It’s still four days before we’ll have the Grammy voters’ verdict on album and record of the year, but the nation’s pop music critics have already given us their choice: Kanye West.
His thoughtful, dynamic “The College Dropout” was named album of the year in the Village Voice poll of 793 critics, while Scottish rock act Franz Ferdinand’s effervescent “Take Me Out” was judged the best single.
If West’s album goes on to win album of the year on Sunday’s Grammy telecast, it will mark the second consecutive year that critics and the record industry professionals who vote for the Grammys have agreed. Last year’s winner: OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.”
THE ODD COUPLE: Apparently soft rocker Josh Groban is bootylicious enough to hang with Beyonce.
Billboard.com reports that he’ll pair with the Destiny’s Child singer to perform the Oscar-nominated song “Believe” at this year’s Academy Awards show.
Groban performed the track alone on “The Polar Express” soundtrack, and Beyonce’s inclusion will no doubt juice up ratings. Performers for the Feb. 27 ceremony have yet to be announced, but sources hinted to Billboard that Counting Crows and Minnie Driver also are expected to perform.
PLAYING FAVORITES: Simon Cowell has his eye on a blond this year.
Oh, get your minds out of the gutter–we’re talking about “American Idol” here.
The grumpy British judge revealed his favorite to win “AI” on “Live with Regis & Kelly” on Monday, people.com reports. “She’s like a country singer, a blond girl.”
The New York Post quickly made the connection to Carrie Underwood, a 21-year-old from Oklahoma who wowed Cowell and fellow judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul during an audition in St. Louis.
DOLLARS AND SCENTS: Sarah Jessica Parker is putting the sweet smell of her success in a bottle.
The “Sex and the City” ex has signed a deal with Coty Inc. to develop a line of fragrances, the company announced Tuesday. The brand name and the exact perfume scent are still works in progress, but Parker promised that the first perfume will be “fresh.”
“It’ll be intentionally quiet, not a very aggressive scent,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s not a scent you’ll smell before a person walks in a room. I don’t want it to not have social skills!”
Parker said she has always relished wearing fragrances, even admitting that she brought perfume with her when she went to the hospital to give birth to her son two years ago.
DESPERATE MOMS: Meanwhile, Parker’s “Sex and the City” co-star Kristin Davis may return to TV not as a desperate housewife, but a highly curious one.
Davis will star in an ABC one-hour pilot tentatively titled “Soccer Moms,” The Hollywood Reporter says. The potential series centers on two suburban housewives who team up as private investigators.
Yes, folks, it’s “CSI: Desperate Housewives.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Leo Ebersole (lebersole@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
