Blog: Idolator

Since both their nominated singles include a fair amount of whistling, it's not such a surprise to see that the Recording Academy has paired Maroon 5 with Foster The People for a performance during the 2012 Grammy Awards . In the grand tradition of throwing seemingly unrelated acts on stage with one another , the two bands will be joined by the recently reunited Beach Boys (who we assume will somehow incorporate their track "Whistle In" ). Does this seem totally random, or is this an inspired musical partnership? Sound off below.

In the eight-and-a-half months since the release of Lady Gaga's Born This Way , the album has produced four Top 10 singles, sold over 2 million copies and earned Mother Monster Grammy nominations for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Album and Best Pop Solo Performance (for fourth single "You And I" ). And now, folks, it's time to take the show on the road. When Gaga unveiled her Born This Way Ball 2012-2013 tour poster on Twitter last night, she noted that concert dates would be forthcoming. The first [...]

A week after Don Cornelius was found dead at his Mulholland Drive home, Coroner's officials in Los Angeles have ruled that his death was a suicide, and that the Soul Train creator had shot himself in the head. The agency made the determination after conducting an autopsy on Cornelius' body Friday, reports the Associated Press . Investigators are still awaiting the results of toxicology tests before issuing a final report. Police initially responded to an alert from Cornelius' son, Tony Cornelius, after he received a call from his father on Wednesday, February 1. [...]

We've shared our 2012 Grammy predictions for Best New Artist and all the Pop categories , and today it's time to move on to one of the big ones - Song Of The Year. Last year, Lady Antebellum won this category (as well as Record Of The Year) for "Need You Now". Is Adele destined to land the same one-two punch with "Rolling In The Deep"? Or will one of the other nominees score an upset? Hop below for our thoughts — and let your voice be heard in our Grammy poll! [...]

Amid (now confirmed ) rumors of her canceled tour, Lana Del Rey took the stage at Hollywood's Amoeba Music last night. The polarizing pop star kept true to her "Gangsta Nancy Sinatra" image by rocking a silver tooth with her jeans and white collared shirt during her performances of "Born To Die" , "Video Games" , "Million Dollar Man" and "Without You". Get up close with the sultry siren (for what may be one of her final live gigs) and head here for our review of Lana's show. Then tell us [...]

With Adele's 21 in the peak position on Billboard 's Top 200 for a 19th non-consecutive week, the album is just seven days shy of tying the 20-week run at #1 by the soundtrack to 1992 film The Bodyguard — i.e. the most recent album to have a lengthier run atop the chart. 21 sold another 122,000 copies last week, and the Grammy Album Of The Year nominee will likely see a boost in sales after this Sunday's ceremony. [...]

Kelly Rowland's summer jam "Motivation" is up for a Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy , and the sultry singer hit up Chelsea Lately last night to talk, among other things, about how she came to work with Lil Wayne on the track. "Sometimes, I don't know if you guys know, but artists will be really, a little bit, difficult when it comes to getting on songs," Rowland said. "And he just did it." Ms. Kelly also had a good time poking fun at Simon Cowell's British accent and discussing her Sexy Abs workout DVD. [...]

Did You Hear? :: Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Ni**as In Paris" video will reportedly drop by the end of the week. Get ready to recreate the live experience by watching the video seven times in a row . [ Complex ] :: Rihanna is considering dropping her Talk That Talk track " Birthday Cake " as her next single, and has been asking her Twitter followers who they'd like to see featured on the song. Our pick: Shy Ronnie . [ Pop Crush ] :: Simon Cowell finally [...]

Two hours before she took the stage in front of a fawning capacity crowd at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles Tuesday night (Feb. 7), reports confirmed that Lana Del Rey had in fact canceled her performance at Austin's South by Southwest Music Festival in March and postponed several more dates in Australia. It was the inevitable turn in the news cycle of such a polarizing singer, who at once attracts a blocks-long line of fans for an intimate in-store appearance and an avalanche of vitriol from critics . Earlier in the day, rumors that management had withdrawn [...]

Christmas has come two months late (or 10 months early) for Lady Gaga's Little Monsters, as the social-networking pop star took to Twitter again tonight (Feb. 7) to leak details about her 2012-2013 tour, The Born This Way Ball. This time around, the 2012 Grammy performer shared the tour's official poster, a bit of "homework " she says she finished early and felt compelled to leak after " too much wine ." The moody black-and-white design features Mother Monster's large, godlike visage peering out from ominous clouds above [...]

The concept behind Ladyhawke's video for her single "Black, White & Blue" , from her forthcoming album Anxiety, is based on the 1978 movie Eyes Of Laura Mars , which starred Faye Dunaway as a fashion photographer who can tap into the mind of a serial killer. As far as we're concerned, the video is sorely lacking in murders and serial killers, and is swimming in awkward model dance moves. She captured those creepy eyes from the movie poster pretty well, though. Check it out below. [...]

Five months after the release of her last "You & I" fashion film (and six months from the premiere of the original video ), Lady Gaga has unveiled a new clip with her dressed up as her male alter-ego, the chain-smoking greaser Jo Calderone (as well as her barn-dancing persona). But why now? To get people's attention off other ubiquitous pop stars taking over the news ? To remind people that "You & I" is nominated for a Grammy? Or can we expect more from Jo in the not so distant future? Our guess: [...]

After a multi-year absence and a long battle with Graves' disease , Missy Elliott is ready to reign again. Last year the MC popped up on J.Cole's "Nobody's Perfect" , Demi Lovato's "All Night Long" and Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (TGIF)" remix , and now MTV reports that Elliott's long-delayed album Block Party will drop this June. "Me and Missy are both coming with our albums at the same time, and it will be in June," her longtime collaborator and friend Timbaland told [...]

Beyoncé has grown from a Child of Destiny to the mother of Blue Ivy right before our very eyes. And as the pop star has matured (both in age and in music), so has her sense of fashion. Nowhere is this more evident than in her sartorial choices at the Grammy Awards . Check out Bey's ever-transforming style from her girl-group days sporting colorfully campy matching outfits to the epitome of chic and sexy in her solo career. Tell us below (or on Facebook and Twitter ) if you think Beyoncé's red carpet looks have [...]

In one of the quirkiest pair-ups since fun. and Janelle Monae's "We Are Young" , Cee Lo Green has lent vocals to "Love Is A Murder", a tune from fellow ATL act The Constellations. The darkly comical video for the song also boasts an additional guest appearance, from actress Kate Micucci. Head below to take in the creepy mayhem! "Cee Lo is old friend of ours from Atlanta," says Constellations bass player Wes Hoffman. "We asked him to be on our record and he laid it down one afternoon, spur of the [...]

Dance music didn't have its own category at The Grammys until 2003, and now the little genre that could appears to have been fully embraced by the Recording Academy. The 2012 Grammy Awards will include "a special segment spotlighting dance/electornica music for the first time ever." The lineup for this special performance? Deadmau5, David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and the Foo Fighters. Wait, what? During the awards show, the five artists will perform in a tent outside the Staples Center in front of a crowd of 1,000. Grammy show producer [...]

We knew not to believe rumors that Lana Del Rey's club tour had been canceled before it was even announced. Today the New York Post reported that Del Rey's handlers pulled the plug on a 30-date showcase after critics ransacked her Saturday Night Live performance last month. But in an e-mail from Shore Fire Media PR, who rep the Born To Die singer, it turns out the story is just a bunch of baloney. The e-mail reads: Lana told MTV several weeks [...]

Baby Blue Ivy Carter may not know what swag is yet, but she now can boast that she's had her Billboard- charting song performed at Carnegie Hall. Last night, in addition to hits like "Empire State Of Mind", Jay-Z also performed his ridiculously heartwarming track "Glory" at the his star-studded benefit for United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Below, watch Hova's moving ode to his daughter. Grab a Kleenex because you're going to a get a little verklempt. [...]

The late, great Etta James, who died last month at the age of 73, will be honored with a special performance during the 2012 Grammy Awards . Though many artists have contributed stunning covers of James' classic songs , Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt have been chosen to tribute the iconic singer during the telecast. We have no doubt Keys and Raitt will deliver a memorable performance, but we must stress the importance of avoiding to spray-tan tight before the show .

We certainly hope when Nicki Minaj takes the stage at Sunday's Grammy Awards , we get "Super Bass" instead of "Stupid Hoe" , if only to avoid the inevitable bleeping that will occur if the latter is performed. The nominated artist will also perform a new cut off her forthcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded called "Roman Holiday", which will go on sale immediately following the show. But that tune won't be her next single — that will be a song called "Starships", which Ryan Seacrest will premiere [...]