Michael, Maxwell and Miley: The music you bought this week

Fans continued to feverishly purchase Michael Jackson albums in the days after his Staples Center memorial last week. More than 1.1 million copies of Jackson's catalog were sold through Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures released to Billboard.

Jackson was expected to be the week's hot seller, but it was a bit of a surprise to see the numbers increase once again. Overall, Jackson's sales jumped 37% over the previous week. His sales were led by "Number Ones," which sold 349,000 copies, followed by "Thriller," which sold 264,000 copies.

Jackson again, however, is relegated to Billboard's catalog charts, as are any albums that are older than 18 months and have fallen below No. 100 on the U.S. pop chart. In two and a half weeks, Jackson titles have sold 2.3 million copies.

On the current U.S. pop charts, R&B singer Maxwell leads. His "BLACKsummers'night" opened with 316,000 copies, and Billboard reports that's a career best. His last album, 2001's "Now," debuted with 296,000 copies.

Also new is Miley Cyrus' latest soundtrack to the "Hannah Montana" TV series. The album lands at No. 3, having sold 137,000 copies in its first week. That number is significantly lower than some past "Hannah Montana"-branded titles. A 2006 soundtrack to the Disney Channel series sold 281,000 copies in its first week, and a double-disc effort in 2007 bowed with 326,000 copies.

Yet don't make the mistake of thinking that "Hannah Montana" has run its course.

The MTV Video Music Awards will head back to New York for its Sept. 13 telecast, once again tapping English comedian Russell Brand as host. Unknown at this point is whether or not he'll have the Jonas Brothers to push around again, but country superstar Taylor Swift and Brit rockers Muse are scheduled to appear. 

The MTV VMAs will air one week prior to the Emmys, which had to re-jigger its date so as to not conflict with MTV's mutli-hour pat-on-the-back (the latter, by the way, officially announced Neil Patrick Harris as host Monday). This year's VMAs will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York. Last year's telecast was staged on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood. 

While Brand was far from truly controversial last year, MTV got plenty of mileage out of having him host the show. He poked fun at the Jonas Brothers for wearing purity rings,labeled President George W. Bush as a "retarded cowboy" and didn't shy away from mocking Bristol Palin. 

In her post-gala assessment, The Times' Ann Powers gave a more positive than not review of Brand. "Brand's focused transgressiveness was a relief amid this happily hedonistic, conformist bunch," Powers wrote. "Nobody seems to remember when rockers were supposed to rattle the jewelry of the folks who attend glittery galas. But then, MTV has long trafficked in turning rebelliousness into a commodity. Brand, saying uncontainable things, upset the apple cart."

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Getty Images

The display is a new version of the one the L.A. institution had shown since February.

Jeanne LaCroix of Woodland Hills gazed with a wistful smile at the images unspooling across two giant screens inside downtown L.A.'s Grammy Museum: a teenage Michael Jackson surrounded by his brothers as they announced the name of a winner at the 1974 Grammy Awards ceremony.

When the montage shifted to the moment 10 years later when he strode onstage in a knockout blue sequined jacket with blinding gold epaulets to collect the producer of the year trophy he shared with Quincy Jones for their work on "Thriller," LaCroix's head snapped around to the glass display case immediately behind her.

"Do they have that jacket in there?" she said to her 13-year-old daughter, Brianna.

No, but there were four other equally dazzling specimens from Jackson's spectacular wardrobe: the turquoise jacket decorated with Swarovski crystal from the Jacksons' 1984 Victory tour; a midnight blue and gold number he wore to the unveiling of his star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame; the blood red jacket with sparkling gold piping he chose for an American Music Awards show; and the red, white, blue and gold model he put on for the United We Stand concert after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Positioned amid the glitz-heavy jackets and two sequined gloves circa 1988 -- both right-hand only -- was a simple white Hugo Boss suit. LaCroix and other visitors to the museum Wednesday were momentarily puzzled at the uncharacteristically plain outfit until they recognized it as the one Jackson wore on the cover of the "Thriller" album.

"It's amazing to see these," said a wide-eyed Michelle Wallace, on vacation in L.A. from Waverly, Iowa, with her husband, Scott, and teenage daughters Bailee and Courtney. Michelle wore a black T-shirt with Jackson's image and the words "In Loving Memory -- Michael Jackson."

The late singer's influence imbues the hastily revised BET awards.

Cheers greeted Janet Jackson when she appeared on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday at the end of the BET Awards, but her face was etched with pain. For several moments, her mouth quivered, and it looked as if she might not be able to speak.

"My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to speak for all of us," she finally said.

It's been only four days since her brother Michael Jackson died suddenly, shocking the world. The award ceremony, which had previously been scheduled to honor athletes, musicians and actors, was transformed to a hastily organized celebration of Jackson and his music.

The ceremony was largely joyous and celebratory, but the mood changed when Janet Jackson came on stage.

"To you, Michael is an icon, but to us Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, and thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much."

The event, the first large-scale entertainment industry gathering since Jackson's death, took on such a high profile that CNN broadcast live from the red carpet before the show.

When the show finally began, host Jamie Foxx wasted no time in kicking off the Jackson-flavored festivities.

"There's no need to be sad," Foxx shouted, appearing in a red leather jacket similar to the one Jackson wore in his famous "Beat It" video and a single glove. He re-created several of the entertainer's vintage leg kicks and shuffles.

He yelled out, "You should be standing up!" and the overflow audience appeared electrified as the pounding thumps of the song followed by another Jackson classic, "Rock With You," filled the auditorium.

Foxx, who was almost as adept in channeling Jackson as he was in portraying Ray Charles in his Oscar-winning performance in "Ray," tried to moonwalk across the Shrine stage.

Rapper Lil Wayne, who accepted the award for male hip-hop artist, said, "None of us would be in this room without Michael Jackson."

Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James praised the music of Jackson and his family. Eddie Levert, leader of the O'Jays, who accepted the show's lifetime achievement award, told anecdotes of Jackson as a young artist, laced with a profanity. And Ne-Yo, who has often been compared to Jackson, sang a poignant version of Jackson's ballad "The Lady in My Life."

Watching from the audience was Jackson's father, Joe, who sat in the front row next to the Rev. Al Sharpton. The elder Jackson, who was wearing a black suit, sunglasses and a black hat, ignited a frenzy when he appeared near the red carpet just minutes before the live broadcast, as numerous media outlets rushed him for an interview.

"The family and I are doing OK, about as well as we can at this point," he said at one point.

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

MTV Video Music Awards once again turns to Russell Brand

The MTV Video Music Awards will head back to New York for its Sept. 13 telecast, once again tapping English comedian Russell Brand as host. Unknown at this point is whether or not he'll have the Jonas Brothers to push around again, but country superstar Taylor Swift and Brit rockers Muse are scheduled to appear. 

The MTV VMAs will air one week prior to the Emmys, which had to re-jigger its date so as to not conflict with MTV's mutli-hour pat-on-the-back (the latter, by the way, officially announced Neil Patrick Harris as host Monday). This year's VMAs will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York. Last year's telecast was staged on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood. 

While Brand was far from truly controversial last year, MTV got plenty of mileage out of having him host the show. He poked fun at the Jonas Brothers for wearing purity rings,labeled President George W. Bush as a "retarded cowboy" and didn't shy away from mocking Bristol Palin. 

In her post-gala assessment, The Times' Ann Powers gave a more positive than not review of Brand. "Brand's focused transgressiveness was a relief amid this happily hedonistic, conformist bunch," Powers wrote. "Nobody seems to remember when rockers were supposed to rattle the jewelry of the folks who attend glittery galas. But then, MTV has long trafficked in turning rebelliousness into a commodity. Brand, saying uncontainable things, upset the apple cart."

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Getty Images

The display is a new version of the one the L.A. institution had shown since February.

Jeanne LaCroix of Woodland Hills gazed with a wistful smile at the images unspooling across two giant screens inside downtown L.A.'s Grammy Museum: a teenage Michael Jackson surrounded by his brothers as they announced the name of a winner at the 1974 Grammy Awards ceremony.

When the montage shifted to the moment 10 years later when he strode onstage in a knockout blue sequined jacket with blinding gold epaulets to collect the producer of the year trophy he shared with Quincy Jones for their work on "Thriller," LaCroix's head snapped around to the glass display case immediately behind her.

"Do they have that jacket in there?" she said to her 13-year-old daughter, Brianna.

No, but there were four other equally dazzling specimens from Jackson's spectacular wardrobe: the turquoise jacket decorated with Swarovski crystal from the Jacksons' 1984 Victory tour; a midnight blue and gold number he wore to the unveiling of his star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame; the blood red jacket with sparkling gold piping he chose for an American Music Awards show; and the red, white, blue and gold model he put on for the United We Stand concert after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Positioned amid the glitz-heavy jackets and two sequined gloves circa 1988 -- both right-hand only -- was a simple white Hugo Boss suit. LaCroix and other visitors to the museum Wednesday were momentarily puzzled at the uncharacteristically plain outfit until they recognized it as the one Jackson wore on the cover of the "Thriller" album.

"It's amazing to see these," said a wide-eyed Michelle Wallace, on vacation in L.A. from Waverly, Iowa, with her husband, Scott, and teenage daughters Bailee and Courtney. Michelle wore a black T-shirt with Jackson's image and the words "In Loving Memory -- Michael Jackson."

The late singer's influence imbues the hastily revised BET awards.

Cheers greeted Janet Jackson when she appeared on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday at the end of the BET Awards, but her face was etched with pain. For several moments, her mouth quivered, and it looked as if she might not be able to speak.

"My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to speak for all of us," she finally said.

It's been only four days since her brother Michael Jackson died suddenly, shocking the world. The award ceremony, which had previously been scheduled to honor athletes, musicians and actors, was transformed to a hastily organized celebration of Jackson and his music.

The ceremony was largely joyous and celebratory, but the mood changed when Janet Jackson came on stage.

"To you, Michael is an icon, but to us Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, and thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much."

The event, the first large-scale entertainment industry gathering since Jackson's death, took on such a high profile that CNN broadcast live from the red carpet before the show.

When the show finally began, host Jamie Foxx wasted no time in kicking off the Jackson-flavored festivities.

"There's no need to be sad," Foxx shouted, appearing in a red leather jacket similar to the one Jackson wore in his famous "Beat It" video and a single glove. He re-created several of the entertainer's vintage leg kicks and shuffles.

He yelled out, "You should be standing up!" and the overflow audience appeared electrified as the pounding thumps of the song followed by another Jackson classic, "Rock With You," filled the auditorium.

Foxx, who was almost as adept in channeling Jackson as he was in portraying Ray Charles in his Oscar-winning performance in "Ray," tried to moonwalk across the Shrine stage.

Rapper Lil Wayne, who accepted the award for male hip-hop artist, said, "None of us would be in this room without Michael Jackson."

Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James praised the music of Jackson and his family. Eddie Levert, leader of the O'Jays, who accepted the show's lifetime achievement award, told anecdotes of Jackson as a young artist, laced with a profanity. And Ne-Yo, who has often been compared to Jackson, sang a poignant version of Jackson's ballad "The Lady in My Life."

Watching from the audience was Jackson's father, Joe, who sat in the front row next to the Rev. Al Sharpton. The elder Jackson, who was wearing a black suit, sunglasses and a black hat, ignited a frenzy when he appeared near the red carpet just minutes before the live broadcast, as numerous media outlets rushed him for an interview.

"The family and I are doing OK, about as well as we can at this point," he said at one point.

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

Michael Jackson fans flock to Grammy Museum exhibit

The display is a new version of the one the L.A. institution had shown since February.

Jeanne LaCroix of Woodland Hills gazed with a wistful smile at the images unspooling across two giant screens inside downtown L.A.'s Grammy Museum: a teenage Michael Jackson surrounded by his brothers as they announced the name of a winner at the 1974 Grammy Awards ceremony.

When the montage shifted to the moment 10 years later when he strode onstage in a knockout blue sequined jacket with blinding gold epaulets to collect the producer of the year trophy he shared with Quincy Jones for their work on "Thriller," LaCroix's head snapped around to the glass display case immediately behind her.

"Do they have that jacket in there?" she said to her 13-year-old daughter, Brianna.

No, but there were four other equally dazzling specimens from Jackson's spectacular wardrobe: the turquoise jacket decorated with Swarovski crystal from the Jacksons' 1984 Victory tour; a midnight blue and gold number he wore to the unveiling of his star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame; the blood red jacket with sparkling gold piping he chose for an American Music Awards show; and the red, white, blue and gold model he put on for the United We Stand concert after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Positioned amid the glitz-heavy jackets and two sequined gloves circa 1988 -- both right-hand only -- was a simple white Hugo Boss suit. LaCroix and other visitors to the museum Wednesday were momentarily puzzled at the uncharacteristically plain outfit until they recognized it as the one Jackson wore on the cover of the "Thriller" album.

"It's amazing to see these," said a wide-eyed Michelle Wallace, on vacation in L.A. from Waverly, Iowa, with her husband, Scott, and teenage daughters Bailee and Courtney. Michelle wore a black T-shirt with Jackson's image and the words "In Loving Memory -- Michael Jackson."

The late singer's influence imbues the hastily revised BET awards.

Cheers greeted Janet Jackson when she appeared on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday at the end of the BET Awards, but her face was etched with pain. For several moments, her mouth quivered, and it looked as if she might not be able to speak.

"My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to speak for all of us," she finally said.

It's been only four days since her brother Michael Jackson died suddenly, shocking the world. The award ceremony, which had previously been scheduled to honor athletes, musicians and actors, was transformed to a hastily organized celebration of Jackson and his music.

The ceremony was largely joyous and celebratory, but the mood changed when Janet Jackson came on stage.

"To you, Michael is an icon, but to us Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, and thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much."

The event, the first large-scale entertainment industry gathering since Jackson's death, took on such a high profile that CNN broadcast live from the red carpet before the show.

When the show finally began, host Jamie Foxx wasted no time in kicking off the Jackson-flavored festivities.

"There's no need to be sad," Foxx shouted, appearing in a red leather jacket similar to the one Jackson wore in his famous "Beat It" video and a single glove. He re-created several of the entertainer's vintage leg kicks and shuffles.

He yelled out, "You should be standing up!" and the overflow audience appeared electrified as the pounding thumps of the song followed by another Jackson classic, "Rock With You," filled the auditorium.

Foxx, who was almost as adept in channeling Jackson as he was in portraying Ray Charles in his Oscar-winning performance in "Ray," tried to moonwalk across the Shrine stage.

Rapper Lil Wayne, who accepted the award for male hip-hop artist, said, "None of us would be in this room without Michael Jackson."

Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James praised the music of Jackson and his family. Eddie Levert, leader of the O'Jays, who accepted the show's lifetime achievement award, told anecdotes of Jackson as a young artist, laced with a profanity. And Ne-Yo, who has often been compared to Jackson, sang a poignant version of Jackson's ballad "The Lady in My Life."

Watching from the audience was Jackson's father, Joe, who sat in the front row next to the Rev. Al Sharpton. The elder Jackson, who was wearing a black suit, sunglasses and a black hat, ignited a frenzy when he appeared near the red carpet just minutes before the live broadcast, as numerous media outlets rushed him for an interview.

"The family and I are doing OK, about as well as we can at this point," he said at one point.

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

BET Awards' call to celebration

The late singer's influence imbues the hastily revised BET awards.

Cheers greeted Janet Jackson when she appeared on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday at the end of the BET Awards, but her face was etched with pain. For several moments, her mouth quivered, and it looked as if she might not be able to speak.

"My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to speak for all of us," she finally said.

It's been only four days since her brother Michael Jackson died suddenly, shocking the world. The award ceremony, which had previously been scheduled to honor athletes, musicians and actors, was transformed to a hastily organized celebration of Jackson and his music.

The ceremony was largely joyous and celebratory, but the mood changed when Janet Jackson came on stage.

"To you, Michael is an icon, but to us Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, and thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much."

The event, the first large-scale entertainment industry gathering since Jackson's death, took on such a high profile that CNN broadcast live from the red carpet before the show.

When the show finally began, host Jamie Foxx wasted no time in kicking off the Jackson-flavored festivities.

"There's no need to be sad," Foxx shouted, appearing in a red leather jacket similar to the one Jackson wore in his famous "Beat It" video and a single glove. He re-created several of the entertainer's vintage leg kicks and shuffles.

He yelled out, "You should be standing up!" and the overflow audience appeared electrified as the pounding thumps of the song followed by another Jackson classic, "Rock With You," filled the auditorium.

Foxx, who was almost as adept in channeling Jackson as he was in portraying Ray Charles in his Oscar-winning performance in "Ray," tried to moonwalk across the Shrine stage.

Rapper Lil Wayne, who accepted the award for male hip-hop artist, said, "None of us would be in this room without Michael Jackson."

Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James praised the music of Jackson and his family. Eddie Levert, leader of the O'Jays, who accepted the show's lifetime achievement award, told anecdotes of Jackson as a young artist, laced with a profanity. And Ne-Yo, who has often been compared to Jackson, sang a poignant version of Jackson's ballad "The Lady in My Life."

Watching from the audience was Jackson's father, Joe, who sat in the front row next to the Rev. Al Sharpton. The elder Jackson, who was wearing a black suit, sunglasses and a black hat, ignited a frenzy when he appeared near the red carpet just minutes before the live broadcast, as numerous media outlets rushed him for an interview.

"The family and I are doing OK, about as well as we can at this point," he said at one point.

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

A patriot for changing times, Brad Paisley decides his music has room to grow and dives hat first into ‘American Saturday Night.’

In the decade since country singer Brad Paisley put out his debut album, the kid from Glen Dale, W.Va., has concocted a savvy musical amalgam of Roger Miller's songwriting wit, Buck Owens' hard-rocking twang and Chet Atkins' guitar wizardry. But there's powerful evidence of another influence at work in Paisley's music, one of the titans of American popular culture: Mark Twain. 

 Like Twain's youthful literary hero Tom Sawyer, Paisley frequently couples wisdom with a finely honed sense of humor, and appears to share Huck Finn's disenchantment with the emphasis that all those grown-ups around him place on becoming "sivilized." 

In hits such as "Online," "Celebrity" and "Ticks," he's proved to be a skillful sneak, slipping in the kind of clever ideas and wordplay that few of his peers at the top of the country sales charts dare to venture. He's tackled the subject of alcohol abuse from different vantage points in two hit songs, the whimsical "Alcohol" and the artistic punch to the gut "Whiskey Lullaby," his award-winningduet with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

Paisley's eighth album, "American Saturday Night," due out Tuesday, has the usual complement of straightforward love songs (the first single, "Then"), ruminations on love lost ("Oh Yeah, You're Gone") and humorous come-ons ("You Do the Math").

But what is likely to elevate Paisley's standing as a musician, both in and potentially outside of the Nashville music community, are two key tracks: the title song and "Welcome to the Future," both of which broach topics that also were favorites of Samuel Clemens.

Read the full story: Brad Paisley breaks the pattern

Related: Brad Paisley: Album by album

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

BET Awards: Live chatting -- now!

What had promised to be a typical pat-on-the-back award show telecast will now probably take on a more somber note. BET is promising its Sunday night awards to be a Michael Jackson tribute of sorts. 

Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, told the Associated Press that this Sunday's BET Awards would be undergoing "a total overhaul," with performers added and performances being changed.

Ne-Yo, pictured, and Beyonce will appear, as will Justin Timberlake, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Maxwell, Monica and more. We'll be here hosting a live chat, discussing the performances and the tributes. Join in and share in the fun. 

The party starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

Should the Grammys follow Oscars' lead?

This morning's news that the Academy Awards will widen the best picture category from five to 10 films has put the Grammys on the opposite end of an award show trend. Earlier this year, the Emmys announced they would expand nominations in a number of categories from five to six.

Should the Grammys follow suit? The Recording Academy's telecast is already bloated, featuring a whopping 109 categories (take that, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and your 24 fields!). Yet it's in the best interest of the Recording Academy to have a high number of categories.The more labels and artists in the running, the more people to recruit for memberships ($100 per year). 

Having such a high number of albums up for consideration also allows Recording Academy voters to save face. Among the 109 fields, there's plenty of quality work, even if it's not represented in the major categories. When Radiohead lost album of the year, it was still a Grammy winner, having earlier taken alternative music album.

Everyone's a winner, and everyone's happy.

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

Jonas Brothers: Is the magic still there? And chart news on Jay-Z, Pete Yorn and more

Last summer, the Jonas Brothers sold more than half a million copies when they landed atop the U.S. pop charts with “A Little Bit Longer.” What a difference a year makes. The Disney powerhouse still lands at No. 1 with its latest, “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” but a little of the magic appears to be gone.

First week sales for the newest topped off at 247,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That gives the Jonas kids a healthy lead over the Black Eyed Peas' “The E.N.D.” (Interscope), which falls to No. 2 in its second week of release, but may cast some doubt as to just how much is left in the Jonas Brothers' tank.

Disney has had the boys working, as the Jonas Brothers have released four studio albums in less than three years. The brand has also spawned a 3-D concert film, a Disney Channel film in “Camp Rock” and a recent Disney Channel series, “Jonas.”

The marketing blitz has been designed to keep the Jonas Brothers in the lucrative tween-pop world, all while expanding their fan base to a more grown-up market. The Jonas Brothers partnered with Stevie Wonder at last year’s Grammys, and are gradually bringing on more adult themes in their music, but lead-off single “Paranoid” hasn’t been burning up the charts yet.

Fellow Disney peer Miley Cyrus, for instance, is still in the top 25 of iTunes’ bestselling singles with "The Climb,” which sees her making overtures to the country world, but “Paranoid” is languishing farther down – at No. 56 today. On Billboard's Hot 100, the cut hit No. 60 last week, which is down from its peak of No. 37, a high-water mark last month based on first week digital download sales. So far, it's sold 192,000 digital downloads.

Other notes on this week’s chart, including news on the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Pete Yorn below:

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

Black Eyed Peas' 'The E.N.D.' has a smashing beginning, but the people want Drake

Local hip-hop outfit the Black Eyed Peas score a rare feat on this week's pop chart, becoming one of the few mainstream acts to experience a first-week sales increase over its last album. The group's fifth full-length release, "The E.N.D." (Interscope), became its first to debut at No. 1, selling 304,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released on Billboard. 

In 2005, the Black Eyed Peas bowed at No. 2 with "Monkey Business," which sold 291,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 4.19 million. This year alone has seen such popular artists as U2, Kelly Clarkson and Eminem fail to live up to the sales numbers they set earlier in their careers.  

"The E.N.D." came with a lengthy setup, which included an appearance on "American Idol," and the March release of the single "Boom Boom Pow." The cut has topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and has sold 2.8 million downloads. 

The song is still generating heat. According to data provided by BigChampagne Media Measurement, "Boom Boom Pow" ranked in YouTube's top-five streams in the last week, generating more than 1.6 million views. It's iTunes' No. 2 song, topped by another track from "The E.N.D.," "I Gotta Feeling." 

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye? 

'Thug Story' and beyond: The Taylor Swift award show reign begins

Carrie Underwood may have been the entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but the baton was passed to Taylor Swift last night at Country Music Television Awards gala. The artist won video of the year for her "Love Story," and while the telecast is nothing but a mega-commercial for the video network, expect it to be the beginning of T-Swift's award show winnings over the course of the next year.

She won the top prize at the video ceremony last year, but now she's begining her victory lap for her sophmore effort "Fearless." Swift's Disney-esque "Love Story" clip also won female video of the year, and she closed the ceremony performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Def Leppard. The appearance was to hype the DVD release of Swift and Leppard's "Crossroads" special, but it also felt like a nod to the arena-pop era of country that was ushered in by Leppard's producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain.

Other major winners included Brad Paisley, who took home best male video for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Rascal Flatts, which won group video of the year for "Every Day." Sugarland won duo of the year for "All I Want to Do," and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" was named breakthrough video.

Spectacle reigned supreme tonight, with the B-52's joining Sugarland for a cover of "Love Shack," and Swift opening the show by donning Vulcan ears and playing "Star Trek." A few moments later, she joined T-Pain for a novelty rap titled "Thug Story" -- a certain iTunes hit if it gets released (it's embedded below, and we apologize for the ad in the clip). Playing the character of "T-Sweezy," Swift declares that she's never really been in a club, still lives with her parents, and charmed while delivering Weird Al-worthy lines. Rapped Swift, "What? What? I knit sweaters, yo!"

Indeed, the night was largely a showcase for the young star, who still seems to be on the rise despite already being the top-selling artist of 2008. Her 2008 album "Fearless" has already sold more than 3.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and with a sold-out tour, as well as the ability to not take herself too seriously, Swift further set herself up for a massive number of nominations come Grammy time at the end of this year.

Her "Fearless" was released too late to be considered for the Grammys that aired in February, but its momentum isn't slowing. Expect a sales bump going into next week, and expect her to score an album of the year nod. Can we she win? We're not putting it past her. As she rapped tonight, "You don't want to fight me / In my extra-small white T." Did you catch that, Kanye?