Chart-Toppers, Show-stoppers and Family

~ The American Music Awards (AMAs) have been given out and American Idol alums Carrie Underwood & (Chris) Daughtry each won 3 awards. I don't quite understand the relevance of the AMAs, but Mary J Blige did perform her new single "Just Fine" and as usual, she brought it. Hail Mary!

There was also a country-fied version of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable". I'm filing this under "Interesting".

If you want the complete list of winners, they're all here.

~ The other big news over the weekend was the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which is becoming a major media and entertainment event.

This year's musical guests were the Spice Girls who performed their lame-o 'return' single and thankfully some older hits, but it was Heidi Klum's duet with her husband Seal that made just as many headlines as the eye-popping collection of lingerie.


~ Over in the UK, Leona Lewis, who won last year's X Factor talent competition, made an impressive #1 debut on the British album chart (selling 375,872 copies). Leona is also #1 on the singles chart with "Bleeding Love", which has gone on to sell almost half a million copies.

The album is going to get a US & Asia release in March next year, and if her record label markets her well, Leona's gonna be huge, cos this girl can sing, and you know this song will be huge-r at karaoke bars all across Asia and beyond.



~ As the Writer Guild Of America continues it's strike, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge one of TV's best-written series - Brothers & Sisters.

Set in LA, Brothers & Sisters tells the story of the Walker clan, with their complex dynamic and even more complex personalities. All strong, all vocal, all distinct.

The series debuted last year amidst some chaotic last-minute cast changes but ratings have continued to rise and the 2nd season has just debuted in the US.

I've been doing lots of catching up over these past few weeks, and having watched half of Season 1's DVD boxset, I cannot evangelize enough about this well-crafted, multi-layered, honest, mature, funny and refreshing look at family.

And the cast, led by Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths and Rob Lowe, adds star power to considerable acting chops. You can get more info, and hear from the writers behind Brothers & Sisters here.