on a waterfront mansion in Watch Hill, R.I., Taylor Swift received an unwelcome visitor on the morning of May 14. According to police, 22-year-old Lucas H. Borsteveld was caught and cited for trespassing.
#thebeatles
In a recent interview on BBC Radio 4, Yoko Ono thanked Paul McCartney for squashing longtime rumors that Ono broke up the Beatles last October. Ono also touched on the difficulty of being a Beatles wife. "I think it's more difficult than being a politician's wife, because it's endless," she said.