This week in music (video)

After seven years without having an official host, the 54th Annual Grammy Awards will have one again. Two time winner, LL Cool J isexcited to host the telecast in February.

American Idol returned on Wednesday and is kicking off Season 11. The same panel that gave fresh life to the show last year is back- Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and of course, host, Ryan Seacrest.

The Voice, approaching Season 2, does not return until February 5th. One of the judges Blake Shelton sadly lost his father this week. This forced Shelton tocancel some upcoming concerts but he will resume performing on January 26th.

In other news:

Singer Bruno Marscompleted above and beyond his community service requirements finally being cleared of cocaine charges from an incident last year.

Adele safely holds onto her number one album slot for the 16th week in a row.

Mega DJ Tiesto is premiering a new web series this week called In Booth. It will take you behind the scenes for the gigs of this electronic music superstar.
Here is the preview video. Get your best fist pump ready…

In album releases:

For kids that love good beats, Kidz Bop released its21st album. It includes kid friendly versions of songs like “Party Rock Anthem” and “Moves Like Jagger.”

Martina McBride released albumHits and More highlighting hits in her music career as well as a few new songs.

Gospel singer James Fortune and his ensemble FIYA released albumIdentity with songs sure to please and uplift fans of the genre.

Canadian singer and songwriter Kathleen Edwards released albumVoyaguer which she produced with Bon Iver.

And finally, alternative artist Ani DiFranco has politically charged new albumWhich Side Are You On? with original songs as well as her rendition of the protest song which the album is named after.