India. Arie Back In The Grammy Race

Two time Grammy winner and multiple Grammy nominee, India.Arie added 3 more Grammy nominations to her resume last night, giving her an incredible career-total of 20 nominations. Honored this year for songs from her critically acclaimed album Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (Soulbird Music/Universal Republic), the singer collected nods for Best R&B Album, her fourth overall nomination in that category, making her one of the only artists to receive a Best R&B nomination for every album released in her career. India.Arie was also cited for Best R& B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for her duet with Musiq Soulchild, “Chocolate High,” and for her duet on “Pearls”, with Dobet Gnahore which snagged her a Best Urban/Alternative Performance nomination. Both songs are featured on Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics.

The Grammy nominations cap another superb year for the legendary singer/songwriter, who received across-the-board acclaim for her fourth studio album from critics and fans, completed a sold-out tour as special guest with singer John Legend, honored with the DC Branch NAACP Centennial Award, was featured as one of the Centric Network’s “Leading Women”, and even met the Dalai Lama.

Testimony Vol. 2, Love & Politics debuted at the top of the music charts, hitting # 1 on the Billboard Top R&B Chart and locking down the #3 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Chart upon its release. The New York Times called her, “one of the most determinedly virtuous songwriters in R&B or pop, India.Arie strives to make faith, goodness and positive thinking seductive,” while USA Today praised the effort as songs resounding “with keen insight and warm passion, giving Testimony a ring of truth."

“Chocolate High,” featuring Musiq Soulchild, was the #1 most added song at Urban AC in 2009, and rose to the top tier of the tastemaking format during a year that saw India.Arie make her way around the country for several other events, including a performance with Adele on the highly-rated VH1 Divas TV special in September, and fulfilling a lifelong dream of meeting the Dalai Lama this past fall. The singer even twittered about the once-in-a-lifetime meet-n-greet with the renowned humanitarian, which included the duo touring the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, where India.Arie performed two songs for the revered spiritual leader at a special show staged for the Museum.

With nearly eight million albums sold, India.Arie who emerged onto the music scene in 2001 with her double-platinum debut album Acoustic Soul, establishing herself both as artist and humanitarian of substance. Refusing throughout her career to succumb to female stereotypes that have plagued other female artists, she has worked steadily throughout her career to champion causes close to her heart. As a UN Ambassador for UNICEF, she has traveled to Africa numerous times to address the AIDS crisis, and is featured in the documentary Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd & India.Arie confront Aids In Africa. Her songs have appeared in such films as Sex and the City, The Secret Life of Bees, A Soldier’s Story, Radio, A Shark’s Tale and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, to name a few.

Among her Grammy wins and nominations, India.Arie has won a host of awards including 4 NAACP Awards, as well as being recognized and honored by BET, Billboard Magazine, MTV, VH1 and Essence Magazine, among others. India.Arie was also a featured guest in an evening of celebration with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in honor of musician Stevie Wonder’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The televised event “In Performance at the White House - Celebrating the Music of Stevie Wonder: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize” aired earlier this year on PBS. A one hour documentary on India.Arie was filmed this year and began airing this month on the Centric Network , BET Network's (a division of Viacom Inc.) new 24-hour entertainment channel as part of their “Leading Women” series. .

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 31st, 2010, and will air live on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 pm.

Robin Williams: Weapons Of Self Destruction on HBO. Sunday December 6th

ROBIN WILLIAMS: WEAPONS OF SELF DESTRUCTION,
THE SUPERSTAR’S FIRST HBO COMEDY EVENT IN SEVEN YEARS,
DEBUTS DEC. 6, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

Longtime HBO favorite Robin Williams, who first appeared on the network more than three decades ago, returns to HBO this month for a unique stand-up event from Washington, D.C., marking his first solo special on the network in seven years. Taped at DAR Constitution Hall in November and debuting SUNDAY, DEC. 6 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), the exclusive comedy event ROBIN WILLIAMS: WEAPONS OF SELF DESTRUCTION features the Oscar®-winner at one of the stops on his current sold-out national tour.
Other HBO playdates: Dec. 6 (12:20 a.m.), 9 (10:00 p.m., 3:10 a.m.), 15 (10:30 p.m.), 17 (3:05 a.m.), 19 (10:15 p.m.), 21 (11:35 p.m.), 23 (11:45 p.m.) and 29 (2:20 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Dec. 11 (8:00 p.m.), 22 (10:00 p.m.) and 24 (12:10 a.m.), and Jan. 1 (9:00 p.m.), 9 (3:00 a.m.) and 13 (11:15 p.m.)
In this performance, Williams covered such topics global warming, sex and politics, the state of health care in the country (suggesting a cash for clunkers program for elderly relatives, among other things), drugs – recreational and otherwise – and more personal topics, including his recent heart surgery.
Although he rocketed to fame in 1978 on the sitcom “Mork and Mindy,” Robin Williams was already familiar to HBO subscribers from his appearance on the 1977 “Young Comedians” special. He went on to star in four solo specials on the network: “On Location: Robin Williams” (1978), “An Evening with Robin Williams” (1983), “Robin Williams: An Evening at the Met” (1986) and “Robin Williams: Live on Broadway” (2002), which received five Emmy® nominations, in addition to performing on a variety of other HBO specials and series. Along with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, Williams was one of the hosts of all nine “Comic Relief” all-star charity benefit specials on HBO.
With four Golden Globe® awards, as well as the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award, four Grammys®, an Oscar® win for “Good Will Hunting” and three additional Oscar® nominations, Williams is one of the most successful and beloved figures in entertainment history. His other film credits include “The Fisher King,” “Dead Poets Society,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Awakenings,” “The Birdcage,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Insomnia,” “Happy Feet,” “Aladdin,” “Hook,” “Jumanji” and the “Night at the Museum” films. His recent credits include the dark comedy “World’s Greatest Dad” and the current Disney comedy “Old Dogs,” opposite John Travolta.