Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, December 10, 2008, Page 7, Image 7

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    il"? "(Jartlattò ©bseruer
D ecem b er IO, 2 0 0 8
Sullivan Scores
5 Grammy Nods
Jazmine Sullivan
Credits focus
on her writing
Jazm in e S u lliv an 's first song
w as a No. I hit on the R&B and
h ip -h o p charts, and her raspy
voice has draw n her co m p ari­
sons to L auryn Hill. S till, the
sin g e r-so n g w rite r w as stru g ­
g ling fo r nam e reco g n itio n in a
crow ded field o f music new com ­
ers.
The Recording A cadem y just
Page A 7
made it easier for her. On W ednes­
day, it nom inated her for five
G rammys, including best new art­
ist. Her nom inations match veter­
ans like John M ayer and A lison
Krauss.
And she's only 21.
"It's surreal," she said after the
nom inations cerem o n y at the
N okia Theatre. "I can't believe
they actually liked the project and
liked me as an artist."
Besides the best new artist
nom ination — w hich pits her
against the Jonas Brothers, U.K.
songstresses A dele and Duffy
and country act Lady A ntebel­
lu m — Sullivan'sC D , "Fearless,"
was nom inated for best contem ­
porary R&B album. She was also
nom inated for best female R&B
vocal for "Need U Bad," best
traditional R&B vocal for"ln Love
W ith A nother Man," and best
R&B song for "Bust Your W in­
dow s."
Pretty good for a singer who
was dropped by her first record
label.
As a teenager, Sullivan was
signed to Jive Records, she said.
But after tw o years, the label
scrapped her album and cut her
loose.
"M y story is on e o f p erse­
v erance
keeping y o u rse lf up
and learn in g from y o u r m is­
tak es," she said. "I d id all these
th in g s and I started really fo ­
cu sin g on my w riting. 1 did the
album and now I'm n om inated
for five G ram m ys."
Providence Festival of Trees
Rose Marie Crawford, dressed as one o f Santa's Elves,
joined in the Providence Festival o f Trees celebration,
dancing on stage with the Hollywood Dance Studio, along
with many other local dance troupes. Asked by Santa, “Why
aren't you working at the North Pole?“ she replied, "Be­
cause I'm dancing!" Hollywood Dance brings to the stage,
bright and talented performers. Friday, Dec. 4, kicked off
the festival with a gala evening, dinner and tree auction;
followed with the public show on Saturday and Sunday for
the entire family at the Oregon Convention Center. The
entertainment also included choir, orchestra and other
performances. (By Angela Gabriel)
H o o k e d o n M u s ic , W o m e n a n d C a r s
Back by Popular Demand
‘Cadillac Records’ shines on 50s, 60s genre
‘Single Ladies’ Hits No. 1
(A P ) - Dame 11M art i n could ha ve made as W aters, Mos D ef as Berry and Adrien
an entire m ovie about Muddy W aters. O r Brody as the label's founder, Polish em i­
gre Leonard Chess, M artin too often gives
Etta James. O r Chuck Berry.
them too little o f sub­
Instead, the writer-di-
stance with w hich to
rector has made a m ovie
work. She also shows
about all o f them with
us the racism o f the time
"Cadillac Records," cram ­
— w hich C hess ea r­
ming their com plicated
nestly, persistently tries
individual stories into the
to b reak th ro u g h by
larger saga o f Chicago-
bringing blues and R&B
based Chess Records, the
to a mass audience —
label that launched those
w ith facile platitudes
stars and so m any others
and
h a n d -h o ld in g
during the 1950s a n d '60s. Beyonce Knowles portrays
voiceover provided by
It's all here, over and Etta James in a scene from,
Cedric the Entertainer.
over, ju st as you've seen 'Cadillac Records.'
As songw riter W illie
it countless tim es before:
the early struggle, the rise to the top Dixon, Cedric tells us things that are al­
(accom panied by the obligatory m ontage ready obvious, things w e're already see­
o f press clippings and positions on the ing for ourselves: that these perform ers
Billboard chart), the waste o f fame and were hooked on music, w omen and cars
talent with various controlled substances. (nam ely C adillacs, hence the title), on the
Despite the glim m ers o f potential for flashy lifestyle talent and stardom af­
typically strong work from Jeffrey W right forded them.
OPRAH
O ld S chool M aster B arber R e g g ie B r o w n
H ours/D ays; I l-7 T u es-F ri • 10-7 Sat
Beyonce notched her fifth solo No. 1 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on Thursday, one
more than she scored as a member of Destiny’s
Child.
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," a track from the
R&B star's new solo album "I Am... Sasha Fierce,"
rose one place to the top, swapping places with
T.I.'s "Live You Life."
Another Beyonce song, "If I W ere a Boy," held
at No. 3, and anotherformerT.I. chart-topper, "What­
ever You Like." held at No. 4. Newcom er Lady
GaGa's "Just Dance" featuring Colby O'Donis rose
two places to No. 5.
Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" slipped one place to
No. 6, Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent" jum ped two
places to No. 7, Pink's "So What" was steady at No.
8, Britney Spears' "W omanizer" rose three places to
No. 9, and Jason Mraz's "I’m Yours" was up three to
No. 10.
Top debut honors w ent to Kanye West's "See
You in M y Nightmares" featuring Lil Wayne, which
started at No. 21. The song com es from W est's new
album, "808s & Heartbreak," which opened at No.
1 on the Bfflboartf 200 on Wednesday.
W IN F R E Y
Reggie’s Barber Shop
3 2 1 3 N E M a r tin L u th e r K in g , Jr. B Iv d •
503-280-0222
Specialize in all hair types, Straight razor cuts/ lines /shaves;
Sheers, Clippers and Fades
PRESENTS
PURE HEART! A BROADWAY HIT!
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B roadway
' across A merica
, PORTLAND
DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 4 • ONE WEEK ONLY!
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tk k e tm a s te r
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or 503-241-1802 m - f .9 - s
IN PERSON
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(211 Sf Caruthers Street)
CROUPS
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