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New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Winning awards is “a way of life” for A.R. Rahman who triumphed at the Grammys by winning a double honour, the composer’s sister said.

“It’s a good start of the year. It was Rahman’s birthday on Jan 6 and now he wins Grammys. It’s a way of life now since he has won so many,” Reihana told NDTV after her brother won the award.

“When he was going for Golden Globes last year, he was doubtful about his win and so were we, but after he got that, it has been awards and awards for him so we were quite sure that he will get the Grammy as well,” she added.

The 44-year-old was honoured for his compositions in Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches drama “Slumdog Millionaire”, getting the awards for best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture and “Jai ho” being the best motion picture song.

The composition has won Rahman the prestigious international awards, including the Oscars, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, Critics Choice Award, The Golden Globe and now the world music industry’s biggest honour – the Grammys.

Back home he was recently honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award.

Grammy Awards ceremony took place at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, Sunday.

–Indo asian News Service

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Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Ace music composer A.R. Rahman scooped two awards at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony here, but Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain, who were also nominated, could not manage to win the golden gramophones.

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who was nominated in the best traditional world music album category for his album “Ancient Sounds”, lost out to “Douga Mansa” by African Kora player Mamadou Diabate.

Tabla player Ustad Zakir Hussain, who was nominated in the best classical crossover album category for his album “The Melody of Rhythm” that features works by Leonard Slatkin, Bela Fleck, Hussain and Edgar Meyer (Detroit Symphony Orchestra), also did not win. He had won a Grammy last year for his collaborative album “Global Drum Project”.

The best classical crossover album award went to “Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace”.

Rahman was honoured for his compositions in Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches film “Slumdog Millionaire”, getting the awards for best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture and “Jai ho” being the best motion picture song. Rahman shares the Grammy with lyricist Gulzar who penned “Jai ho”.

Washington, February 1 (ANI): Julia Roberts recommends ladies to “take their tops off” as part of their plans for a successful Valentine’s Day.

The Pretty Woman actress handed out the advice to a relationship-challenged woman while promoting her latest film Valentine’s Day with co-stars including Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, and director Garry Marshall.

The star was asked by a woman for tips on how to ‘make him make me happy [on] Valentine’s Day,’ to which the Hollywood beauty made a face and said, ‘Wow. Can we at least dim the lights?’, reports People magazine.

Roberts, amid laughter, continued: ‘Okay, wait a minute. How long have you been with your boyfriend? You have sex with him?’

As the woman hesitated, Roberts said: ‘You’re the one that brought it up. You opened Pandora’s box! Where’s the problem? We can fix this.’

The woman said: ‘He keeps saying I’m a bad planner.’

Roberts’ solution: ‘Make a nice dinner reservation now, because that’s the biggest night out of the year – says the former hostess – have a nice glass of wine, and take your top off.’

She then turned to her co-star on her right and said, ‘I think it’s a recipe for success. Wouldn’t you say, Bradley Cooper?’ (ANI)

Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Music maestro A.R. Rahman shared the Grammy award for the best motion picture song “Jai ho” with veteran lyricist Gulzar and Tanvi Shah who wrote the Spanish lyrics for it.

Rahman, Gulzar and Shah made the Indian presence felt at the 52nd edition of the Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center here.

“Jai ho”, that has won various international awards including the Oscars last year, is from Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches film “Slumdog millionaire”. The song was sung by Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash along with Rahman and Shah.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) When Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman was composing the song “Jai ho”, he didn’t envisage that the composition would become such a rage and win him laurels and awards across the globe.

The song features in British filmmaker Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, which is a screen adaptation of Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup’s novel “Q & A”.

The composition in the film has won Rahman the most prestigious international awards including, the Oscars, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Critics Choice Award, The Golden Globe and now the music industry’s biggest honour – the Grammys.

The song that was penned by lyricist Gulzar and Tanvi Shah, was crooned by Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash with support from Rahman and Shah.

Rahman, who started his career with director Mani Ratnam’s 1992 Tamil film “Roja”, made his presence felt and has gone up several notches in terms of popularity after the super success of the song “Jai ho”. It made Rahman the most successful Indian composer in the global arena.

–Indo asian News Service

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Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Pop legend Michael Jackson’s children Prince and Paris Jackson collected his posthumous lifetime achievement award at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony here.

The King of Pop, who died June 25, last year was honoured at the Staples Centre, Sunday, where the audience paid a tribute to the legend with a standing ovation.

Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Late pop legend Michael Jackson’s son Prince Michael said that he will continue his father’s legacy of spreading love after he received the posthumous lifetime achievement award on behalf of his dad at the Grammys.

“We are proud to accept this award on behalf of our father. We want to thank all our friends and family…our father loved you all. Our father always cared about the planet and humanity. All his songs had one common and simple message – love. And we will spread his message,” said Prince, 12, Sunday.

Paris, 11, who also came with her brother, was visibly emotional. She said: “Daddy was supposed to perform here this year, but he couldn’t…we love you daddy.”

Lady Gaga dress become the buzz of the day at Grammy Awards 2010.  She was wearing custom made Giorgio Armani Prive gown at the 2010 red Carpet.
She is nominated for five awards tonight and has already won two.

She won awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album for the fame and Best Dance Recording for “Poker Face”

Lady Gaga tweeted this evening “We won two grammy’s already little monsters + I dedicate them to u!” she further said “We won two grammy’s already little monsters + I dedicate them to u”

See below picture:

Los Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Indian music maestro A.R Rahman has bagged two awards at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony here Sunday.

The double Oscar winning composer was honoured for his compositions in Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches film “Slumdog Millionaire”, getting the awards for best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture and “Jai ho” being the best motion picture song. Rahman shares the Grammy with lyricist Gulzar who penned “Jai ho”.

“This is insane, god is great again,” Rahman said as he accepted his second award.

“Jai ho” has been sung by Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash and Rahman himself. This is the first time Rahman has been nominated for a Grammy. He joins other Indian music greats like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Jussain, Vikku Vinayak and Vishvamohan Bhatt who have won a Grammy in the past.

Rahman’s rivals in the soundtrack category included Steve Jordan for “Cadillac Records,” Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds”, and the producers of “Twilight” and “True Blood.”

In the best song category Rahman’s beaten rivals included Bruce Springsteen for his song “The Wrestler”, from the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name.

New York, Feb 1 (IANS) After finding that seven previous US presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, are his distant kin, President Barack Obama has now discovered that the nation’s newest senator Scott Brown is also his distant cousin.

The New England Historical Geological Society (NEHGS), which has since 1845 traced the ancestry of Americans of English descent, says Obama is a long-lost cousin of Scott Brown.

A Republican, Brown created ripples in US politics Jan 19 by winning the Massachusetts senate seat long held by the late Edward Kennedy of the Democratic Party. His win has upset the President’s health reform agenda as Obama’s Democratic Party has lost the 60-mark filibuster majority in the 100-member Senate.

In a statement, the Boston-based New England Historic Genealogical Society says it has “uncovered family lines that link President Barack Obama with Scott Brown, the newly elected Republican senator from Massachusetts.’

The society says Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, and Brown’s mother, Judith Ann Rugg, both are descendants of Richard Singletary of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who died in 1687 at the age of 102.

“President Obama descends from Richard’s eldest son, Jonathan Singletary, who later changed his surname to Dunham. Scott Brown descends from Jonathan’s brother, Nathaniel Singletary. This kinship makes Obama and Brown 10th cousins,’ the society statement says.

Like his illustrious descendants (Obama and Brown), Singletary too held public office during his time, serving as town selectman in both Salisbury and Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the 1650s, the statement says.

In 2008, the society made the startling discovery that Obama is related to seven former presidents, including George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman, and James Madison, as well as actor Brad Pitt.

Reacting to his family links to Obama, Brown has been quoted in the media as saying that he is happy about his family ties “such distinguished company.’

The society has also discovered that Brown too is related to six other presidents, including George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Rutherford Hayes.

With their common ancestry, will Brown make common cause with cousin Obama on health reforms? Unlikely, say political experts.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 31: Musician Lady Gaga arrives at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Lady Gaga dress become the buzz of the day at Grammy Awards 2010.  She was wearing custom made Giorgio Armani Prive gown at the 2010 red Carpet.
She is nominated for five awards tonight and has already won two.

She won awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album for the fame and Best Dance Recording for “Poker Face”

Lady Gaga tweeted this evening “We won two grammy’s already little monsters + I dedicate them to u!” she further said “We won two grammy’s already little monsters + I dedicate them to u”

See below picture:

New York, Feb 1 (DPA) James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster “Avatar” held onto its dominance of the US box office for the seventh straight weekend, industry figures showed.

“Avatar” brought in another $30 million over the weekend in the US and Canada. It has already beaten “Titanic” for the highest grossing movie ever worldwide and is just $6 million shy of beating Titanic’s North American record.

Estimates show the visual spectacular is expected to earn $2 billion worldwide by later this week.

The new thriller “Edge of Darkness” starring Mel Gibson landed in second place with $17.1 million. Disney comedy “When in Rome” earned $12.1 million in third place, followed by “Tooth Fairy” with $10 million.

Apocalyptic thriller “The Book of Eli” rounded out the top five with $8.8 million on the weekend.

Lady Gaga has picked up 2 Grammy awards in a pre-telecast ceremony of 2010 Grammy Awards. She won for her popular song Poker Face and for her album. She is also lining up for other nominations,

she may pick up more Grammies as week.

Grammy was kick started with fantastic performance of Lady Gaga and legendary Elton John. She was wearing green outfit as usual half naked. The Stephen Colbert is hosting the nomination. He began making jokes on Taylor Swift and Boyance.

Lady Gaga has picked up 2 Grammy awards in a pre-telecast ceremony of 2010 Grammy Awards. She won for her popular song Poker Face and for her album. She is also lining up for other nominations,

she may pick up more Grammies as week.

Grammy was kick started with fantastic performance of Lady Gaga and legendary Elton John. She was wearing green outfit as usual half naked. The Stephen Colbert is hosting the nomination. He began making jokes on Taylor Swift and Boyance.

Los Angeles, Feb 1 (DPA) Pop diva Beyonce won Song of the Year and four other Grammy Awards Sunday, justifying her position as frontrunner for the top popular music prize in the US.

The 28-year-old singer-actress had 10 nominations coming into the awards show, including album of the year for “I Am … Sasha Fierce”, song of the year for “Single Ladies” and record of the year for “Halo”.

“Single Ladies” won song of the year and best R&B song. Beyonce also won best contemporary R&B album, best R&B female vocal for “Single Ladies” and best traditional R&B performance for “At Last”, which she performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

The televised show started with Lady Gaga singing her hit “Poker Face”, which won the award for best dance recording, while her album “The Fame” was named best electronic/dance album.

The Kings of Leon won best rock song and best rock group performance for “Use Somebody”, beating out the likes of Bruce Springsteen, U2, Pearl Jam and Green Day.

The Grammy Awards is set to air at 8 pm tonight on CBS. It will be ladies night between Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
Beyonce is not new to grammys and she already won Grammy’ being part of Distney’s child and on her own.

Taylor swift, who has made history in making record breaking album in all category last year, is closely behind Beyonce. Lady Gaga, whose song Poker face still make people dance, is behind both girls. Grammy is great recognization.

Along with these divas, We have other big names included in the show: Elton John who will begin the show Lady Gaga. A lifetime achievement award to be posthumonusly given to legend Michael Jackson. The show also features Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion and Usher, plus a 3D screening of a clip from This Is It.

London, Jan 31 (IANS) Socialite-heiress Paris Hilton has aped movie icon Marilyn Monroe back to life in adverts for her tenth eponymously-named fragrance.

Hilton who posted her behind-the-scenes pictures from the commercial on micro-blogging website Twitter mimicked the tragic star’s trademark hairdo, curvy eyebrows and beauty spot to perfection, reports thesun.co.uk.

London, Jan 31 (IANS) Despite his womanising reputation, John Mayer doesn’t see himself as a ladies man.

The 32-year-old singer who has dated a host of Hollywood beauties, including Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson and Cameron Diaz, claims that he finds dating extremely difficult, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“I would make dates on Monday for Friday and come Thursday, I would be so wracked with nerves or I would get so sick to my stomach that we would cover the block and then I would come home,” said Mayer.

London, Jan 31 (IANS) British singer Amy Winehouse has reportedly confessed to a friend that she is bisexual and has had relationships with other women.

The “Back to Black” singer, who married Blake Fielder-Civil in May 2007 but got seperated in August 2009 after Blake filed for divorce on grounds of adultery, reportedly told a friend that she has had relationships with men as well as women, reports News of the World newspaper.

“I like girls as well. I have had relationships with other women but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love Blake. There is something about being with a woman that is very satisfying. I don’t care what people think about me being bi – I do what feels good,” Winehouse told her friend.

The friend revealed that the singer has a crush on English singer Cheryl Cole.

“There is nothing restrained about Amy’s sexuality. She doesn’t hold back and says what she feels. She often talks about other women. Her favourite is Cheryl, who she really fancies. Most women can appreciate another woman’s beauty but Amy definitely takes that to the next level,” said the friend.

Despite being bisexual, those close to Winehouse still believe she would end up reconciling with Blake, 27.

“Right now, she’s absolutely devastated. She’s had a horrible few days and doesn’t know what to do. Whether she’s deluded or not, Amy genuinely believes her and Blake are a fairytale who will end up together one day,” said another friend.