Could The ESPN ESPY Awards Have Survived Without Justin Bieber?

In the Hollywood world of award shows it’s all about ratings. If your show doesn’t have the viewers you don’t have an award show for long.

So tonight during the two hour ESPY red carpet special leading up to the big awards show, we were shocked at how important of a role Justin Bieber seemed to play.

That’s right – Justin Bieber.

Some people know Justin plays basketball, ice hockey, and soccer – but most know him for his music.

To be fair, Bieber did win the MVP at last year’s NBA All-Star game, but the Wednesday night ESPN ESPY’s were supposed to be all about the athletes and the sport – not Justin Bieber.

Related: Justin Bieber wins NBA All-Star Award – Video

The sad facts:

During the two hour pre-show, Bieber’s name was dropped 46 times by the hosts and interviewers.

Forty six times. Do you believe that?

His name was mentioned more than any other athlete.

Every time they went to a commercial they said, “When we come back we’ll have Justin Bieber on the red carpet….”

Forty six times.

In fact, when the pop star did appear the host told him the crowd had cheered more for him than ANY of the athletes walking the red carpet.

Really?

Forty six times.

How awkward was it to watch grown men drop his name in what seemed like an effort to hype the show.

Forty six times.

At one point the host read a viewer’s email asking who was the most anticipated red carpet walker and he joked “Maybe Justin Bieber”.

Forty six times.

Is that what it takes to get the viewers to tune in? Do adult male sports fanatics really care?

No.

The bottom line is if Bieber would not have walked the red carpet during the preshow their probably wouldn’t have been any show.

But you can sell a lot of advertising during a two hour warm up.

Forty six times.

Sad.

I hope Seth Meyers doesn’t have 50 Bieber jokes ready to go – but I bet he has a few.

And they better not point the camera on him during the actual show every 5 seconds.

And I hope the award winners don’t drop his name just to get the audience to scream – they may be disappointed.

We were.

Forty six times.

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Crossover Singer Jackie Evancho Already Getting 2012 Grammy Nods?

It may be too early to know for sure, but young classical crossover phenom Jackie Evancho’s name is already being bandied about for a 2012 Grammy Award nomination.

But is that possible?

Jackie’s first album “Dream With Me” has indeed topped the Billboard 200 and Amazon sales charts lists since its release, and she has certainly made an impression on fans and professionals alike.

Insiders say there is a very good possibility Evancho could snag an award – or a nomination at the least.

Related: Meet Jackie Evancho – She’ll Melt Your Heart - Video

The eligibility requirements for the 2012 54th Annual Grammy Awards say an album must be released between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011, and must be in general distribution in the United States.

After her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle’s debut album sold over 750,000 units in the U.S. during the first three weeks but was not eligible for a Grammy that year because the timing fell outside the current year’s eligibility requirements.

However, there is some fine print that says that if an individual track “first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Period,” then it can be nominated for categories like Song of the Year and Record of the Year, even if the associated album or CD was released outside the necessary time period.

Related: Jackie Evancho tops sales charts – talks about the future - Video

It kind of sounds like if the judges and staff really want you in their award show there is always a way to sneak something in to make it legal. Just release a quick single during the period even if the album is not ready to go yet.

The other issue for Jackie is what category should she be nominated in?

In 2011, major changes were made to the rules for 2012 that included nominations for collaborations and duo’s mainly in the pop, rock and rap genre. The classical categories were also compressed.

Also, the Best Classical Album and Best Crossover category has been eliminated and now these artists are able to win under best album, record, or song of the year, etc.

Just to illustrate the ambiguity of the system you have to wonder what the difference between best record of the year and best album of the year is.

My point?

If the nominating committee want’s a particular artist in the running – they will find a way. Remember, a lot of this is about ratings for their televised award show and they would not leave a white hot artist out in the cold over a small technicality.

Watch Jackie Evancho and David Foster Interview


It also depends whether Jackie would be nominated for an individual song or the entire album - an opera song or a classical song. With more than one genre on her album it could go several ways.

And even though the number of categories has been reduced for 2012 she could still be slotted in Best Opera Recording, Best Classical Vocal Solo, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, or Best New Artist.

You can see the complete list of the revamped and eliminated 2012 categories at the Grammy site here.

Bottom line:

The timing is right. The quality is right. The material is right. The sales figures are right. The collaborations were right. The buzz is right.

Besides, Evancho’s producer on her album, David Foster, is a 17 time Grammy winner himself. If Foster doesn’t know how to wade through the nomination rules than nobody does.

Jackie Evancho will be nominated for something at the 2012 Grammy’s show, and will most likely perform as well. Heck, she may even be a presenter.

We can’t wait, and wish her the best!

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Video - Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis Group Each Other at MTV Awards

The MTV Movie Awards are famous for their controversial moments.

From Borat butt-kissing Eminem, to fights and drunken celebrities, there is very little we haven’t already seen.

And the 2011 MTV Movie Awards were no different.

Before Robert Pattinson dropped the F-Bomb while presenting Reese Witherspoon her Generation Award, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis pulled their own little stunt to grab attention - and each other!

Related: Robert Pattinson Drops F-Bomb on MTV Awards – Video

Kunis and Timberlake were on stage to present the “Best Male Performance” award when they started talking about how much they liked each other.

While the two celebs are starring in the upcoming “Friends with Benefits”, they proceeded to tell the audience that in real life they are more like brother and sister.

Timberlake said, “That’s why I can do this…”, and proceeded to grab Mila’s breasts.

Not to be outdone by the “Social Network” star, she grabbed Timberlake’s crotch and held on for dear life.

No harm no foul. It was a funny moment and nothing more. There is no need for the Network censor police to start hurling accusations of improper anything.

It was comedy.



Timberlake is currently putting the finishing touches on his latest movie project “Bad Teacher”, starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel - a comedy centered on a foul-mouthed, junior high teacher who, after being dumped by her sugar daddy, begins to pursue a colleague.

Related: Justin Timberlake slams Justin Bieber on SNL - Video

Mila Kunis is also busy filming “Ted”, written and directed by funnyman Seth MacFarlane and starring Kunis, Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Warburton and Jessica Stroup. “Ted” is a story centered on a man and his teddy bear, which comes to life as the result of a childhood wish.

MacFarlane, in addition to his duties with Family Guy and American Dad has also been given the green light to create a new Flintstones series for Fox.

Related: Seth MacFarlane developing new “Flintstones”

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Justin Bieber Cleans Up at Billboard Awards – Kisses Selena Gomez - Video

Justin Bieber just returned to the U.S. after 3 months on tour and cleaned up at the Billboard Music Awards last night.

This kid seems unstoppable.

The teen sensation looked very mature in his gold tuxedo sitting next to his girlfriend Selena Gomez and his mother Pattie.

After walking away with 7 awards, Bieber got a big fat kiss from Selena that we’re sure will be splashed across every fan site and blog today.

After picking up best new artist he said,

“I’m 17, and I want to thank God because he has blessed me so much. Every day is crazy because I get to meet so many people and make so many people happy and smile. It’s crazy that I’m surrounded by so many amazing people. I don’t know what to say.”

He also thanked his body guard and mentor Kenny Hamilton and his swag coach Ryan Good. Last year Justin became the youngest artist to have a song on the Billboard Top 200 since 1963.

Bieber and his team walked away with a slew of awards including Best New Artist, Digital Artist of the Year, Fan Favorite, Top Social Artist, Top Streaming Artist, Top Pop Album, and Top Pop Album.

Bieber also publicly acknowledged Selena Gomez as his girlfriend. After hearing that he won Best New Artist he jumped up and kissed the Disney star before moving toward the stage.



But the kids not stopping here.

He arrived back home last weekend after performing over 150 arena concerts around the world and went straight to the studio to work with Chris Brown on his latest music video.

He is also working on his next album due later this year and plans to star in a movie Mark Wahlberg.

Related: Justin Bieber and Mark Wahlberg to star in new movie

Forbes Magazine just named Bieber the third most powerful celebrity in their 2011 edition, and he just announced he is coming out with a women’s perfume later this summer.

Related: Bieber launches female fragrance “Someday”

He also just release a new audio single of Ernie Halter’s “Come Home to Me” that shows a much more mature side of the 17-year-old pop star.

Related: Bieber release new cover “Come Home to Me”

You either love him or hate him, but you have to give Bieber credit for his swag with fans and ability to work social media to build his base.

More Justin Bieber stories

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Lindsay Lohan due in court on theft charges

By Sean O’Connell
  After numerous reports regarding Lindsay Lohan’s next potential acting gig – she has been linked to a role in the John Gotti film, though most of the reports seem to be coming out of LiLo’s camp, and not from the actual film’s producers – we’re right back to reporting on Lohan’s criminal activities, and all feels right with the world.

 

Lohan will be in court today, Friday, for a preliminary hearing regarding her potential involvement in the theft of a necklace from a California jewelry store. In typical Lohan fashion, she did her best to postpone the court hearing, citing religious beliefs. (It’s Good Friday, and Lohan claims to be Catholic, though she probably couldn’t tell you that “Thou shalt not steal” is a commandment.)

ABC News says that prosecutors “are expected to question the shop owner who says surveillance video shows the ‘Mean Girls’ actress walking out of the store wearing the designer necklace for which she had not paid.”

Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, meanwhile, will argue that the necklace’s value is less than $900, thereby reducing the charge to a misdemeanor.

As ABC News reports, Lohan “has already been to jail three times in the past three years for DUI, drug possession and probation violations.”

Cameron Diaz talks about working with her ex, Justin Timberlake

It’s not always easy for exes to work together, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake.

 

 

 

 

The two will be in ‘Bad Teacher’ together and it sounds like things went incredibly smooth, states UsMagazine.com. “Justin and I have always had a good laugh together, and to make a movie where we get to have a laugh together, and there really was no one else who was more perfect for this part,” Diaz said about everything working out.

And apparently there is no need to think anything else might be happening on the set: “[Just] two people who were working together, who just so happened to have gone out with one another at another time in our lives.”

Do you think it’d be hard to work with an ex?