The stars were out last night (Sun. May 22) at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards!

Among the many celebs who walked the white carpet outside the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas were Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson and Ne-Yo.

Check out 25+ pics from the red carpet below:

Country music was honored Sunday night (Apr 3) in Las Vegas at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Notable country acts like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jennifer Nettles, Miranda Lambert and more all walked the red carpet outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas before making their way into the building the catch the ceremony.

Once inside, the show (hosted by country music artist Reba McEntire for the 7th time in a row) featured performances from Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler, Taylor Swift and others. Big winners for the night included Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum and more.

Check out 10+ pics below!

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have a brand new addition to their family!

The couple recently had a baby girl via a surrogate mother. Faith Margaret Kidman Urban was born Dec. 28th at Nashville’s Centennial Women’s hospital. The proud parents released the following statement showing their gratitude.

“Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier.”

This will be the second child for the couple who already have a 2 year-old daughter named Sunday Rose.

Congrats guys!!!

Thoughts?

Big name stars like Beyonce, Madonna, Jay-Z, Rihanna and more are scheduled to perform in what’s beginning to look like a dress rehearsal for the upcoming 2010 Grammy Awards.

The stars mentioned, among others, will take part in a two-hour televised telethon today (Fri. Jan 22) called “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief.” The show will air on all major cable networks beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and will feature musical performances from all over the world from folks like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Shakira, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake and proud Haiti native Wyclef Jean.

The show, which in the United States will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time on all the major networks and on cable channels, is to feature musical performances from multiple locations: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Shakira and Wyclef Jean will play in New York, while in London Bono and the Edge of U2 will collaborate with Jay-Z and Rihanna, with Coldplay also slated to perform. The program in Los Angeles is to include performances by Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake and a collaboration among Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. Songs from the telethon will be for sale on iTunes for 99 cents beginning Saturday, will all proceeds going to a number of relief organizations.

SOURCE: NY TIMES

Well there you have it. The biggest star of the year 2009 would have to Beyonce and she’s leading the list of nominees for the upcoming 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, which will be held January 31st at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8 – 11:30 PM (ET/PT)

Beyoncé topped the nominations with 10, Taylor Swift garnered eight, and the Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West each earned six nods. David Guetta, Jay-Z and Lady Gaga received five each; and Colbie Caillat, Michael Giacchino, Kings Of Leon, John Newton, RedOne, Bruce Springsteen, T-Pain, and Keith Urban each received four nominations.

Album Of The Year:
I Am…Sasha Fierce (Beyoncé)
The E.N.D. (the Black Eyed Peas)
The Fame (Lady Gaga)
Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King (Dave Matthews Band)
Fearless (Taylor Swift)

Record Of The Year:
“Halo” (Beyoncé)
“I Gotta Feeling” (the Black Eyed Peas)
“Use Somebody” (Kings Of Leon)
“Poker Face” (Lady Gaga)
“You Belong With Me” (Taylor Swift)

Song Of The Year:
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga & RedOne, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Pretty Wings,” Hod David & Musze, songwriters (Maxwell)
“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“Use Somebody, “Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
“You Belong With Me,” Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)

Best New Artist:
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

SOURCE

Check out more nominees after the break!

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Adele – “Hometown Glory”
Beyoncé – “Halo”
Katy Perry – “Hot N Cold”
Pink – “Sober”
Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Melanie Fiona – “It Kills Me”
Lalah Hathaway – “That Was Then”
Ledisi – “Goin’ Thru Changes”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Lions, Tigers & Bears”

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
John Legend – “This Time”
Maxwell – “Love You”
Jason Mraz – “Make It Mine”
Seal – “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”
Stevie Wonder – “All About the Love Again”

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Anthony Hamilton – “The Point of It All”
Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
Musiq Soulchild – “Sobeautiful”
Pleasure P – “Under”
Charlie Wilson – “There Goes My Baby”

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”
Bon Jovi – “We Weren’t Born to Follow”
The Fray – “Never Say Never”
Daryl Hall & John Oates – “Sara Smile”
MGMT – “Kids”

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain – “Blame It”
India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild – “Chocolate High”
Musiq Soulchild & Mary J. Blige – “Ifuleave”
Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters – “Higher Ground”
Calvin Richardson & Ann Nesby – “Love Has Finally Come at Last”

Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Beastie Boys & Nas – “Too Many Rappers”
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack a Bottle”
Fabolous & Jay-Z – “Money Goes, Honey Stay”
Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say”
Kanye West & Young Jeezy – “Amazing”

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen – “Sea of Heartbreak”
Ciara & Justin Timberlake – “Love Sex Magic”
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat – “Lucky”
Willie Nelson & Norah Jones – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat – “Breathe”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyoncé & Kanye West – “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain – “I’m On a Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead and Gone”

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Beyoncé – “At Last”
Anthony Hamilton – “Soul Music”
Boney James & Quinn – “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”
Ann Nesby – “Sow Love”
Calvin Richardson – “Woman Gotta Have It”

Best Pop Vocal Album
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Colbie Caillat – Breakthrough
Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted
The Fray – The Fray?Pink – Funhouse

Best R&B Song
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain – “Blame It”
Jazmine Sullivan – “Lions, Tigers & Bears”
Maxwell – “Pretty Wings”
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Pleasure P – “Under”

Best Rap Song
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead and Gone”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna, & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Best R&B Album
Anthony Hamilton – The Point of It All
India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
Ledisi – Turn Me Loose
Maxwell – BLACKsummers’night
Charlie Wilson – Uncle Charlie

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Beyoncé – I Am… Sasha Fierce
Jamie Foxx – Intuition
Pleasure P – The Introduction of Marcus Cooper
Trey Songz – Ready?T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz

Best Dance Recording
Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”
David Guetta & Kelly Rowland – “When Love Takes Over”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Madonna – “Celebration”
Britney Spears – “Womanizer”

Best Rock Album
AC/DC – Black Ice?Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood – Live From Madison Square Garden
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
U2 – No Line on the Horizon

Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media
Miley Cyrus – “The Climb” (From Hannah Montana: The Movie)
Paramore – “Decode” (From Twilight)
A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash – “Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire)
Beyoncé – “Once in a Lifetime” (From Cadillac Records)
Bruce Springsteen – “The Wrestler” (From The Wrestler)

Check out more nominees over at Grammy.com!

Below is a list of the top 20 new artists that emerged this decade. These artists have sold the most albums and as sales in the music industry have been decreasing, artists who emerged early in the decade stood a better chance. Sales peaked in 2000 and have been on the decline since 2004. So below are the names of the top 20, accompanied by the total number of albums the artist has sold as of this week, the year of their debut, the title of their best selling album, and their rank on the Nielsen/SoundScan running list of the 200 best selling artists in its history, which includes Nelly, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Pink and more!

1. Linkin Park – 21,223,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: Hybrid Theory
Top 200 rank: #52

2. Nelly – 21,215,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: Country Grammar
Top 200 rank: #53

3. Nickelback – 19,414,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: All The Right Reasons
Top 200 rank: #63

4. Josh Groban – 19,147,000
Debut: 2001
Best Selling Album: Closer
Top 200 rank: #67

5. Rascal Flatts – 19,083,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: Feels Like Today
Top 200 rank: #69

6. Norah Jones – 16,728,000
Debut: 2002
Best Selling Album: Come Away With Me
Top 200 rank: #88

7. 50 Cent – 15,589,000
Debut: 2003
Best Selling Album: Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
Top 200 rank: #102

8. Alicia Keys – 15,520,000
Debut: 2001
Best Selling Album: Songs In A Minor
Top 200 rank: #105

9. Coldplay – 14,426,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Top 200 rank: #113

10. Ludacris – 13,411,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: Word of Mouf
Top 200 rank: #120

11. 3 Doors Down – 12,472,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: The Better Life
Top 200 rank: #135

12. John Mayer – 11,467,000
Debut: 2001
Best Selling Album: Room For Squares
Top 200 rank: #149

13. Avril Lavigne – 11,404,000
Debut: 2002
Best Selling Album: Let Go
Top 200 rank: #152

14. Keith Urban – 10,858,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: Be Here
Top 200 rank: #159

15. Beyonce – 10,565,000
Debut: 2003
Best Selling Album: Dangerously In Love
Top 200 rank: #168

16. Kelly Clarkson – 10,276,000
Debut: 2003
Best Selling Album: Breakaway
Top 200 rank: #178

17. Pink – 9,998,000
Debut: 2000
Best Selling Album: M!ssundaztood
Top 200 rank: #184

18. Evanescence – 9,965,000
Debut: 2003
Best Selling Album: Fallen
Top 200 rank: #186

19. Kanye West – 9,922,000
Debut: 2004
Best Selling Album: The College Dropout
Top 200 rank: #187

20. Carrie Underwood – 9,748,000
Debut: 2005
Best Selling Album: Some Hearts
Top 200 rank: #192