The 54th Grammys are on tomorrow night and is hosted by none-other than hip-hop legend LL Cool J – and if you can’t be there, might as well stalk those who are via Twitter.

We pulled together a little list of musicians, music critics, comedians and other accounts that are essential to give an inside look at music’s biggest night. Check them out below:

THE MUSICIANS:
@AdamLevine: Maroon 5′s frontman and The Voice judge is performing with the freakin’ Beach Boys and Foster The People.
@BlobTower: Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – a Twitterholic and up for two major awards.
@BrunoMars: He’d catch a grenade for you and he snagged a few nods.
@CoryMonteith: That Canadian dude from Glee tweets as much as sings.
@Deadmau5: Toronto’s DJ with a nod and a performance this weekend.
@Drake: Stay tuned for lonely thoughts at the after parties.
@JustinBieber: An up-and-coming tween sensation that has some potential.
@KanyeWest: He’s up for seven awards and he likes to talk. A lot.
@KatyPerry: She’s performing, up for a few awards – and she’s Katy Perry.
@LadyGaga: Mother Monster is performing, up for a few awards.
@LLCoolJ: Host for the evening; stay tuned for a snapshot or two from behind the scenes.
@TheLonelyIsland: Everyone’s favourite SNL-group headed by Andy Samberg.
@LupeFiasco: Nominated for Best Rap Performance.
@MileyCyrus: She will be in attendance.
@NickiMinaj: She’ll be performing, nods for her collab with Drake and Best New Artist.
@Questlove: The Roots’ drummer that is “your favourite twitterer’s music critic.”
@Rihanna: She likes to Tweet That Tweet – let’s see what she has to say about Chris Brown’s performance.
@Skrillex: 24-year-old producer is up for Best New Artist.
@TaylorSwift13: No doubt this nominee will be Instagraming all night long.
@WizardCud: Kid Cudi might not be as philosophical since quitting weed, but remains vocal.
@ZooeyDeschenel: Fresh from her SNL-hosting gig Saturday, she’ll be all adorkable at the award show.

THE MUSIC CRITICS:
@AlanCross: Canadian music-history icon will keep us confirmed.
@GerrickKennedy: Music writer for the Los Angeles Times likes to tweeter.
@JianGhomeshi: Canadian radio personality loves his music.
@RobSheff: Rolling Stone’s resident music critic – knows a thing or two about the industry.
@RyanSeacrest: This guy is so addicted to hosting things that he’ll likely tweet as if he is hosting the damn show.

THE COMEDIANS:
@JimmyFallon: The Late Night host that’s a fan of everything – especially music.
@NealBrennan: New York comedian that is worth following year-round.
@RobDelaney: He tweets like breathing – why aren’t you following him already?

THE OTHERS:
@TheGrammys: Pretty self-explanatory
@Fave: One of the official Grammy bloggers.
@KickKickSnare: An official blogger for the Grammys – been snapping a lot of candid pics of the parties thus far.
@RedCarpet: E! Channel’s official red carpet twitter account with photos and commentary for every major red carpet event.

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Following Madonna’s stint at this year’s Super Bowl, a variety of artists have been pitched for next year’s prestigious halftime show – even famous parodist, Weird Al Yankovic.

“This is a serious case to be made,” writes spearheads Paul and Storm. “All the elements are there: lights, video, costume changes, general spectacle. And given a stadium-sized budget? It would be awesome in every sense of the word.”

In all seriousness, let’s look at the facts: he has been doing shows and putting out albums for three decades, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of his self-titled debut and he has parodied every major artist under the sun. Over his 30 year career, he’s left his mark on nearly every genre: Queen, Madonna, Nirvana, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus – just to name a few.

It would be a clean, entertaining, family-friendly show that meets all of the NFL standards.

You can sign the petition that currently holds 2,500 signatures and the #WeirdAlSuperBowl trend has started to surface across all those social media outlets. It’s time for change and we want it now.

Check out Weird Al’s substitute for Madonna and watch ‘Like A Surgeon’ below:

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Beyonce and Jay-Z have released the first photos of their baby, Blue Ivy Carter via their personal Tumbler account, helloblueivy with the following message:

“We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time in our lives.
-The Carter Family.”

How hip of the hippest couple in hip-hop to go about this route rather than sell the photos to a glossy magazine. Behold, Blue Ivy Carter…

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The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.

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As Twitter buzzes about faux ‘RIP Drake’ rumours – he must’ve overdosed on confidence – the rapper has some business to take care of himself.

Yesterday, word spread that Drake was being sued by Ericka Lee, his alleged ex-girlfriend and business partner who appeared on the infamous voicemail message in the Take Care single ‘Marvin’s Room’ – now Drake’s party has responded and released the following statement:

“This claim is entirely without merit and our client has not engaged in any wrongful conduct. Ericka Lee consented to the use of her voice in the song “Marvin’s Room” prior to its release. Lee asked only for the credit she received as ‘Syren Lyric Muse,’ and she did not ask for any compensation. It was only after she retained a lawyer that there was a demand for payment. Drake tried for months to resolve the matter amicably, and he now looks forward to being vindicated in court.”

Lee had claimed that she deserves credit as co-writer and should received royalties for her contribution to the song.

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Christina Aguilera has noted Etta James as her inspiration many times and today she paid tribute once again by belting out the classic wedding song at the late singer’s funeral in Los Angeles. 

“She was the one that cut right through my soul. So tonight, Etta, this song is for you,” the 31-year-old entertainer said before performing. James passed away last week of complications from leukaemia, aged 73.

Stevie Wonder also took the stage to sing “Shelter in the Rain” with a church choir accompanying, President Barack Obama wrote a letter and Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy.

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Kelly Clarkson seems like the appropriate singer to pay tribute to the late Etta James this weekend. After all, Clarkson made it through the “American Idol” auditions after singing Etta’s classic, “At Last”.

While performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York this weekend, Kelly wowed the crowd with her beautiful rendition of “I’d Rather Go Blind”, a song that Etta recorded way back in 1968.

“This isn’t ‘At Last’ because everyone really covers that and so I wanted to do my favorite, actually. My favorite song is ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’. So, this is for Etta,” Kelly told the audience.

Take a look at the video taken by a fan at the show this weekend.

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There’s a fine line between sampling a song and straight ripping off someone else’s artistic integrity. Imitation is recognized as the highest form of flattery – but at what point does it go too far?

Most recently, Madonna finally spoke out about her insane influence of Lady Gaga, with focus on ‘Born This Way‘ and it’s similarity with Madge’s 1989 hit ‘Express Yourself’. And in the spirit of that buzz – we’re delighted to bring you a little sampling, thirteen songs that famously ripped off others (and were pretty successful in their own right). Some of which dealt with court settlements and others were able to slip through the legal cracks. For those arguing that the likes of Hammer and Vanilla Ice had the right to sample – both were busted by the predecessors for their use. Ice even argued in an episode of VH1′s ‘Behind the Music’ that it was completely original and the sampling accusations were bogus.

Tell us what you think! Below are thirteen examples, first being the song that ripped off the following song:

Jennifer Lopez “On The Floor (Ft. Pitbull)” VS. Los Kjarkas “Lloranda se fue”

MC Hammer “U Can’t Touch This” VS. Rick James “Superfreak”

Sean Kingston “Me Love” VS. Led Zeppelin “D’yer Mak’er”

Sum 41 “Pieces” VS. Coldplay “The Scientist”

Ray Parker Jr. “Ghostbusters” VS. Huey Lewis “I Want A New Drug”

Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California” VS. Tom Petty “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”

Flo Rida “Right Round” VS. Dead Or Alive “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)”

The Offspring “Why Don’t You Get A Job” VS. The Beatles “Ob La Di Ob La Da”

Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby” VS. Queen & David Bowie “Under Pressure”

Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” VS. The Rubinoos “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”

Coldplay “Viva La Vida” VS. Joe Satriani “If I Could Fly”

Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” VS. Oasis “Wonderwall”

Fergie “Fergalicious” VS. J.J. Fad “Supersonic”

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NBC’s ‘The Voice’ has announced that they’ve enlisted more celebrity talent for their upcoming season – this will surely challenge those over at ‘American Idol’ the most watched show on television.

According to Rolling Stone, each of the show’s panelists will now be joined by two celebrity advisors from the music industry. Cee-Lo Green will be joined by other R&B heavyweights, Ne-Yo and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. Maroon 5′s frontman Adam Levine will have some help from Alanis Morissette and Robin Thicke while mentor Christina Aguilera will be joined by Jewel and industry-icon, Lionel Richie.

“I trust the show more than I trust the record industry at this point,” said Levine about reality show singing contests, in a recent Reuters interview. “It is a very tired format, but in a way this is a very fresh way of doing it.”

Another mentor, country-star Blake Shelton is pulling in two reality-show veterans – his wife, Miranda Lambert and Kelly Clarkson. That’s right, Seacrest.

“I chose Miranda and Kelly because they both survived reality television shows,” Shelton told reporters at an annual gathering of TV critics. “I just wanted somebody who could talk to them about what they were going through.”

Executive producer and reality show innovator Mark Burnett admits that the show’s success hasn’t yet fulfilled its expectations. Last year’s winner Javier Colon (who?) released his album and peaked at no.134 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That doesn’t even come close to the success of “Idol” winners in the vein of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

It’s impossible to predict success in the ever-changing music industry and even making a name for yourself in the Billboard chart is a huge feat. Though this season could change everything, again.

The new season of ‘The Voice’ premieres February 5 on NBC.

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Even since repeatedly pestering that poor DJ to  turn the record up in 2005, Robyn Rihanna Fenty has been a chart-topping powerhouse representative of Def Jam Records. With her collaborations dominating the charts as of late, it seems that the recipe to Billboard success is a Rihanna hook. After all, she has the most digital number-one hits with eleven and counting.

That’s more number-one’s than Stevie Wonder or Janet Jackson. That’s two away from Michael Jackson and nine away from the untouchable Beatles. Are we talking quantity, not quality? It’s up for debate. How does she compare to the Gaga’s, Perry’s and Beyonce’s?

Turn on the radio. Open a music magazine. And if they’re on a break from their teen-preganancy programming, watch MTV. From Maroon 5 to Eminem to Coldplay to Lonely Island, there is that familiar sultry croon of the official ambassador of youth and culture for Barbados. She is considerably the most-featured female singer of this millennium. She’s no Fitzgerald, or Goulding for that matter, but it’s either she has a remarkable talent or impeccable timing. OK, maybe Jay-Z has a little something to do with it.

Going back to 2008, she was featured on two of the biggest songs of the year: Maroon5′s  “If I Ever See Your Face Again” and T.I.’s redemption-song  “Live Your Life.” Two opposing ends of the musical spectrum that equally delivered as hits in their respective genres.

Recently, her collaborations haven’t slowed down, they’ve been unescapable on the pop-charts. She duels with Nicki Minaj, harmonizes on Kanye’s  “All of the Lights”and even trades verses with Chris Martin in Coldplay’s  “Princess of China” In response to his appearance on  “What’s My Name?”, Rihanna flourishes in the role of a wounded-love on the  title track of Drake’s upcoming Take Care EP.

Her solo success should not be ignored. In Billboard’s 53-year-history, Rihanna is in a third-place tie with the legendary Whitney Houston for most chart-toppers, behind Mariah Carey and Madonna. That’s a fine line between jaw-dropping and head-scratching. She was also named Digital Song Artist of the Decade in 2009, passing Mr. West, Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

In a recent study, the most popular videos on YouTube are unsurprisingly, music videos that occupy an incredible 86% of the top 60 most-viewed. What’s even more mind-boggling is that a trifecta of pop-artists total a 25% of those 60 videos: Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Bieber impregnates the rest of the pack with 1.664 billion views. Mother Monster rolls in with 842 million views and Rihanna clocks in with 715 million views.

With her new album Talk That Talk on the horizon (due out November 21), critical pop-singles are expected to stampede the airwaves. She took to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm that her mentor would appear on the title track: “Yes sir! Jigga man is on the title track #TTT.” What a clubhouse that must be, with Kanye and Jay meeting their female counterparts of Beyonce and Rihanna for an afternoon picnic.

Hova and Ri-Ri previously collaborated on her mega-hit “Umbrella” and he featured her on that Blueprint 3 power-house single, “Run This Town.”

She’s definitely beating Chris Brown’s success to death.

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In her newest video for “You Da One”, Rihanna dresses like Alex DeLarge from “A Clockwork Orange” and dances like Michael Jackson.

The chameleon is now on to conquer a whole new look: platinum blonde hair. I, for one, miss the redheaded Rihanna. In this video you see the 22-year-old singer sporting a bunch of blonde wigs that takes some time getting used to seeing.

I tried to count how many times Rihanna grabs her crotch like Michael Jackson so infamously did in the 80s but I lost count after ten.

The song is funky and catchy while the music video gives off a bleak vibe, probably since it’s entirely in black and white. And, there’s nothing more annoying than the lyrics popping up on the screen. Am I suddenly at a karaoke bar?

Watch “You Da One” posted below and let us know what you like more: the song or the video.

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2011, like any other year, was full of sex, drugs, violence and even some dancing monkeys. Music videos from such artists like Bruno Mars and Britney Spears have kept us entertained from January until December. Here at andPOP, we can’t wrap up a fantastic year without discussing our top ten music videos.

10. Dr. Dre and Eminem – “I Need a Doctor” 

Dr. Dre’s first official single in over a decade and we love how the video walks us through the rapper’s life.

9.  Beyonce – “Countdown”

This video would have been much higher on the list if the song wasn’t so brutal to listen too, not to mention a blatant rip-off of over music videos from the past.

8. Bruno Mars – “The Lazy Song” 

We love how this dance sequence with the monkeys was all done in one shot. It must have taken Bruno and the gang a few tries before getting it perfect.

7. Britney Spears – “Criminal” 

We see Britney in a whole new light with this video. We also see her in some compromising positions with her real-life fiance, Jason Trawick. Hot, hot hot!

6. Cher Lloyd – “With Ur Love” 

This gets placed in sixth for being incredibly cute and PG.

5. LMFAO – “Party Rock Anthem”

What song makes us want to dance out in the streets than this one by LMFAO? They definitely put the ‘party’ in ‘party rock anthem’ with this wild dance video.

4. Lady Gaga – “Marry the Night”

The first video Gaga directed independently may not make much sense but damn, you just can’t take your eyes off of it.

3. Katy Perry – “Last Friday Night”

This music video reminds us of all the cheesy romantic comedies from the ’80s. This is also the only place you’d ever see Katy rockin’ a neck brace and neon spandex.

2. Rihanna – “We Found Love”

We found lots of controversy surrounding this Rihanna video. It’s quite ironic how similar the actor in the video looks to her ex, Chris Brown.

1. Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett – “Body and Soul”

Seeing as it’s the last video we’d ever see from the soul singer, it takes the cake for best video of 2011. Amy’s collaboration with Tony Bennett sounds incredibly beautiful and is a great way to remember her.

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Adele continues to roll in the praise by making Billboard history as the first female singer to top the artist, album and singles list in the same year.

The 23-year-old  Brit beat out Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga in the American magazine’s prestigious Best Artist and No.1 Billboard 200 Album (with ’21′). She fought off the likes of LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and Katy Perry’s Firework to become top single with ‘Rolling in the Deep’. Although, it’s really a no-brainer.

Tye Corner, editor over at Billboard.com, said that “her success is really inspiring because it shows that there is still room in the music industry for an artist to make it with true, raw talent.

“It’s not necessarily always about the outrageous outfits or flashy videos, but an amazing voice coupled with the right song still has the ability to turn the ears of millions of people and keep them interested.”

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You all know you loved Mashup-Germany’s mix of the best songs of the year.

Now, DJ McFly is bringing you a Billboard Hot 100 mash-up that will blow you mind, and your eardrums!

Chicago native DJ McFly’s mix samples every song which reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 in January, February and March of this year. This includes Katy Perry’s “Firework” and “On The Floor” by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull.

Not only does McFly mash-up the songs, but he also mixes up the video that’s really blowing up on YouTube. Have a listen, have a look. Cheers to a great year in music.

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An artist that goes by the name of Mashup-Germany has compiled a wonderful mashup of the most popular songs of 2011.

From Taio Cruz’s “Hangover” to Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” to Rihanna’s “We Found Love” this DJ mixes the best with nothing but the best. It’s an incredible song to play at your next Christmas or New Year’s Eve party!

What are you waiting for? Polish off your dancing shoes and listen to this song over and over again.

The fun video was produced by PANOS T. Check it out below.

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It appears Jill Scott woke up today and forgot to eat some humble pie for breakfast.

The soul singer, who’s put out four studio albums since 2000, ranted on her Twitter page about not getting any Grammy nods last night.

If I were her I’d just be appreciative of the 160,000+ followers on Twitter and the number one albums and world recognition and respect. But I mean, if a Grammy is what helps her sleep at night, then so be it. It’s distasteful to see a celebrity complain about not being given too much. They seem to already have the world handed to them on a silver platter, yet for Jill Scott it doesn’t seem enough. I want a committed relationship, $1,000,000, a panda to cuddle with at night and a lifetime supply of sushi. Do I complain about it constantly on social networks? No. I try and appreciate what I have and work my way around it.

It seems Jill Scott cooled off a few hours after that epic tweet fail. She later wrote “my head is up. My son is healthy, my family is loving & so are my fans. God is real. Disappointments too still I come thru like a Kung foo.”

Looks like she won’t be interrupting Adele’s Grammy award speech anymore.

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Beyonce’s “Dance For You” video goes to show what a powerhouse she is – entirely makes us forget that she’s pregnant.

The latest cut from her album 4 will be featured in the deluxe edition of B’s “Live at Roseland” DVD, which drops on Tuesday, November 29th.

“The whole time I definitely was thinking, ‘Everyone knows, everyone can see,’” said the Grammy-winner before the screening of her new concert this past Sunday in New York.

“When you’re pregnant, it’s a little bit harder to breathe, so it was hard doing all the choreography and singing at the same time,” said the 30-year-old singer in an onstage interview, who admitted it became very difficult to hide while recording the four sold-out nights in at Roseland Theatre in August.

From Destiny’s Child classics to major hits from her solo career before launching into 4 in it’s entirety. It will also include intimate interviews, home videos of rehearsals and clips of Beyonce in a wedding dress.

In this the-Dream produced cut, the sultry R&B jam has her showing her gratitude in the form of a seductive dance sequence. The black-and-white clip is reminiscent of a private-eye/detective classic that could easily be a Victoria Secret product placement.

Find out for yourself:

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There’s a ton of hype surrounding Toronto R&B sensation The Weeknd. He put out his highly acclaimed mixtape “House of Balloons” back in March, and only now does he have an official music video to show for it.

“The Knowing” is like a short sci-fi film but with a killer soundtrack. It takes you on a visual journey onto Planet Ethio X, set way, way, way into the future (16311 A.D. to be exact).

The 8 minute long video is pretty intense on the eyes. The Weeknd a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye plays a pretty big role in the video. The brains behind the video is notable French filmmaker Mikael Columbu, who has also worked with Cee Lo Green and Bilal.

Go make some popcorn and prepare to have all your senses stimulates as you watch the epic odyssey that is “The Knowing”.

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If you plan on purchasing Beyonce’s DVD “Live at Roseland: The Elements of 4″ when it’s in stores next week, look for her wedding day to be featured in a video montage for “I Was Here”.

The singer performed the new song “I Was Here”, while clips of all the important events in Beyonce’s life were projected on the screen. It ranges from when Beyonce was 7 and performing at school to breaking it big with Destiny’s Child and marrying Jay-Z. The couple kept their nuptials fairly undercover and alas, Beyonce’s mysterious wedding dress is finally revealed to everyone.

During the set, Beyonce even called a young cancer patient on stage and serenaded her with “I Was Here”.

Pop Sugar took screencaps of some of the most memorable moments in the video montage. Beyonce is a superstar living a luxurious lifestyle most of us don’t get to live. It’s nice for her to show off this video that makes her more down-to-earth.

You can watch the video below.

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Urban singer Kreesha Turner is more than just a pretty face. She’s a gracious girl with a stunning voice.

On the day her new album Tropic Electric comes out, she’ll be joining us for a live interview at andPOP! We’re excited to have her and get the lowdown on what’s to come now that her album’s out.

Join us at 2:00 p.m. EST for the exclusive interview.

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