Here’s What the Grammys Had to Say About Lorde Not Performing

Hours before the 2018 Grammys broadcast started on Sunday, reports surfaced that Album of the Year nominee Lorde — the only female up for the award — was the only artist in the category who was not asked to do a solo performance. Now the show’s executive producer and the President of the Recording Academy are speaking out about the singer’s exclusion.

Following the broadcast, Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich was asked whether it was a mistake not to include Lorde, given the outrage that ensued. “I don’t know if it was a mistake. These shows are a matter of choices,” he said, according to Variety. “We have a box and it gets full. She had a great album. There’s no way we can really deal with everybody.”

The Grammys reportedly asked Lorde to perform not on her own, but as part of a Tom Petty tribute that also included country legend Emmylou Harris and Grammy winner Chris Stapleton. Three of the four other nominees in the Album of the Year category — Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino, and Kendrick Lamar — all got plenty of solo screen time. JAY-Z, who was also nominated, was reportedly offered a solo slot, but declined.

Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of the Recording Academy, also claimed that it’s difficult to give all of the nominees sufficient performance time. “We have a wealth of riches every year, and it’s hard to have a balanced show and have everybody involved,” he said, according to ET. “Every year is different. We can’t have a performance from every nominee — we have over 80 categories — and so we have to realize that we have to create something that has balance. What you saw was our best judgment on how to do that.”

Portnow did not comment on a confusing element many pointed out on Twitter — the fact that Sting and Shaggy, who not only weren’t nominated but also won’t drop their collaborative album for another three months — received ample screen time both in performance and pre-taped sketches.

So far, Lorde has not commented on the controversy.

What do you think of the reasons Lorde wasn’t asked to perform? Let us know @BritandCo.

(photo via Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS)

Get excited Swifties – our favorite singer-songwriter just accepted iHeartRadio’s Innovator Award, and her speech was *chef’s kiss*.

Every year, the award is given to artists who have “impacted global pop culture throughout their career,” and Taylor Swift has certainly done that. A bejeweled Swift accepted the award onstage at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre alongside a tribute video filled with some of our favorite celebs – Dolly Parton, Selena Gomez, Simu Liu, Simone Biles, and Ed Sheeran, just to name a few.

www.youtube.com

Taylor Swift Acceptance Speech - Innovator Award | 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards

“I never woke up, a single time, and thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna go innovate some stuff today,’” Swift jokingly said. “I really want everyone to know, especially young people, that the hundreds or thousands of dumb ideas that I’ve had have led me to my good ideas… You have to give yourself permission to fail.”

www.tiktok.com

shes so cute #phoebebridgers #taylorswift

Swift received the award from Phoebe Bridgers, the four time Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and Swift’s soon-to-be opening act on her Eras Tour, which started March 17 and runs until August 9.

In her introduction, Bridgers talked about her childhood dreams of songwriting, and discovering Swift while listening to country radio with her mom. “I heard a girl not much older than me singing a song about her own life, and that song was really good,” she said. “Taylor has always told the truth. She’s written songs from exactly where she is. Her music shifted genre in the same way life does—in the same way being 16 is totally incomparable to being 18, 22, 25, 28. I’m grateful that I’ve grown up in a world with Taylor Swift in it. Or, ‘The World (Taylor’s Version).’”

Image via Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup for FOX

Taylor Swift receiving the iHeartRadio Song of the Year Award for "Anti-Hero" from fellow artists Ice Spice and PinkPantheress.

Swift won six(!) other awards, including Song of the Year for “Anti-Hero” and “Best Pop Album.” These wins *officially* crowned her the most awarded artist in iHeartRadio Music Award history, with a total of 19 awards over her career.

www.tiktok.com

#taylorswift#swifttok#taylornation#swiftietiktok#swifttoker#swifttoks#swiftliketaylor#taylorswiftlover #iheartradiomusicawards#iheartradio#iheartradioawards#iheartradiomusicawards2023

The 12 time Grammy winner and honorary doctorate was nominated in several additional categories, including Artist of the Year, Best Lyrics (“Anti-Hero”) and Best Music Video (“Anti-Hero”).

Past recipients of the Innovator Award include Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake, ranks in which Swift definitely deserved to join.

Our Swiftie hearts are so full right now, and we cannot wait to see what she wins next.

For now, we’re excitedly awaiting the day when we can finally see Swift IRL, taking the Eras Tour by storm.

Keep up with your fave celebrity news with Brit + Co.

Image via Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup for FOX

We can all remember watching the early 2000s chick-flick-slash-feminist-manifesto that is Legally Blonde. The bubbly ex-sorority girl Elle Woods (played by Reese Witherspoon), the jack*ss she was determined to marry, the lengths she went to to win him back. But the most poignant detail about Legally Blonde was her success at Harvard Law despite being an ultra-feminine, dripping-in-pink, tiny-dog-wielding young woman everyone thought was never supposed to be there in the first place.

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

"Playing Elle Woods was just the highlight of my career, my early career for sure," she tells People. "She was such an underdog, and just trying to find those pieces of her that [were] really vulnerable. That feeling that people underestimate you and think you can't do things."

"I had no idea when we were making it that it was going to touch so many people's hearts," she continues. "The thing I love about Elle Woods is I share that performance with so many young people because of the stage play...I'll have all these cool people come up to me and be like 'I played Elle Woods!'...We're both Elle Woods!"

Elle Woods is, without a doubt, a feminist icon, and it’s safe to say that Reese Witherspoon took her character very seriously.

Image via Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff

You may be thinking: “What crazy techniques could Reese Witherspoon have used to create Elle Woods for Legally Blonde? It’s just a character!” At first, we thought that too. Was it really that hard to play a wannabe socialite on a mission to win back her boyfriend before using her intellect to crush it at Harvard Law and save her friend from a murder conviction à la her knowledge of perms? In short — yes, yes it was, and Reese spilled it all on how she transformed into the leading lady we know (and love) today.

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Reese mentions that she's always loved how much of a feminist Elle is. “She could have all this really strong ideology about what women could accomplish but she could also be very obsessed with clothes and hair and makeup, which a lot of young women are,” she says.

“The costume designer Sophie De Rakoff and I collaborated — this was our first collaboration — to create Elle Woods," she continues. "In the script it said she had been, like, a sunscreen model. So we knew we were gonna have to do some bikini looks and we were going to have to do bright colors, we wanted her hair really bright blonde."

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Elle was meant to come off to others as a classic California Barbie stereotype, the kind of surface-level person who never spent a moment thinking critically. To accomplish this, Sophie and Reese set out to find the perfect costumes to match Elle's 90s supermodel hair, and it was pretty intense, at least according to Reese.

"I remember the first day of going to Harvard that Sophie wanted [Elle] in an all pink leather look because she wanted her to look like a piece of luggage," Reese recalls. "We went to Frederick's of Hollywood to buy the bunny costume together and so I had to try on all these bustiers and make sure that all the bits were in the right places."

Image via Theo Wargo / Staff

But the “look” isn’t all that Reese was committed to. Reese needed to become Elle, sorority houses and all. “I would go and just hang out and listen to what they talked about, and the way they did their nails, and the way they decorated their rooms," she says. "It really influenced how I held my body, how I used my hands in the performance, the cadence of my speech…I took the part really seriously. It was all about just creating [a] character that I really understood throughout the entire shooting, so that you could throw anything my way and I could still stay in character.”

Whew — that’s a lot. Reese’s commitment to the role truly shines through the screen, and has *literally* changed pop culture forever. I mean, we have probably dressed as Elle Woods for Halloween at least a half dozen times.

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

“The impact of Legally Blonde has been unreal," she continues. "Just the idea that I've traveled all over the world...and had women come up to me and say, ‘I became a lawyer because of Elle Woods’...it's just meaningful. It's very resonant at a certain time in your life where you're really trying to discover who you are, and it's why it's one of my favorite movies I've ever done. It's one of my favorite characters I ever created.”

Honestly, we have so much respect for Reese and the incredible effort she put into perfecting the Elle we've idolized for decades. It’s unimaginable to quantify the impact this character has had on women — and society — as a whole, but if we had to guess, we know it would be enormous.

Is Elle Woods your favorite Reese Witherspoon character? Let us know @BritandCo!

Header image courtesy of Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff.

This post has been updated.

Michelle Obama stole the show with her surprise appearance at the 2019 Grammy Awards, and while the audience cheered so loudly that the former first lady could barely speak, her mom, for one, wasn’t that impressed.

The Becoming author took to Instagram on Tuesday, February 12, to share screenshots of a hilarious post-Grammys text message conversation with her mother, Marian Robinson. “When your mom doesn’t think you’re a ‘real’ celebrity,” Obama captioned the exchange. “Tonight in Phoenix, I shared this text thread from my mom from #Grammys night, and I just had to share it with all of you. #TextsFromMom.”

As seen in the screenshots, Robinson began by writing, “I guess you were a hit at the Grammys,” with a smiling, tongue-sticking-out emoji. Obama replied that the text “is so typically you,” then asked her mom if she watched the show.

“I saw it because Gracie called me,” Robinson responded, before subtly shading her famous daughter. “Did you meet any of the real stars or did you run right after you were done?”

After insisting (despite Robinson’s claims to the contrary) that she told her mom she was going to be on the Grammys, Obama ended the conversation by writing, “I am a real star… by the way…” to which Robinson simply replied, “Yeah.”

Obama appeared alongside host Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Jennifer Lopez at the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 10, to speak about the impact music has had on their individual lives as well as its universal appeal. Obama’s presence in particular inspired a surprised and uproarious reaction from the star-studded audience, who gave a standing ovation and cheered over her when she began to speak.

“All right, you guys, we got a show to do!” she joked to the crowd to settle them. She then spoke about the importance of perspective and storytelling in music — a topic that also came up with regular frequency in her recent hit memoir, Becoming.

“Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes and joys,” she said. “It allows us to hear one another, to invite each other in. Music shows us that all of it matters — every story within every voice, every note within every song.”

What do you think of Michelle Obama’s mom’s texts? Let us know @BritandCo!

(Photos via Win McNamee/Getty Images + Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Everyone's favorite Disney Channel darling, Vanessa Hudgens and husband Cole Tucker are officially expecting their first child! Amid much speculation, Vanessa finally spilled the big news at the Oscars red carpet, showing off her sweet baby bump to the world. Vanessa and Cole got married in Mexico last year, and we can't get enough of their adorable relationship. Here's everything we know so far about this soon-to-be new mom and her beau's growing family!

Who is Vanessa Hudgens' husband?

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

Vanessa Hudgens is married to baseball player Cole Tucker. The 27-year-old athlete currently plays for the Seattle Mariners, previously working for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies teams.

When did Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker meet?

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Believe it or not, Vanessa told Drew Barrymore during her show that she met Cole on Zoom of all places! According to Vanessa, she logged onto a weekly Zoom meditation during the pandemic, Cole was online, and basically the rest was history — after she slid into his DMs, of course. 😘

When did Vanessa Hudgens get married?

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker got married in Tulum Mexico in December 2023. Vanessa sent Vogueall the details, giving us the glam of the bridal party in their bright peach dresses, and Vanessa's many stunning looks! She even joked to Voguethat her husband had a "baseball lineup" for his side of the party — all dressed in simple white and khaki. Chic, chic, chic!

How did Vanessa Hudgens announce her pregnancy?

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Vanessa brought her best accessory to the 2024 Oscars red carpet — her baby bump! Amid much disputed speculation, Vanessa finally debuted her baby-to-be with Cole Tucker, wearing a simple black bodycon dress paired with plenty of diamonds. To say she's glowing would be an understatement!

When is Vanessa Hudgens' baby due?

Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Vanessa and Cole haven't announced an official due date, name, or gender for their baby-to-be. We can't wait to learn more about this lovely little one!

How has Vanessa Hudgens been doing since announcing her pregnancy?

Image via Vanessa Hudgens/Instagram

As far as we can tell, the first-time mama is doing really well. She was recently shared an Instagrampic of her looking gorgeous in a form-fitting brown dress that complemented her skin for date night. She posed in the mirror while cradling her growing baby bump and also showed off her neon yellow nails.

We can only hope to look this good during our future pregnancies!

Want to stay up-to-date with all the latest celeb news? Be sure to follow Brit + Co on Facebook!

Header image via Mike Coppola/Getty Images

We are head over heels in love with all things Bridgerton. The relationships, the characters, the Gossip Girl-meets-Jane Austen storylines. After waiting far too long for a sneak peek of season 3 of Bridgerton, Netflix *finally* released exclusive images that continue to have us shipping Polin (Penelope and Colin, of course), as well as a look at Kate and Anthony. My heart cannot take it! Here's the latest season 3 Bridgerton news, as well as some fan theories that might just carry us into Bridgerton season 4.

Which couple will season 3 of Bridgerton be about?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Bridgerton season 3 will focus on Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. This is the first time fans will get to see a couple they've been rooting for since the beginning.

The official trailer (which dropped on April 11) features plenty of flowers and beautiful costumes, and in addition to the romance, pining, and stolen glances between Colin and Penelope, I can already tell this will be the most romantic season yet. Friends-to-lovers is my personal favorite romantic trope, and this is the Bridgerton couple I have been waiting for!

During the junket for her new series Big Mood, actress Nicola Coughlan (who plays season 3 leading lady Penelope Featherington) expressed how excited she is for Penelope to shine. "It felt really different this time, I think just because she's finally a grown up and I love coming back to a show and playing a character again, and finding the new sides to them," Nicola says. "She's becoming a woman and finding her self-worth — that side of her I really loved getting to play. It was great."

"And the glow!" Nicola's Big Mood co-star Lydia West adds. "You look so stunning. [I love] the different wigs."

"When the wig comes off, it's so sad because you just like under a wig, you just look like a little wet rat and it's all your hair is just all slicked back," Nicola jokes.

When is Bridgerton season 3 is coming out?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Netflix announced on December 12 that season 3 of Bridgerton will release in two parts in 2024: Part I on May 16 and Part II on June 13th. Until then, catch up on the first two seasons, as well as the prequel series Queen Charlotte, on Netflix!

Why is Penelope wearing more blues and greens than her staple yellows?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

It's clear throughout the first season that each family has their own color representing the journey ahead of them — the beloved Bridgertons wear sophisticated blues and lavenders while the Featheringtons wear loud yellows as they try to climb the social ladder.

This is very intentional, and throughout season 3 we'll see Penelope transition from her staple yellow dresses into more greens and blues, a symbol of her union with Colin Bridgerton. Costume designer Sophie Canale confirmed this color theory to People, sharing that the green dress Penelope wears in episode four was a nod to her future relationship with Colin. After all, green *is* a mix of yellow and blue.

In the beginning of the season, Penelope and her mother are both wearing green instead of their usual lemon yellow. But instead of a pastel green like her previous dress, this one is very vibrant and tinged with a lot of warm tones. Even if Penelope is growing, the ties to her family are still strong.

Considering season two ended with Penelope getting into a fight with Eloise — and overhearing Colin say he would never court her — it makes sense that Penelope would turn more into her family than ever before.However, in an on-set interview with This Morning, Coughlan wore a dress that appears to be a muted seafoam, meaning it features more blue than yellow.

If Penelope wears lime at the beginning of the season and seafoam at the end, it's a perfect representation of her emotional arc. She moves from feeling overshadowed by her family to being embraced by Colin (hopefully sooner rather than later!!), and it creates a whole new color just for her.

Penelope is, and always will be, a mix of both Featherington and her love for Colin. Good thing for us, Canale takes us on that journey with her.

What are the season 3 Bridgerton episodes?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

We finally got the official episode list for Bridgerton season 3, and it could hold huge meaning for Colin and Penelope. Just like Pen's wardrobe reflects her emotional arc, the episode titles have us expecting a major transformation. Starting the season with "Out of the Shadows" and ending with "Into the Light" could be a ~reflection~ of Penelope moving from wallflower to main character. It could also mean we'll see her embrace those beautiful, sunny (read: yellow) parts of herself she's wanted to hide in the past. Here are the episodes for Bridgerton season 3:

  1. "Out of the Shadows"
  2. "How Bright the Moon"
  3. "Forces of Nature"
  4. "Old Friends"
  5. "Tick Tock"
  6. "Romancing Mister Bridgerton"
  7. "Joining of Hands"
  8. "Into the Light"

What is the new season of Bridgerton about?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

After giving up on whether Colin could ever return her feelings, Penelope decides to find a husband who will give her the independence she needs as Lady Whistledown. But when Colin offers to help her along the way, and his help begins to pay off, he realizes that his feelings for her might be more than platonic.

Who's in the season 3 Bridgerton cast?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Season 3 of Bridgerton will be led by Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, and we'll see lots of our favorites return, like Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, Luke Thompson, Claudia Jessie, Hannah Dodd, Will Tilston, Florence Hunt, Ruth Gemmell.

Will Penelope and Eloise happily reunite in season 3 of Bridgerton?

Image via Netflix

It seems like former best friends Penelope and Eloise are having a conversation. Judging from the expression on Penelope's face and Eloise's folded arms, it appears that things are still tense between them. Jess Brownwell, Bridgerton's show runner told the outlet, "I'm rooting for them," while admitting their friendship breakup is, "...a chance for the two of them to grow and learn about themselves..."

It's interesting to see if Eloise will remain icy towards Penelope after the abrupt end of their friendship in Season 2.

Why is Lady Danbury so important in Bridgerton?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

We loved getting to know more about Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte, and turns out, we weren't the only ones! At a Bridgerton x International Delight event in NYC, we talked to Lady Danbury herself, Adjoa Andoh! "In seasons one and two, I had a pretty strong sense of who Lady Danbury was," Andoh says in our exclusive interview. "Doing Queen Charlotte filled in a lot of the early life for me in concert with Shonda [Rhimes'] enormous storytelling brain. And so I could take all of that into season three."

Andoh also says that since the Bridgerton's grandfather was the love of Lady Danbury's life, it explains why she cares so much about their family: "You understand the investment she has in the Bridgerton family more because they are his grandchildren, and so I am invested in them because I loved him."

But for Bridgerton season 3, we'll also see a stronger connection between Lady Danbury and Penelope Featherington. "I think Lady Danbury sees a lot of her young self in Penelope," she continues. "I think she's sort of an overlooked item who is shoved in one direction just as Penelope is an overlooked item who no one thinks is ever gonna get married. So both of these women in their young lives have had to understand that if they are gonna survive, they have to live on their own natural brilliance, strategy, intelligence, and gifts."

"[Season 3 of Bridgerton] made me sad and it made me happy and all those things in between because it just reminded me of being the wallflower teenager that I was," Andoh says. "I think there's heaps of us out there, not just women, I think there's heaps of us out there who have felt that we are regarded as less than by our peers. And so, this is the season for us."

Andoh's advice for the wallflowers out there? "I have a friend who says, 'What's for you won't pass you by,'" she says. "Don't wait and pine, hang out with your friends have a fabulous life. The world is amazing and interesting and just dive into your curiosity. Think about what's fabulous about you and lean hard in on that and don't wait for someone else to give you the confirmation that you are as fabulous as you should know you are."

Will Benedict still play a role in season 3 of Bridgerton?

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

The third book in the Bridgerton series, An Offer From A Gentleman, focuses on Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Beckett. Even though the third season of the show will revolve around Colin and Penelope, fans are anticipating an important plot point could still happen this year.

"I'm reading Benedict's book, and between the ball the Bridgertons threw where he met Sophie and when they meet again there's a gap of two years, enough for the unfolding of Penelope and Colin's [arc]," lovin_da_dix says on Reddit. "My theory is that the Bridgertons will throw the ball this season, we would briefly see Sophie and the writers would carry the storyline through season 4."

Not only would a ball give us an excuse to see Colin and Penelope dance again, but it would also set up the next season of the show! That is some serious script planning. But considering the characters in Bridgerton love throwing a party, and a ball would fit right in with the book's timeline, this is one theory we could totally see coming true.

What is the mirror scene in Bridgerton season 3?

twitter.com

In a new sneak peek from season 3 of Bridgerton, we see Penelope and Colin standing in front of a mirror (looking longingly at each other, of course). "A look such as this from Mister Colin Bridgerton would surely make even the most perennial of wallflowers swoon, would it not?" the official Bridgerton X account asks.

While Colin and Penelope don't share words in the clip, their hands do brush, which is something period drama fans always go crazy over. Plus, the sneak peek as a whole totally references the upcoming "mirror scene" (where Colin wants to have sex in front of a mirror so Penelope can see how beautiful she is) Bridgerton fans have been waiting for.

Watch This Official Clip From Bridgerton Season 3

Image via Netflix

After Colin told literally everyone at the Featherington ball that he would "never" court Penelope (I'm still fuming, TBH), he finally realizes something is wrong in their friendship. When he says he misses her, soft-spoken and sweet Penelope finally confronts him about the hurtful things he said at the party, which is exactly what he needs to hear if you ask me. If this man doesn't beg for her forgiveness I don't want it!! Watch the clip here.

The Newest Bridgerton Season 3 Clip Is All About Kate And Anthony

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey gave us the dance scene to rival all dance scenes during Bridgerton season 2 (the tension! The yearning! The eyebrows!). But as a married couple in season 3 of Bridgerton, they're all smiles! TBH, I would also be all smiles if I was married to either one of these people.

The First Season 3 Bridgerton Sneak Peek

Image via Netflix

There are two things I love aboutthis new season 3 Bridgerton clip: first, the tension and chemistry between Nicola Coughlan's Penelope and Luke Newton's Colin is SO REAL and I am HERE FOR IT. The second is how awkward this interaction is because when you realize you're falling in love with your best friend, it really is awkward sometimes. I cannot get enough of this duo and I can't wait to see them finally admit their feelings for each other (hopefully after some more will-they-won't-they pining) later this spring. Watch the sneak peek here.

Here's Your First Look At Season 3 Of Bridgerton

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) — who moonlights as town gossip Lady Whistledown — touted pale blue dresses that complemented her red hair, styled in soft waves.

"Do contain your excitement," the show tweeted, adding on Instagram, "The author is about to become the main character."

And according to Nicola, fans are in for a wild ride. The actress described her season as "magical," "romantic" and "quite scandalous" while speaking at Tudum's Brazil event, per Shondaland.

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Colin doesn't look too shabby either.

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

(Hopefully) a happy couple in the works!

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

...Or not as happy as we thought.

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

It looks like the loving couple are still enjoying marital bliss in season 3 of Bridgerton.

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Colin's expression makes us want to ask him, "Why so serious?"

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Colin may be showing Penelope potential suitors she can engage with.

Image via Liam Daniel/Netflix

Something is really concerning Lady Violet, but Francesca (played by Hannah Dodd who replaces Ruby Stokes) and Hyacinth seem to be taking it in stride.

Keep up to date with our season 3 Bridgerton news and let us know in the comments what you're looking forward to seeing in the new season!

Lead image via Liam Daniel/Netflix.

This post has been updated.