Awards / Awards Shows

Ice Cube, Kiefer Sutherland and Dave Navarro were among the stars in Vegas earlier this month at Spike TV's AutoRox Awards. The ceremony recognizes hot cars in categories like Car of the Year and Best Concept Car.

'EXTRA's' Carlos Diaz caught with the stars before the show.

Ice Cube will serve as host and perform. The ceremony airs tonight on Spike TV.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation presented its Vanguard Award to Theron at the 17th annual GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend. GLAAD commended for Theron for increasing "visibility and understanding in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender community."

Though Carey, 2005's biggest pop success, had a leading eight nominations and the chance to make history with the most Grammys won by a woman in a single night, she went home with just three trophies Wednesday. She lost in all of the major categories she was nominated for, including record, song and album of the year.

Instead, U2 got the glory, as the perennial favorites captured five Grammy awards for "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," including album of the year.

"We have to go through certain things in order to appreciate life and learn lessons," Carey told the TV show "Extra." Asked how she was doing, Carey replied, "I'm just in a really good, comfortable, happy place."

It was the second time U2 had won for best album since 1987, when it won for "The Joshua Tree." It was their 20th Grammy and the eighth for the album, which was released in late 2004 and also won three last year.

Hatcher's plum-colored dress with lace panels by Jean Paul Gaultier was sheer to the point that the boy-briefs she wore underneath the gown were clearly visible. Curly hair and strands of pearls completed her wild-girl look.

"The Grammys always push the envelope with fashion and that's what I'm doing," Hatcher said as she went into the Los Angeles ceremony.

Keys chose an Armani Prive black beaded gown with a plunging V-neck and a dramatic low back. It also had a front slit.

"Giorgio Armani made it especially for me. I feel like a winner," Keys told E!'s Ryan Seacrest.

Another sexy number was Christina Milian's silver halter-top Max Azria Atelier dress with a peek-a-boo bodice.

Fashion plate Gwen Stefani's one-shoulder, animal-print gown had a beaded empire waist, a necessary detail to accommodate her pregnant belly.

When she performed less than an hour later on the same stage where she tearfully accepted that award, the choice of song seemed obvious. Except it wasn't.

Instead of belting out "Since U Been Gone" one of the best 3-minutes of angst-ridden pop that mainstream music has produced in a good while Clarkson sang her ballad, "Because of You."

The former "American Idol" of all people should have known that song choice is everything.

Wearing a beautiful, flowing red dress, Clarkson (introduced by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger) strode out from beside a grand piano, singing with a strong, confident voice:

Clarkson won two Grammys on Wednesday night in Los Angeles: best pop vocal album for "Breakaway" and female pop vocal performance for "Since U Been Gone."

Accepting those awards, the 23-year-old Clarkson thanked everyone from the musicians who performed on her album to radio itself. "American Idol," however, went unmentioned.

Backstage at the Staples Center, she defended the omission: "I did thank the fans, and that's 'American Idol.'"

That the prestigious Recording Academy would honor a former reality TV contestant surprised many, but also excited her fans.

"I think it's amazing. It validates the show," said "Idol" judge Randy Jackson during a party afterward. "I'm really happy for her. I think she's really over the moon because I think she thought she'd never win it."

Ironically, "American Idol" still got the best of Clarkson in a way. The Fox show ran Wednesday evening opposite CBS' Grammys broadcast.

In the 16 years since Mariah Carey won the best new artist Grammy in 1990, she has more than lived up to the award's promise as one of the most successful recording artists in history. Yet despite a slew of blockbuster albums and megahit singles, her Grammy total never increased.

That finally changed Wednesday. She won three in the pre-telecast ceremony and had the opportunity to win four more, which means she could make history as the first female artist to win six or more in a single evening. (Norah Jones, Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill each won five.)

On the red carpet (which was actually green), suavely suited rappers mingled with ripped-jeans rockers. Cheers went up from fans every time anyone, recognizable or not, walked by.

One of the early arrivals was India.Arie, nominated for a Grammy with Stevie Wonder for pop collaboration with vocals on Wonder's "A Time to Love."

Ellen DeGeneres, whose hit daytime series won best talk show the last two years and who was also named best talk show host last year, has a chance to repeat in both categories. Her show earned 11 nominations overall.

After many years of being held in New York, the Daytime Emmys are moving West. The 33rd annual awards ceremony will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on April 28, televised by ABC.

"General Hospital," which has won eight Daytime Emmys as best soap opera, was nominated again. It will vie with "The Young and the Restless," "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns."

Nominees for lead actor in a daytime drama: Maurice Benard and Anthony Geary of "General Hospital," Robert Newman and Ron Raines of "Guiding Light" and Thorsten Kaye of "All My Children."

Bitter feuds and rivalries among some artists could make for some uncomfortable moments at the 48th annual Grammy Awards as battling stars attend the same ceremony.

Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich tells TMZ that anyone looking to start trouble on the show should be warned they could ruin their chances of being invited back. "We've had opportunities on the Grammys to have controversial moments and I don't do it, because I don't want the lead story the next day to be about [the controversy] and not who won awards."

Here's a look at some of the rivalries and feuds that could make the Grammys a showdown to watch:

AOL Celeb Spotlights

• Madonna
• Coldplay
• U2
• The Killers
• Kanye West
• 50 Cent
• Gwen Stefani
• Jay-Z
• R. Kelly

Stories abounded when a powerhouse lineup of Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, the Dixie Chicks, Dr. John and Taj Mahal kicked off Grammy week by honoring the 57-year-old Taylor as MusiCares Person of the Year on Monday night.

Crow was 12 when she saw Taylor at her first concert.

"It was the first time ever I heard 16,000 people sing in unison," she told 2,200 people at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "It was the first time I ever smelled pot and I knew I wanted to be a musician. This is for you, James. You changed my life."

Then she, Browne and Crosby launched into "Mexico," highlighted by a standout horn section.

Omarion covered his privates with a star (see video).

"It'll be such an important night," says the 61-year-old amateur cowboy and rodeo competitor, who feels that "Brokeback Mountain" tells the story of his own gay life and struggles in a strikingly personal way.

Gay activist groups are anticipating the March 5 Academy Awards, where "Brokeback Mountain" is favored to win as many as eight Oscars, as a rallying point and a crucial moment for their cause.

One group likens it to the April 1997 moment when Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on her sitcom. Susanne Salkind of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay rights group, said Oscar night will be an opportunity to raise gay issues "to another level in American culture."

Last Friday, the group sent e-mails to 120,000 members, encouraging them to hold house parties on Oscar night -- just as it did the night DeGeneres came out. It's also sending out "Oscar party kits" to help in recruiting, and is offering prizes of T-shirts, bags and watches, depending on how many new members get signed up.

"We want to transform this social occasion into something much more important," Salkind said.

TMZ has learned that Lance Armstrong canceled his scheduled appearance Wednesday at the 48th annual Grammy Awards. Armstrong was supposed to be a presenter at the show, but sources tell TMZ the award-winning cyclist canceled his appearance after his break-up with Sheryl Crow became public. Crow, who was engaged to Armstrong, has been nominated and is scheduled to attend.

Reps for Armstrong and Crow could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, this year's Grammy show may also be the litmus test for other celebrity relationships rumored to be in trouble. Madonna and Bruce Springsteen are both performing on the show -- there's a buzz that both of their marriages may be on the rocks.

Madonna has been married to filmmaker Guy Ritchie since 2000, and Springsteen has been married to singer Patti Scialfa since 1991. No word if Ritchie and Scialfa will attend Grammys.

Madonna's and Springsteen's reps were unavailable for comment.

Photo gallery

• Madonna
• Bruce Springsteen

Celeb spotlight

The screenplay was written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana and based on a short story by Annie Proulx. The film stars actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and received a leading eight Oscar nominations.

The writers of the ensemble drama "Crash," which follows the lives of a cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, won for best original screenplay. The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco based on a Haggis story.

In other awards, the ABC television show "Grey's Anatomy" won the writing award for a new series.

Larry David, the writer and star of the HBO comedy "Curb Your Enthusiasm," won for best writing in a comedy series.

The crew of writers for the hit ABC show "Lost" were honored in the dramatic series category.

In the television animation category, Michael Price won for "Mommie Beerest" an episode on the long-running Fox show "The Simpsons."