Chic Galleria » Suzanne Crumbacher

Grammy’s 2012: Nominations Announced

Suzanne Crumbacher — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:29:16 +0000

The Grammy nominations are in! Once again it is time to root for our favorite artists. The anticipated awards show will air live on February 12, 2012 on CBS.

Here is a summary and breakdown of this year’s nominations. Kanye West tops the nominations with seven. Adele, Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars each garner six nods; and Lil Wayne and Skrillex each are up for five awards. Drake, Paul Epworth, Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Nicki Minaj, Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) each receive four nominations.

No doubt, Kanye West is hoping for the success he had two years ago when he took home two of his six nominations. Like this year, two years ago he placed multiple times with his “Run This Town” which won him two Grammys, one for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, along with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and the other for Best Rap Song. West has a total of 14 Grammy Awards of his 36 career nominations.

This year Adele is up for six nominations. Although it seems like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” has been around for a long time. Its release in Great Britain and most of Europe in January 2011 and release in the U.S in February 2011 makes this year Adele’s first Grammy debut. Although Kanye has one more nomination than Adele this year, Adele places in the coveted Album of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep” going against Lady Gaga “Born This Way” and Bruno Mars “Doo-Wops & Hooligans.” Bruno Mars is nominated for six Grammys, as well, this year. Last year he took the award for “Just the Way You Are” Best Male Pop Vocal Performance after six nominations.

Nicki Minaj garners four nominations this year: Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance (for the song “Moment 4 Life” with Drake), Best Rap Album (“Pink Friday”), and Album of the Year (for her songwriting work on Rihanna’s album “Loud”). Nicki Minaj competes with The Band Parry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, and Skrillex for Best New Artist. For Best Rap Album, Minaj’s “Pink Friday” is up against Jay-Z & Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West’s albums. Last year, Minaj lost her first chance for a Grammy in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group when Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz won it for “On To The Next One.” Minaj has a good chance for a Grammy win this year. Her platinum-selling debut album, Pink Friday, became the first artist ever to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. She’s won nine BET Awards and been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, as well as four Billboard Music Awards.

Check out the nominations list below for your favorites and be sure to watch The 54^th Grammy’s live on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 8/7c on CBS.

Album Of The Year:

21 — Adele

Wasting Light — Foo Fighters

Born This Way — Lady Gaga

Doo-Wops & Hooligans — Bruno Mars

Loud — Rihanna
Record Of The Year:

“Rolling In The Deep” — Adele

“Holocene” — Bon Iver

“Grenade” — Bruno Mars

“The Cave” — Mumford & Sons

“Firework” — Katy Perry

Best New Artist:

The Band Perry

Bon Iver

J. Cole

Nicki Minaj

Skrillex

Song Of The Year:

“All Of The Lights” — Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters

(Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)

“The Cave” — Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)

“Grenade” — Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt,

songwriters (Bruno Mars)

“Holocene” — Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)

“Rolling In The Deep” — Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)

POP FIELD

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Someone Like You” — Adele

“Yoü And I” — Lady Gaga

“Grenade” — Bruno Mars

“Firework” — Katy Perry

“F***in’ Perfect” — Pink

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

“Body And Soul” — Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

“Dearest” — The Black Keys

“Paradise” — Coldplay

“Pumped Up Kicks” — Foster The People

“Moves Like Jagger” — Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera

DANCE FIELD

Best Dance Recording:

“Raise Your Weapon” — Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech

“Barbra Streisand” — Duck Sauce

“Sunshine” — David Guetta & Avicii

“Call Your Girlfriend” — Robyn

“Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” — Skrillex

“Save The World” — Swedish House Mafia

ROCK FIELD

Best Rock Performance:

“Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” — Coldplay

“Down By The Water” — The Decemberists

“Walk” — Foo Fighters

“The Cave” — Mumford & Sons

“Lotus Flower” — Radiohead

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance:

“On The Backs Of Angels” — Dream Theater

“White Limo” — Foo Fighters

“Curl Of The Burl”— Mastodon

“Public Enemy No. 1″ — Megadeth

“Blood In My Eyes”— Sum 41

Best Rock Album:

Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul — Jeff Beck

Wasting Light — Foo Fighters

Come Around Sundown — Kings Of Leon

I’m With You — Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Whole Love — Wilco

ALTERNATIVE FIELD

Best Alternative Music Album

Bon Iver — Bon Iver

Codes And Keys — Death Cab For Cutie

Torches — Foster The People

Circuital — My Morning Jacket

The King Of Limbs — Radiohead

R&B FIELD

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

“Sometimes I Cry” — Eric Benét

“Fool For You” — Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

“Radio Message” — R. Kelly

“Good Man” — Raphael Saadiq

“Surrender” — Betty Wright & The Roots

Best R&B Album:

F.A.M.E. — Chris Brown

Second Chance — El DeBarge

Love Letter — R. Kelly

Pieces Of Me — Ledisi

Kelly — Kelly Price

RAP FIELD

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:

“Party” — Beyoncé & André 3000

“I’m On One” — DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne

“I Need A Doctor” — Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey

“What’s My Name?” — Rihanna & Drake

“Motivation” — Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne

“All Of The Lights” — Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Best Rap Performance:

“Look At Me Now” — Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes

“Otis” — Jay-Z & Kanye West

“The Show Goes On” — Lupe Fiasco

“Moment 4 Life” — Nicki Minaj & Drake

“Black And Yellow” — Wiz Khalifa

COUNTRY FIELD

Best Country Solo Performance:

“Dirt Road Anthem” — Jason Aldean

“I’m Gonna Love You Through It” — Martina McBride

“Honey Bee” — Blake Shelton

“Mean” — Taylor Swift

“Mama’s Song” — Carrie Underwood

Best Country Song:

“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” — Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)

“God Gave Me You” — Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)

“Just Fishin’” — Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)

“Mean” — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)

“Threaten Me With Heaven” — Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O’Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)

“You And Tequila” — Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter)

AMERICAN ROOTS FIELD

Best Americana Album:

Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney

Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder

Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris

Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm

Blessed — Lucinda Williams

Best Blues Album:

Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman

Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball

Man In Motion — Warren Haynes

The Reflection — Keb’ Mo’

Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best Folk Album:

Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars

I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle

Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes

Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder

The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch

Suzanne Crumbacher is Social Media Director for ChicGalleria.com. Besides owning her own network of blogs and writing freelance, she has a certificate in fashion design, and a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. This U.S. East coast native now lives in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters. In her college years, she traveled to Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, all over the U.S., one month stay in Hawaii, and studied in Canada for 2 1/2 years. Suzanne loves social media interaction, so tweet her at @TheDivasReport, like Facebook and circle her at Google+. Read and comment on more Suzanne Crumbacher articles…

This Weekend’s Most Outrageous Halloween Costumes

Suzanne Crumbacher — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:27:31 +0000

Happy Halloween everyone!! Even though tomorrow is officially Halloween, across the globe many dressed up for parties and street carnivals over the weekend. To wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween tonight I have a photo gallery of some of the most outrageous costumes people wore the Friday and Saturday before Halloween. Whether this gets you pumped up for tonight, scares your socks off, or gives you a chuckle, take a minute to see some of the hottest costumes for Halloween 2011 thus far.

From Atlanta Underground’s Carnival at Atlanta, Georgia

Hyde Park’s Zombie Walk at Sydney, Australia

Futuriatic Olivia Newton-John

Cartoon Fun at SLU

Count Dracula and Ghost at SLU

Crooked Nose Old Witch talking to a Mystical Princess at SLU

R2D2, Storm Trooper, and some Jedi..

I could not resist these Halloween dogs. I would love to see what Chic Galleria readers dress up as tomorrow night! Leave your comments below, tweet us at @ChicGalleria or post your photo on our Facebook wall.

(Photo Credits: (1) Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos; (2) BurnAway at http://www.flickr.com/photos/burnaway; (3) & (4) Newtown grafitti at http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtown_grafitti; (5) Byebye22 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/byebye22; (6) to (8) Lifestring Photography at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifestringphotography; (9) Scoregasm at http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoregasm; (10) Donelle_Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/24613361@N07)

Suzanne Crumbacher is Social Media Director for ChicGalleria.com. Besides owning her own blogging business called Blogger Divas, she has a certificate in fashion design, and a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. This U.S. East coast native now lives in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters. In her college years, she traveled to Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, all over the U.S., one month stay in Hawaii, and studied in Canada for 2 1/2 years. Suzanne loves social media, so tweet at @BloggerDivas, and circle her at Google+. Read and comment on more Suzanne Crumbacher articles…

Paris Fashion Week Report: Lanvin S/S 2012

Suzanne Crumbacher — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:23:45 +0000

Modernity is beautiful!” Alber Elbaz, Lanvin’s creative director, famous sentiments does not accurately describe the Women’s Ready-to-Wear Spring/Summer Collection collection he sent down the runway last Friday evening at Jardin des Tuileries for Paris Fashion Week. For spring, Elbaz tells the world that classical-era Grecian goddess and alternative Gothic rocker chic are also beautiful. Collection had many puzzled by its disunited theme and others were not sure of the purpose of the “tree of life” backdrop. By not heralding one central theme, Elbaz instead opted to offer a collection that plays to every woman’s innate feelings of mystery, intrigue, and unpredictability. These garments were complimented well within the room’s moody ambiance. Near the show’s finale, the dim, ambient lighting dramatically transitioned into a “dark room” atmosphere with a glaring shine of gold, then emerald green overhead lighting. The colored light pierced beautifully through the sheer garments and its shadows exaggerated the bold shoulders silhouettes as each model passed by as Karlie Kloss brought up the exit.

This collection deviated from typical Lanvin in two main areas. In addition to not being typical Lanvin modernist, Elbaz also chose to not embrace stereotypical cheerful spring prints and colors. Lanvin definitely offers a darker side of spring, as there is not a floral print or bright color in sight. The Lanvin color palette consists of mostly neutrals: black, gray, tan and nude, with a hint of pastel in finale dresses. This interpretation of spring fashion was quite a contrast to Milan Fashion Week’s Blumarine, Dolce and Gabbano, Sergio Ferragamo, and Missoni’s explosion of spring last week. In the case of Lanvin: what it is not present more powerfully defines what it is present. Although Lanvin is not an explosion of florals and brights, it demonstrates the epitome of ”power dressing.”

Obviously, Power dressing should defy rules. It should break norms and push boundaries, as also should women in power. A closer look at the garments, construction, and palette and styling reveals some of the collection’s “power” traits. Elbaz provides variations to the growing popular women’s tuxedo. There are black or white tuxedo jackets with sleeves, no sleeves, short and long, and even a tuxedo dress. The tuxedo pants have strong and wide contrasting white on black side vertical stripes. The frequent uses of peekaboo slits in the tops and skirts shows power and restraint. Smart looking shift dresses and knee-length pencil skirts appear to be made from lightweight tuxedo fabric feature exaggerated shoulder pads. The Lanvin woman has a smokey eye and dewy skin with straight wet-look hair parted down the middle. She does not fuss too much with her look, but rather is confident in her natural beauty. She can wear dark sunglasses, wide bangle-like choker necklace and possibly a large crucifix with lots of chains.

Within the central look of “power dressing,” Elbaz features a few sub-stories: (1) Avant-garde career woman, (2) Gothic rocker, and (3) Ethereal Grecian goddess. In the first scenario, the modern, avant-garde Lanvin career woman comes into the office wearing a sleek black shift dress (possibly the one with a furry snake wrapped around her neck and shoulder), nude platform strappy heels or pumps, carrying a small clutch. To carry more than lipstick and a credit card, she carries a strapless, lightweight brief case filled with several paper bundles tucked under her arm like a clutch. Some of her shifts are color blocked, nude and black or white and black. She’s not too fussy or fancy, but strong and confident. The next Lanvin woman has an affinity for Gothic. She likes snake motif mini dresses, and head to toe snake motif pants, shirts and zipper front jackets. She also loves black on black rhinestone covered mini dresses styled with a handful of staggered length chains and a bold crucifix. Finally, the Lanvin woman is also a Grecian goddess. She is draped in soft and supple fabric. She loves a one shouldered Grecian cocktail dress. She is also bold enough to wear black loungerie panties showing underneath her tea-length sheer dresses. Her makeup is a smokey eye and bold crucifixes can be worn at the neck to edge up the look. These three looks may appeal to three very types of women, or the same women with an adventurous spirit.

The Lanvin show attracted a bevy of celebrities. Its star studded front row included Julianne Moore, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Zoe, Jade Jagger with daughter Amber, and Orlando Bloom cheering on his wife, Miranda Kerr, modeling in the show. We are sure to see some of these celebrities, and others, wearing looks from this stunning Lanvin collection. Unlike his customary modernity-only aesthetic, this time Elbaz chose to show an eclectic interpretation of the modern woman. The Lanvin woman is bold enough to sport strong shoulder pads and a smokey eye. She possibly loves snake embellished clothing or prints. She is not too serious to wear a wide choker necklace and a statement crucifix necklace. Lanvin’s spring/summer collection is strong, sexy, and feminine without trying too hard. It’s silhouettes are impeccably tailored while having a wearable quality. The collection’s diversity is sure to appeal to a large demographic of fashion tastes. There is something for everyone in Lanvin’s collection, yet the collection is cohesive in its confidence and strength.

Suzanne Crumbacher, Senior Style & Beauty Editor and Social Media Director for ChicGalleria.com, is owner of Blogger Divas™, has a certificate in fashion design, and a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. This U.S. East coast native now lives in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters. In her college years, she traveled to Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, all over the U.S., one month stay in Hawaii, and studied in Canada for 2 1/2 years. Suzanne loves social media interaction, so tweet her @ChicGalleria & @BloggerDivas, and circle her at Google+. Read and comment on more Suzanne Crumbacher articles…

London Fashion Week S/S12 Trend Roundup

Suzanne Crumbacher — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:38:57 +0000

This past week, I fell in love with so many Women’s RTW Spring/Summer 2012 Collections from London Fashion Week. I watched about a dozen live stream shows with the help of http://catwalklive.tv. In addition to some carryover trends from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, like color blocking, cut outs and asymmetrical hems, there were some uniquely London expressions of style. London fashion is very distinctive. When one thinks of London, iconic looks like trench coats, fascinators and street style often comes to mind. Here are some of the highlights from London Fashion Week that caught my attention.

BOLD COLOR: Louise Gray and Mary Kantrazou showed a lot of bold color. Louise Gray paired brights together through color blocking. One memorable look was a hot pink top with metallic gold patchwork paired with a red sarong. The model that wore this particular look had on what I would call an anti-facinator. This particular hat resembled a pile of ruched fabric. Mary Kantrazou, known for bold looks and playful silhouettes, clashed bright and bold patterns. Although these clash of colors and patterns may sound a bit crazy, I am always fascinated with these bold looks. Looks like these gave me another reason to love London’s free spirited creativity.

TRENCH COATS: London is infamous for their trenches. Because of London’s frequent rainy weather, there will always be many trenches at London Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer collections. Burburry Prorsum showed some incredible trenches. After one hundred and fifty years of creating quality clothing, this label took the trench to another level. Along with the standard tan, they offered deep tones options like purple. Burburry also had some noteworthy trenches with multi-colored triangular enamel embellishments on the front plackets. Burburry styled some of their looks with adorable gold cadet caps with big black poms on top. I also loved Louise Gray’s trench. This designer showed a technically constructed clear plastic trench coat. It was exciting to see London’s spring trench coats for next season.

ROYALTY CHIC: The British love their royalty. For that reason it can be expected to see that interpreted through their fashion. Giles and Temperley both showed collections that could be considered royalty chic. Giles had their models wear incredibly tall swan head dresses to dress up their elegant looks; and Temperley’s collection was Grace Kelly inspired. To add to the royal atmosphere, Pippa Middleton almost stole all of the spot light on Temperley’s front row.

PYTHON SHOES: There were a lot of python heels shown at London Fashion Week, especially from Mary Kantrazou and House of Holland. According to what I saw from London Fashion Week, python shoes are going to big for spring. Python or not, the heels in London were very tall. They looked liked they were 6″ tall or possibly higher.

STREET STYLE: Acne, a Swedish denim company, showed a collection that had a Marrakesh vibe. This was one of the highest anticipated shows in London, leaving so many raving about their shoes. I loved the London street style integrated into this collection.

Suzanne Crumbacher, Style & Beauty Editor and Social Media Director for ChicGalleria.com, has a certificate in fashion design and a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. She has traveled to Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, all over the U.S., one month stay in Hawaii, studied in Canada for 2 1/2 years and now resides in Oklahoma with her husband and two daughters. Suzanne loves social media interaction, so tweet her @ChicGalleria and follow her personal accounts at Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Read and comment on more Suzanne Crumbacher articles…

Coming up Poppies in DKNY S/S 2012 Collection

Suzanne Crumbacher — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:07:33 +0000

This vibrant collection lives up to everything spring stands for: life, joy and newness. The DKNY Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection that showed at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is very fresh and full of life. Its proportions are petite, not over sized. Its prints are bold with lots of red/blue floral and poppy prints, not quiet and muted. The collection also includes stripes and black/white mottled print. To break away from all of the bold prints, the collection also includes a lovely hot pink maxi dresses that flowed in motion on the catwalk. Though the collection predominantly includes cheerful business or garden party attire, there was a surprising pairing of bikini with a petite, tailored jacket. This look seemed to presume that a New York business women wear her bikini under her suit jacket to work a couple of hours, then its off to The Hamptons. During the runway show, I saw Nina Garcia live tweet that she always comes away from a DKNY fashion show wanting to be that girl.

The look is metropolitan chic. The fabrics appear to be cotton sateen. The colors are predominantly red, white, and blue, without being patriotic. The accessories elevate the collection with matching fabric floppy hats and matching wedges. The DKNY presentation had a cool vibe. The venue at 547 West 26th Street in New York City was a large open warehouse with a gray cement floor. The big warehouse doors remained open as the models came forward with an actual yellow cab for the backdrop. Street onlookers watched from behind the cab that had a DKNY logo marquis with black and white photography of New York City within the font. DKNY: A very cool collection with an exciting presentation.

Suzanne Crumbacher, Senior Style & Beauty Editor and Social Media Director for ChicGalleria.com, has a certificate in fashion design and a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. She has traveled to Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, all over the U.S., one month stay in Hawaii, studied in Canada for 2 1/2 years and now resides in Oklahoma with her husband and two daughters. Suzanne loves social media interaction, so tweet her @ChicGalleria and follow her personal accounts at Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Read and comment on more Suzanne Crumbacher articles…