Songwriters Hall Of Fame Nominees Announced
Nominees for this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame have been announced it’s certainly an eclectic bunch.
Receiving nominations for the first time this year are Mariah Carey and N.W.A., along with fellow performers Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Alice Cooper, Tom T. Hall, Chrissie Hynde, the Isley Brothers, Alan Jackson, Kool & the Gang, John Mellencamp and Tom Waits.
Non-performer nominees include Bill Anderson, Mike Chapman, Steve Dorff, Jermaine Dupri Randy Goodrum, Tony Macaulay, Maurice Starr, William “Mickey” Stevenson and Allee Willis, along with songwriting duos Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer, and L. Russell Brown and the late Irwin Levine.
This year’s class, which will consist of five songwriters or songwriting groups, will be inducted during a gala in New York set for June 14th.
Demi Lovato & Kelly Clarkson Added To The American Music Awards
Demi Lovato and Kelly Clarkson are the latest performers added to this month’s American Music Awards. The duo join previously announced performers BTS, Selena Gomez and Christina Aguilera, who is set to salute the 25th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s “The Bodyguard.”
The 2017 American Music Awards will air November 19th on ABC. Bruno Mars is the top nominee this year, with eight nods including one for Artist of the Year.
Diplo Incurs The Wrath Of Taylor Swift’s Fans…Again
Diplo got in some hot water with Taylor Swift fans yet again. The DJ first incurred the wrath of Swifties back in 2015 when he criticized her booty, and now he’s done it again, with comments he made to “Rolling Stone” about the controversy, as well as her new music.
“That was something I was never prepared for,” he said of the backlash, “one of the biggest mistakes of my career was definitely f------ with her.”
But that didn’t stop him from commenting on what he sees as Taylor’s decline in popularity. "Music is in the hands of the kids. Streaming is literally what kids want to listen to over and over again,” he notes, calling out Post Malone’s “Rockstar” and Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” as such songs. As for Taylor’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” he says, “That music doesn't relate to them at all. I don't think it ever did. They were only given that by radio and marketing budgets.”
As you can imagine, Diplo got a lot of flack from Taylor’s fans over the comments, and he quickly took to Twitter to try and quash them. “Calm down Swifties,” he tweeted. “‘All Too Well’ is one of my [fave] songs,” referring to a track from her 2012 album “Red."