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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Versatile Blogger Award - 2

Two days ago I was happy to hear that dear Caramellitsa of her namesake blog tagged me for Versatile Blogger Award. It's my second Versatile award and it's yet another indication that there are readers out there who appreciate my work which is very inspiring! So now I have to list 7 more things about myself and pass the award onto 7 fellow bloggers. Here goes:

1) I've been dying my hair since about 16 years old (mostly red) and it takes a lot of hair care products to keep it up and indeed grow it out - but I'm persistent!

2) I've done 7 years of musical school - my piano skills remained mediocre though, but I was doing well in the choir and still can sing quite decently (says modest me).

3) My native languages are Russian and Ukrainian, but due to the jobs I've had I have way more experience writing in English.

4) I adore cats. It's not that I sit watching LOL cats pics and videos all day, but I really admire those animals, always had them as pets and really want to have one again.

5) I haven't worn a watch since a very long time and believe them to be nothing but cute accessories in this day and age when we all have cell phones to tell us the time.

6) I watch lots of TV-shows. My current drama favorites are: "House M.D.," "Dexter," "Mad Men" and "Boardwalk Empire." Comedy: "30 Rock," "The Seinfeld Show" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

7) Of modern "style icons" I admire much more those who started from nothing and "created themselves" rather than socialites who simply learned how to spend Big family money in a very stylish way. I mean, good for them, but it doesn't qualify as "achievement" in my book.

And the Versatile Blogger Award goes to:

1) Lisa at Sugar Coated Style

2) Wendy Eustache at A Flair for Fashion

3) Tereza Anton at Plastic Drastic

4) Ashley at I Sold My Cookie Cutter

5) Nathalia at I'm Not Muggle

6) Chloe at Memoirs of a Little Thing Called Life

7) Alex at Inspiration Partout

Congrats to all!

Stylish Blogger Award

Angel from Fashionably Numb was kind enough to award me this Stylish Blogger Award, and stylish I am, so as the tradition goes, I will now proceed to list 8 things about myself as well as pass the award on to a few fellow bloggers.

1. I hardly ever leave the house without my iPod - such a music lover I am.

2. I always think of comfort and don't rush out just after any hot fashion item - just because it looks really cool.

3. I seriously intend to write a novel (completely unrelated to fashion).

4. I'm a fan of the very old movies and like to read about film history.

5. My favorite book is "Catcher in the Rye."

6. I consider boots universally coolest footwear.

7. I can't stand pretentious people.

8. I think "Jersey Shore" and all its characters are incredibly gross and I find its popularity in the US seriously disturbing.

And my Stylish Blogger Award goes to:

Brittany at http://prettylittlevintage.blogspot.com

Emily at http://milesoffiction.blogspot.com/