DC SocialPulse: The 56th Grammy Awards

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Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

On Sunday night, the music industry came together to honor it's own and honor the best of the best from an amazing past 12 months in music for what the Recording Academy affectionally calls, "Music's Biggest Night." The 56th Annual Grammy Awards brought together the industry's biggest names inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the annual celebration of the best music has to offer. We had all of the features that make it arguably the best annual awards show out there: great performances, one-of-a-kind collaborations by artists from different genres, and some of our favorite (and new favorite) artists taking home the most prestigious piece of gold in music. The night included performances by Beyoncé & Jay-Z to start things off, Pink, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Robin Thicke, John Legend and a mini-reunion of sorts by one-half of The Beatles in Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, among others.

   In the end, the names who would dominate the night not only took the stage but came from out of the pack of the usual suspects of the big names to eventually capture the night's biggest honors, eventually seeing a tie for most Grammys won on this night. A coronation for the emergence of electronic dance music over the last several years would see Daft Punk take four awards: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, and the two biggest awards in the multi-genre General Field of both Album and Record of the Year, for Random Access Memories and "Get Lucky", respectively. Producer Pharrell Williams had a hand in Daft Punk's success as part of "Get Lucky" while also grabbing Producer of the Year honors, also garnering four Grammys himself.

   The night's most poignant moment came by way of a duo from Seattle who not only won four awards including Best New Artist and sweeping the Rap category (Performance, Song and Album for "Thrift Shop" and The Heist), but also part of a memorable Grammy moment. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, together with Madonna and Queen Latifah, would help 33 couples tie the knot to the tune of Mary Lambert and the anthem "Same Love." And New Zealander Lorde capped off her amazing run with grabbing Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for the Millennial anthem "Royals." 

   Other key winners included Justin Timberlake with three (Best R&B Song and Rap/Sung Collaboration & Music Video for collaborations with Jay-Z), Imagine Dragons for Best Rock Performance for "Radioactive", Bruno Mars taking Best Pop Vocal Album for Unorthodox Jukebox, country singer Kacey Musgraves with two, Rihanna and Alicia Keys taking Best R&B Albums, Zedd taking Best Dance/Electronic Song for "Clarity", and Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert taking Comedy awards.

In case you're wondering how the Twitter-sphere saw every moment (whether you're on the east coast & want to see those tweets again, or if you're out west getting your first look at the reaction after being off during the show live on the east coast), DC SocialPulse has you covered as we bring you the following tweets from Grammy Night in America. And following twitter's view, I will have my recap, including the link between the night's two most memorable performances.

   As we begin, a reminder that there is adult language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are old enough, please read with discretion. :-)  So with that, off we go to Los Angeles.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? - The Premiere

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Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

This week saw me take the opportunity to sample yet another new MTV show. As you all know, I'm a passionate fan of The Real World and The Challenge, and I'm obviously enjoying RW Ex-Plosion and after a roller coaster episode this week with Jay's mom suddenly passing away and Ashley being evicted, I'm eagerly anticipating the bombshell that comes next week with the exes moving in. But I don't limit my MTV viewing to just those shows only, as I'm open more than others to all of what else my favorite entertainment-based cable channel has to offer. The fact I've become very good twitter friends with cast members from a slew of other MTV reality shows (crazy kids in West Virginia, bartenders in Texas, nurses in the OC and passionate people in Uptown NY) is proof of how I'm passionate I am of the whole MTV scene, not just of the shows that, to me, feels almost like a religion.

On late Tuesday night after the season premiere of Teen Mom II, viewers got to check out the premiere of Are You The One?, MTV's bold love experiment where 10 single girls and 10 single guys have been brought together on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to not only live with each other, but also try & find their perfect match. And should all of the puzzle pieces be put in their exact places, they will all share in the biggest prize an MTV show has ever offered...$1 MILLION.

   I was brought to the show thanks to, of all things, a cast member - Jessica - liking some of my RW pix on Instagram just after the buzz began. Then after watching the trailer, I gave all the cast members a follow and I've become as good a friend with them as I am to the rest of the MTV community. And I also thought to myself that, since it's something I'm not usually accustomed to watching but with people that I've just become friends with socially, with elements from shows I've become familiar with and the record sum of money that will all go to them if all of them are correctly aligned with each other, then "Why not give it a try?" I became hooked by the first minute of the premiere.

And now, to the main event as we bring you the tweets of the cast and fans as America stayed up after Teen Mom for the premiere of Are You The One?. Plus in the As Fans Saw It section, you'll see tweets from me and fellow RW/Challenge fans, as well as my tweets to some of the cast, both on premiere night and in the days leading up to the show. And following the tweets, I'll offer my thoughts on the premiere. As we begin, please note there is explicit language in certain tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)  So without ado, off we go to the islands.

DC SocialPulse: Real World Ex-Plosion: "The Departure"

*** Reader Advisory: The Following Post Contains

Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Back with you again for another edition of SocialPulse as our coverage of Real World Ex-Plosion continues. And please don't mind the length of this article...it's gonna be long but worth the read to cover everything of what has to be one of the most emotion-packed episodes we've seen in a while. Last week, we had another drama-filled episode where the two Texas roommates finally made things official when Tom & Jamie became boyfriend & girlfriend. The other supposed couple, Jenny & Cory, saw that relationship collide with the rocks after another hookup as Cody's anger at locals turned violent. And there was some more Ashley talk, some sex talk and even talk about numbers.

   Today, we will look back at episode 3 entitled "The Departure," as well as the season's first After Show. And this is probably one of my favorite episodes in this current generation of Real World's as it featured a roller coaster of emotions that rolled through my and everyone's head during those 90 minutes. We saw the relationship between Cory and Jenny reach a turning point, while the tensions between Ashley and the rest of the house reach a boiling point. And in a moment that harks back some memories and represents one of those instances when the show is in its simplest & purest form, the likable fella from the Bronx receives the worst possible news anyone can get when Jay's mom suddenly passed away just shortly after he left. All in all, it was an eventful episode, and given the circumstances, this delay from it being posted from the night after to before the weekend is necessary & worthy for it to be covered through a historical angle. More on that during our episode wrap.

   As we begin, again the usual reminder that there is some adult language in some tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)  So with that, off we go.

Welcome to Team MTV: Are You The One

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

We are three weeks into the new year, and for TV fans, this must be as good a season in winter as is the fall, with a good number of new & returning shows premiering on broadcast, cable and NetFlix. And there's still the big events still to come in the Grammys, Super Bowl XLVIII, the Sochi Winter Olympics and the Oscars coming in the next two months, and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in the summer. As you would guess by my twitter activity, Wednesdays for myself feel all that more complete once again as we are two episodes into Real World: Ex-Plosion. And we've already seen a good deal of drama of this current season of my favorite show with a big third episode and the exes still to make way for SFO, along with the first After Show coming up tomorrow (I'll be approaching fans from SoCal to eventually talk about that & this episode coming on Thursday).

But as you might've seen from one of my previous posts, I don't limit my MTV viewing to just that and The Challenge as I'm an overall MTV fan too. Being used to the Real World's way of storytelling and documenting young adults in a mainly laid-back atmosphere (which I prefer more to The Challenge's cutthroat nature), I'm open to other MTV shows outside the RW/Challenge world more than others. If you saw Twitter @DC408dxtr over the RW/Challenge offseason, I became very good friends with the nurses of Scrubbing In and the ladies in Big Tips Texas, as well as watching the inspiring story of a young lady's quest to find her donor & finding some friends. Having bought the first season DVD and looking at getting season 2 as well, I'll be looking forward to adding Catfish to my rotation of watching & live tweeting. And after someone who Jay got to meet recently, Farrah Abraham, gave me a follow, I've just bought the first season of Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant for me to watch eventually. There's no show that's off limits for me to enjoy...I've got that great passion for storytelling and always have that curiosity and hunger for listening to stories of young people, and I like to have fun too.

With all that in mind, and having already enjoyed the first two episodes of RW Ex-Plosion with a new Challenge to come on its heels, I've just extended the welcome mat and the customary "Welcome to Team MTV" greeting to the cast of a new show that might be the next big thing, and it is next on the MTV premiere slate. A number of the 20 cast members from there have already given me a follow (thanks by the way) or have interacted with me on Twitter & Instagram and they are part of what MTV is describing as "the most ambitious dating experiment ever attempted." And if you're someone who is a big RW fan like me who is enjoying this season but is also hungry for a warm-up of what comes up in the spring, and will eventually be enthralled by what will eventually go down in San Francisco, you might want to give this show a try. It's called Are You The One? And it debuts tonight.

Premiering tonight in the money timeslot of following the season premiere of Teen Mom 2, and from the producers of Extreme Makeover and The Moment of Truth, Are You The One? serves as as MTV's social experiment on modern love. A hopeful cast of 10 women and 10 men eager for romance have taken part in an extremely thorough process of matchmaking using a special dating algorithm procedure designed especially to help express & measure the quantity and compatibility of the participants. When the process is complete, recommended matches of the 20 singles were identified, and the goal is to eventually have everyone find the perfect partner. And this technology will eventually bring together the 10 ideal pairs when they all meet up on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii. Ultimately, everyone will come face-to-face with their match, but the twist is that results are kept a secret from the cast. And throughout their stay in the islands, our cast must uncover the mystery and identity of their match. And if they do, they'll receive a handsome reward that will make even those who compete on The Challenge feel maybe a little bit jealous.

   The casting process for Are You The One? has short listed 10 single women and 10 single men from all across the country, all of whom haven't had much luck in the long-term love department. They'll all be put through a rigorous assessment by professional matchmakers, psychologists, and family, friends & exes of the participants to help determine their significant other. Much like The Real World casting process, there will be in-depth interviews and questionnaires, plus there's compatibility testing to achieve the best possible results. And like most every other reality show, these 20 people will share a house in paradise together with the knowledge that somewhere in the house, their perfect match is living with them, perhaps in the room next door.

As the season rolls along, we'll be able to follow the roller coaster of ups and downs as the singles will strive to find their match and getting to know each other, sometimes with surprise. Plus, they'll take part in weekly tests of physical attraction, personality traits, relationship history assessments and other things to help them get one step closer to finding their match. From the trailer, there'll even be a little bit of The Challenge mixed in with some of those tests. During all this, our cast will find out whether their heart feels comfortable, and should there not be a march among the couples, they'll all have to start from scratch again and leaving budding relationships in jeopardy and causing the same kind of tension, despair and jealousy we'll eventually see when the exes move into the RW house.

   In the end, the lovers will all try to find who they believe is the perfect match. And if all 10 couples match up with their pre-determined partners within 10 attempts, each of the 20 singles will all share in the largest cash reward an MTV show has ever offered, along with a romance as rich as the cash. How much? They'll each receive $50,000. And if you times that by 20, you get $1,000,000. That's BIG.

Our diverse cast comes to us by way of 13 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. As the modern day saying goes, they're "single and ready to mingle," and they're all ready for romance.

- There's the 1st to interact with me, Jessica from Miami. She's a virgin and have always preferred to save herself for marriage. But four years after her only serious relationship resulted in temptation aplenty in sultry South Florida, Jess is finally ready to set aside her physical desires to give love a second shot and to finally get her man.

- From Puerto Rico, Jacy boasts a fiery Latin personality with a fighting attitude and a tough upbringing. For one who fights hard & loves harder, she always makes sure that she remains the best supporter of her man in taking care of him, but Jacy's enthusiastic personality might be a little hot to handle. She'll look to change her attitude.

- From Alabama, preacher's daughter Coleysia is described as "more sinner than saint." She's thought of as mischievous but sometimes with plans that don't go well, even with her best expectations. One who's a hard worker and a desire to succeed, Coleysia hopes to finally find the right guy, and has ambitions on working at NASA.

- Southern belle Kayla just graduated from Ole Miss and has ambitions on sports reporting, but she's been used to gossip and criticism being from a small Tennessee town. She also went through a bad romance with her last athlete boyfriend. Now striving for perfection, she's hopeful to grab the attention of a guy who can treat her the way she is.

- A Canadian from Victoria, BC now residing in Phoenix, Paige is beautiful, ambitious and almost perfect, and destined to be a TV personality. However, the biggest obstacle for this lady who likes to be single for as little as she can is her choice for guys. And Paige knows she has to change her ways of dating those who aren't for her.

- Also from Arizona, Wes is the ladies man who they love with his good looks & charm. He's had no trouble getting their attention & hooking up, but he's had difficulty with those who's trying to do the same thing with him. This budding pro bowler (!) is serious about starting a true romance and feels it's time for someone to hold him down.

- Next from Indianapolis is Shanley. Her free-spirited attitude towards love often goes a little too fast, resulting in most of her relationships not going past 1st base. At Indiana University, she became friendly with the guys but got too comfortable with them preventing romances from forming. Shanley's hoping to slow down enough to make lasting love.

- Adventure sports enthusiast Ethan has the most-inspiring backstory. A freak New Year's accident - falling off a balcony & breaking both his legs in 10 places - almost paralyzed him, but Ethan defied the odds in being able to walk again a year later. Now doing what he does best in Colorado, Ethan hopes to beat the odds again in finding the right girl.

- Austin, TX native Amber has both the intelligence (full-time biz student) and the looks (promo model). A girl of Taiwanese descent and having difficulty finding someone in a town full of rednecks and Asian enthusiasts, her bio states she's "looking for love as big as her home state." And she'd like to have a guy who loves both her brains & beauty.

- Ashleigh from Akron, OH is gorgeous and laid-back, but seems to hang with the wrong romantic types, with her ex being broke, out of work and with a record. But with her eye on modeling, acting and being a business owner, Ashleigh knows the right way to succeeding in love is spending time only with those who aren't in need of a renovation.

- Joey is a young entrepreneur who's friendly, upbeat, attractive, and is surrounded by the best women in the ATL. But despite success in his four businesses that has him making six figures, he hasn't had much luck romantically. He feels he's done dating greedy people and wants to find the right lady who loves him for who he is.

- North Dakota's Dillan is a Christian who, after a wild college life, has pledged to abstain from sex until marriage. But habits may get in the way when alcohol & adventurous tendencies are revealed and his good looks attracts the girls. He's intense on the outside but gentle on the inside, and Dillan knows finding the right girl will help him stay on course.

- A Chicago transplant now working on Atlanta radio, Simone is beautiful, self-made and educated. But her low income limits her expensive lifestyle, and she had to make up for it by dating those who give her what she wants. Now she's aiming to have a man who can be as loyal to her as a woman as much as they are well financially.

- Air Force vet Chris T. from Virginia Beach is motivated, ambitious and ready for a challenge in life, and pursuing neuropharmacology. But after his last serious relationship ended by way of his emotional attachment, he's not developed anything long-term. Now he's set to finally find his perfect match, and make it last beyond just a one night affair.

- From D.C., John overcame a childhood battling Tourette's Syndrome and a tough life of family tragedies to a life on the lighter side as a comedian. It's his smooth-talking that helps him get his girls, but it's also causes some of his breakups to his most serious relationships. John will have to change his game plan from dating bad girls to a quality woman.

- Dre is a former high school basketballer who's now an Atlanta club VIP. It'll be easy to assume that Dre is a party guy, but deep inside he has a kind and caring attitude. He's afraid that his nightlife image is only attracting those who are into the game, and prefers a good girl who shares his heart of gold nature and ability to socialize well.

- Denver native Ryan is a quirky, playful guy with good looks, great charisma and a nice demeanor. It's his mindset of being more relationship oriented and his dynamic romantic gestures that's alluded him with the young women he sees at his restaurant. For someone serious about serious love, all he needs is the right girl that can keep him on his toes.

- Brooklyn's Chris S. has his eyes set on the FDNY, and today is working in the NYC nightlife scene. He's got no problem meeting women, but isn't into those who "give it up" easily, and all he wants is someone who's intelligent and perfect. He might also be familiar to some of you; like Nia from RWPDX, Chris appeared on the 2012 dating show The Choice.

- Bostonian Brittany has set lofty expectations when it comes to dating, especially after dating an obnoxious guy. She's busy as ever juggling local hosting jobs, modeling, emceeing and spin instructor certification. And Britt's preference is to have a man who meets her criteria of her "must-have" list and can stay with her "work hard, play hard" mantra.

- And finally, there's Adam from Virginia. He's developed a reputation as a "man-whore" to the point that he's worthy of that name. If he wants to have a serious romance, he prefers to have a girl who's athletic, independent and not much of a party person as him. In essence, he likes a girl who'll "but him in his place," not just as a mere toy.

Normally, I don't watch The Bachelor or any other romantic reality show, though whenever my mom is at home when she's not working the closing shift at work she sometimes watches it. But with my favorite entertainment-based TV channel airing this new matchmaker show, and all of the drama and romance that will take place on this season, I'll be able to stay up (do have to stay up anyway to pick up my mom at the door) and give this one a try for a change. Having watched the trailer several times, it'll have all of what I come to expect from a reality show: drama, great people, tension, intrigue and a lot more, along with some competition and surprises. And just this past week during my Follow Friday sweep, Adam tweeted to me, "get ready mate! It's going to be a great show." I definitely agree.

   And if you're a cast member who might happen to be reading this post, if I haven't greeted you with my salutation yet, Welcome to Team MTV. As I've told new cast members of Real World and other MTV shows, you are all about to go on a ride you will never forget. To you all, enjoy these next few months, and can't wait to watch all of you starting tonight.

Be sure to stay with DCBLOG as we cover the busy next few months ahead. From Real World Ex-Plosion and Are You The One?, to the Grammys, Super Bowl and the Sochi Olympics, all that will covered here, along with some other things that I might blog on that might be of interest to me. Be sure to follow me @DC408dxtr with alerts to articles & interviews featuring the MTV family. For now, thanks for reading and until we blog again, stay safe and have fun.

- DC

Source: AreYouTheOne.MTV.com

Cast of MTV's Are You The One? (Credit: MTV/MTVPress.com)

Countdown to Grammy Night

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Last month saw the beginning of the countdown to what The Recording Academy fittingly calls it, Music's Biggest Night, the Grammy Awards, which takes place a week from tonight, Sunday, January 26th (two weeks earlier than normal because of the Winter Olympics). As a passionate music fan who's into the entire music scene in addition to just being a Linkin Park fan and listener to CHR radio, this is one of those events I look forward to every year, along with any music awards show for that matter. And it's on that list of events I record as well, having done so annually since Eminem & Elton John took stage in 2001; along with collecting some official programs from the show as well.

For the last few years now, the nominations (albeit some of the key categories) have been revealed on a one-hour live concert special taking place at Nokia Live Club LA, across the street from the Staples Center and within walking distance of the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles' LA Live district. This year's field of nominations is another great one packed with many of the industry's biggest names and, though many might be disappointed that some of their favorites were snubbed by the voters, this most-prestigious of awards in music rewards the year's best recordings by the work of both talent and great music, not by mere album sales or popularity.

Before we look at the nominees and categories, here is DC SocialPulse's sampling of artist tweets upon hearing that they had been nominated back on December 6th.

- @taylorswift13: I LOVE YOU GUYS WE GOT AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR NOMINATION AND I AM TOO EXCITED TO USE PUNCTUATION

- @robinthicke: What an incredible honor, thank you to the Grammy committee for the nomination. This is the icing on the cake for this year. @TheGRAMMYs

- @SaraBareilles: I never in a billion million years thought I'd be nominated for Album of the Year. I'm litterally shaking. Best birthday ever. Woah.

- @Pharrell: Man-nnn...thank you so much! "@TheGRAMMYs: Congrats @pharrell with 7 nominations! #GRAMMYnoms” Congratulations to all the @TheGRAMMYs nominees!!! 👏

- @edsheeran: Got nominated for best new artist at the Grammys. Awesome sauce. Very happy right now. Oh, apparently I got 2 nominations. Super sweet wicked awesome

- @CalvinHarris: 2 Grammy nominations! 😛

- @BrunoMars: @TheGRAMMYs !!!! THANK YOU!!!

- @lordemusic: FOUR! couldn't be more happy for @kendricklamar and @jamesblake, also. incredibly well deserved

- @macklemore: 7 Grammy nominations. I could have never dreamed this. Song of the year, album of the year, best new artist.... I'm completely in shock

- @katyperry: Well, that's a great way to wake up! Thank you @TheGRAMMYs for my TWO nominations! Never imagined a lil old song about 🐯+💪 would have such❤️

- @katyperry: .@SaraBareilles congrats lady! Who woulda thought hotel cafe would produce 2 little Grammy nomers. 🙌 #albumoftheyear

- @ImagineDragons: Wow.  Incredibly grateful.  2 nominations.  Thank you @TheGRAMMYs. xxID

- @Zedd: HOLY S---!!! I'M NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY w/ CLARITY!!!!!!

- @MiguelUnlimited: Big congrats to all of @TheGRAMMYs nominees and thanks for all the congrats!

- @arminvanbuuren: Kinda freaking out here!! Is it true I'm nominated for a #GRAMMYnoms ?? @TrevorGuthrie @BennoDeGoeij

Now to the nominations, beginning with the genre-specific categories, working our way to the general categories. And we start off with the Pop categories, which is the biggest one of interest to those who listen to, or work in, CHR/Top 40 pop radio:

- Best Pop Solo Performance is, as always, a packed one and four of the five songs in this category received heavy pop radio airplay while the 5th one was much popular at Hot AC stations. They are: "Brave" by Sara Bareilles, Lorde's smash anthem "Royals", "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars, Katy Perry's summertime hit "Roar" and Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors."

- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance will also see great competition among megastars, a dance duo and the song that you just couldn't get out of your head. They are: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk & Pharrell, "Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink featuring Fun.'s Nate Reuss, "Stay" by Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell, and "Suit & Tie" by Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z.

- Best Pop Vocal Album is, like the Solo Performance category, one with the big names being represented, and any of the five can take home the Grammy in this, considering their popularity on radio & sales. They are: Paradise by Lana Del Rey, Pure Heroine by Lorde, Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, and The 20/20 Experience - The Complete Experience by Justin Timberlake.

In the Rap categories, they are the big one of interest to everyone who is into the hip-hop world and the big hitters are represented in each of the field's four categories.

- Beat Rap Performance: When you have five of the industry's biggest names nominated in a category like Best Rap Performance, it literally can be anyone's award to win, and all the fellas in this category can win. They are: "Started From The Bottom" by Drake, "Berzerk" by Eminem, "Tom Ford" by Jay-Z, "Swimming Pools (Drank)" by Kendrick Lamar, and "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz.

- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: A relatively-new category in this field, which saw my boys Linkin Park & Jay-Z take this award in 2006, this also features great talent top to bottom and always is. And Hova has a 5/2 chance to pick this one up, with "Part II (On The Run)" by Jay-Z feat. Beyoncé and "Holy Grail" by Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake being his two entries. The others are: "Power Trip" by J. Cole feat. Miguel, "Now or Never" by Kendrick Lamar feat. Mary J. Blige, and "Remember You" by Wiz Khalifa feat. The Weeknd.

- Best Rap Song, a songwriters award, honors those who not only had the best track but also the best lyrics too. They are: "Problems" by ASAP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar, "Holy Grail" by Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake, "New Slaves" by Kanye West, "Started From The Bottom" by Drake, and "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz.

- And Best Rap Album, equally as competitive as the Best Rap Performance Grammy: any one of these five can take the award, and all of them can make a case that they should be the one: Nothing Was The Same by Drake, Magna Carta...Holy Grail by Jay-Z, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar, The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Yeezus by Kanye West.

In the Electronic Dance Music categories, the big names of a genre that has come into its own in the last few years and resurrected dance music to the mainstream will vie for Grammy gold.

- Best Dance Recording sees some good competition for that honor. They are: "Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch, "Clarity" by Zedd, "Atmosphere" by Kaskade, "This Is What It Feel Like" by Armin Van Buuren feat. Trevor Guthrie of SoulDecision fame, and "Need U (100%)" by Duke Dumont feat. A*M*E & MNEK.

- The nominees for Best Dance/Electronica Album are: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk, 18 Months by Calvin Harris, Atmosphere by Kaskade, Settle by Disclosure, and A Color Map of the Sun by Pretty Lights.

- And for Best Remixed Recording, the remix of Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness" by Cedric Gervais is among the nominees, along with Ned Shepard & Sultan's mix of Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" and Alesso's rework of OneRepublic's "If I Lose Myself."

In other key categories of interest to the young audience, some big names will vie for the biggest honor in the industry...

> In the Rock & Alternative categories, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons is up for Best Rock Performance along with David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White and Alabama Shakes. Other Rock nominees include Dave Grohl's collaboration with Paul McCartney, Muse and Black Sabbath among the nominees; while Best Alternative Music Album includes albums by Vampire Weekend and Nine Inch Nails going for gold.

> In R&B, some nominees of interest include, "How Many Drinks?" by Miguel, up for Best R&B Performance; "Pusher Love Girl" from Justin Timberlake nominated for Best R&B Song along with Maroon 5's PJ Morton being nominated for "Only One (w/ Stevie Wonder)"; Unapologetic by Rihanna up for Best Urban Contemporary Album; and Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys nominated for Best R&B Album along with Love In The Future by John Legend. Former American Idol winner Fantasia is also nominated as well, with two nods.

> And in Country, Best Country Solo Performance sees Hunter Hayes ("I Want Crazy"), Miranda Lambert and husband Blake Shelton vying for top honors along with Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish fame. Collaborations by Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift w/ Keith Urban & Tim McGraw highlight Duo/Group Performance, while Taylor, Blake and Kacey Musgraves will look at nabbing Best Country Song and Best Country Album.

Other nominees of note outside these genres include: Adele's "Skyfall", "We Both Know" by Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw and "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey short listed for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The Grammys' own video categories sees Capital Cities' "Safe and Sound," Jay-Z's "Picasso Baby", "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Suit & Tie" by Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z and Jack White go for Best Music Video, while Coldplay, Green Day, Mumford & Sons, Paul McCartney and Ben Harper go for Best Music Film. And for Producer of the Year, notable hit makers Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Pharrell Williams are among the finalists for the biggest prize for the producers.

Finally, we close with the General categories where all genres go up against one another for the most coveted awards. And most of the artists in this field are well known

- The award that, at any music awards show, is always considered the Kiss of Death award, the Best New Artist honor has been bestowed on Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, John Legend, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Adele and last year by fun. The 2014 nominees are: James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves and Ed Sheeran.

- For Song Of The Year, which is the biggest award for the songwriters, it might as well be placed in the Pop category as all five nominees garnered strong airplay on pop radio, and all had great lyrics as well. They are: "Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink feat. Nate Reuss, "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars, "Roar" by Katy Perry, "Royals" by Lorde, and the equality anthem "Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert.

- For Record of the Year, . They are: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons, "Royals" by Lorde, "Locked Out Of Heaven" by Bruno Mars, and "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell.

- And for the biggest honor of all and always the last award of the night given out, Album of the Year sees pop, country, hip-hop and EDM big names going for the big one. They are: The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles, Random Access Memories by Daft Punk, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar, The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Red by Taylor Swift.

By the time all of the nominees were revealed, it was Jay-Z who nabbed the most nominations with 9, followed by four artists with 7 nods each - Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell, and Drake with 5.

For me, my predictions are that it will be a night where hip-hop - which once was ignored on the telecasts in its early years before it broke into the mainstream - will rule the night, including perhaps a good night for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in taking Song of the Year and Best New Artist, and also perhaps a chance to nab the last award in Album of the Year. To consider that they were the first independent artist to not only top the Billboard Hot 100 but also the Billboard 200 is quite an amazing accomplishment. I also expect Lorde to perhaps do well too, with her being nominated for Record and Song of the Year, Pop Vocal Performance & Album, having already joined fellow New Zealander Kimbra atop the Hot 100 charts. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Vegas boys can cap off their breakthrough year with Imagine Dragons taking all, if not most, of the categories where they are nominated in. And as it is not a mere popularity contest, don't be surprised if the artist you're rooting for doesn't win a Grammy - the voters always look for the best in class according to their merit and quality of their work.

So, I am definitely looking forward to next Sunday night and the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. No wonder why it has come to be known as "Music's Biggest Night." There's always those collaborations between artists from different genres of music, the great performances from the biggest stars and all that makes it one of the year's most-popular annual events on television.

As we did for the AMA's, DC Blog will be taking the SocialPulse of Grammy Night with a twitter diary of artist tweets plus my own review coming a few days after the big show. In addition, stay with us here as we will be covering the busy next few months, along with wall-to-wall coverage of the current Real World season. Until then, thanks for reading and have fun.

- DC

DC SocialPulse: Real World Ex-Plosion: "A Numbers Game"

*** Reader Advisory: The Following Post Contains

Some Adult Language. Please Read with Discretion. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Hey there, welcome back to the 'Blog and to DC SocialPulse with last night's Real World Ex-Plosion and episode 2. Last week, the season began with us meeting our new class of seven pledges and all the usual pomp and circumstance of them meeting for the first time, moving into their new city of San Francisco and checking out what the City By The Bay has in store for them. And in the premiere and in a harbinger of what this dramatic season will have in store for us, we also saw some drama as well, with Ashley and her drunken alter ego, "Drunk Ashley", taking center stage a couple times. And, as you might expect, it ended with a couple roommates hooking up in the confessional with a bear suit on.

   Today, we'll cover episode 2 from last night entitled "The Numbers Game," where we see one couple officially become boyfriend & girlfriend, while the other that hooked up at the end of the premiere suddenly get on the rocks. This coming by way of the season's second fight, just after they hooked up yet again in this week's episode. And as you saw by the title, there's also some talk of numbers as well, along with some sightseeing, more Ashley talk and sex talk too. And following my episode wrap, we'll introduce you to one of the biggest fans in the show's fan-amily (and it's not me by the way) and some good friends he got to meet from the MTV community earlier this week.

   As we kick things off, please note there is some adult language in some tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)  So without further delay, here now are the tweets, starting with the previous night when some of the Real World alumni and other reality stars joined Ex-Plosion member Jay for his premiere party in New York.

RW Ex-Plosion: Calling All Fans for Your Input...

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

So, a day or so after a great start to this season of Real World: Ex-Plosion, I have a mission for some of my twitter followers and/or those who are passionate about this show.

Having enjoyed a great deal of blogging for Rivals II last summer & fall, I am stepping things up for RW Ex-Plosion with extensive coverage all season long. But what makes this a little different is that I will be aiming to involve the fans more in the conversation here on the Blog, in addition to the regular dialogue on my twitter @DC408dxtr. I'll be highlighting tweets from some of my loyal fan followers in our weekly SocialPulse articles in addition to tweets from cast and fellow alumni, including our first one that we posted at lunchtime the day after the premiere. The big thing this season for me is that I'll be expanding my chats with fans from just covering the Reunion at the end of the season to adding to that schedule the After Shows that will take place at certain times during the season after selected episodes. In fact, they have just taped those After Shows yesterday in Los Angeles, just a day after this premiere and hopefully the cast members freshened up after celebrating the debut to eventually talk about everything surrounding some of the biggest moments & stories that will arise on this season.

Typically, reunions and after shows are some or more so feature the same type of drama that we see during the entire season. And with the exception of the last one, the Rivals II reunion which was broadcast live and unedited, the reunions and after shows are taped in advance, often times with footage getting left on the cutting room floor after a longer, taped session that takes place anywhere from a few months to two weeks prior to air.

   That's where DC BLOG will help fill in the gap, in giving fans the opportunity to talk about all the events of this season and provide us with all the gossip from there in the studio, including what we might eventually not see that might make it into the final on-air product. These are the only interviews that I conduct on here and the only time I interview people is here, and it's about the reunion & now, the after shows. I leave the cast interviews to podcast & SpreeCast hosts like Brian Cohen  @BusDriversRoute, Andrew Kirk @CSUKirk, Reality Radio and others, though I do ask some questions on the webcasts for which I make every effort to be in every cast chat whenever my schedule allows.

   The "Reunion Revealed" articles I wrote on the reunions for Real World Portland and Rivals II, for which three of my loyal followers, Kevin, Kaitlyn and Drew all went to, is among my favorite articles, received great feedback from all three, and both posts are among the top 10 in page views on my blog, now about to cross 4,000 overall views. As they are all based in New York and can only go to the end of season reunion, and these After Shows being taped near BMP's Los Angeles home, I'll be relying on some fresh, new people from Southern California to get their insight into the taping process, bring us some scoop on what went on in the studio, and most importantly, giving you a chance to tell us what you think on both the episodes and after shows, maybe vent a little bit too. Judging from all the footage we've seen so far and are yet to take shape in the next two months, along with all the drama and stories that will come along with it, everything will be covered.

In the coming days & weeks, I'll be doing my best to reach out on Twitter, Instagram and other social media avenues to as many of the audience members as I can to get their input. If you were in that studio being a bare witness to all the events, all you have to do is to either tweet, follow or send me a direct message to my twitter @DC408dxtr, or for those who don't have a twitter, just shoot me an email to dc408dxtr@icloud.com and we'll set up things (i.e. Asking for your email via DM). Of course, to respect the folks over there, I'll wait until the 1st edition of the After Show (and succeeding ones for the other editions) to air for me to ask for your insight. All I just need to do is to watch it at least one or two times after the original airing, along with the preceding episode, to put together the right questions to ask, and then I'll email you a questionnaire for you to fill out - and this is not a phone interview, just an email thing. You'll then have a week to answer as many questions in the form as you can, and you should preferably reply back to me within a week of when you receive it in your inbox. As always, the quicker you reply, the faster I'll be in posting it.

   And unlike the Reunion where it's all at the end of the season, the After Show is seen at a few times during the season. So, this will be a season-long commitment to me to give your insights on both the after shows and your thoughts on this season as it will unfold. So make sure to jot down some notes from what you got to saw from all of the After Shows that were taped yesterday and be ready to answer all the questions I'll be asking you when a particular one airs, so we can cover all angles.

Once again, if you're in Southern California and attended the Real World Ex-Plosion After Shows this past Thursday, either tweet, follow or shoot me a DM to Twitter @DC408dxtr, or email me to dc408dxtr@icloud.com to set things up.

   So, that is your mission. Hope you all got to enjoy both the first episode on Wednesday and taping the After Shows. Look forward to talking to you throughout the season, and enjoy RW Ex-Plosion.

- DC

DC SocialPulse: Real World Ex-Plosion Premiere

*** Reader Advisory: The Following Post Contains

Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Well, welcome to our first DC SocialPulse post of 2014, and to a new season of The Real World. But not just any new Real World--it's a totally different take on a show I've been following for all 22 years it's been on. The season premiere was last night and though the feel of the show might be a bit different this time around, it's also in a way the same Real World we've been accustomed to over the years, and I definitely enjoyed the opening chapter of season 29.

First off, if this is your first time here and wondering what DC SocialPulse is all about, this is a unique post that I do that's scarcely found anywhere in the blogosphere. As I've matured gradually in the twitter verse since I joined on, fittingly enough, premiere night of Real World St. Thomas on June 27, 2012, the reason why I go crazy tweeting and retweeting things when The Real World or The Challenge is on or during big events is for posts like these: running diaries of how twitter saw all the events unfold. There's nothing like being able to experience the true communal experience that comes with watching television and interacting with cast members, fans and everyone else.

   If you're a person who wants to relive how your favorite cast members reacted to a hookup, a fight or anything else that took place, we will have everything covered. Or, in the case of folks out west such as yours truly, those who might have stayed off social media while the episodes aired and wouldn't get the benefit of having the true TV & Twitter experience of your favorites tweeting along with you out west, these SocialPulse posts are just for you. Instead of having to go back and read up on all those tweets in your timeline after you've seen the episodes, let yours truly take care of that for you as I piece together everything in real-time, uncensored and unfiltered.

   Either way, it's a requirement for fans to not only have their sets tuned to MTV for the shows as they watch it live, but also have an Internet device handy to follow the other big show on at the same time: the spontaneous interaction among cast, fans and all of us. And while we indulge in this totally new Real World, wait until the next season of The Challenge rolls up once the cold weather we've been having lately finally turns warmer & sunnier. It will be madness, just as it was last summer with Rivals II.

   For the first program to be given my SocialPulse treatment, we covered that great Challenge season in Thailand, first with the premiere back last July and then later covering the rest of the season which we covered before the finale. In fact, that very first SP post, which was one of my busiest days ever on Twitter, is among the top 5 most-viewed posts on my blog at 183 views, this as I approach 4,000 overall views of DCBLOG since I started blogging last summer. This time around, we'll be covering Real World Ex-Plosion from San Francisco as an unprecedented twist in the show's long history will see the ex-boyfriends and girlfriends move in to the loft to live with the original seven strangers, along with all of what we come to expect from the show that to me is like a religion in my own room. And unlike last summer, SocialPulse will be posted every week to compile all the tweets from each weekly episode into weekly posts, plus I'll also add my own commentary & thoughts on the episodes too.

Now, the season in a nutshell. Just as it was for last season in Portland, the show description on MTV.com tells fans to "expect the unexpected." We'll all start this experience, as we normally do in the recent past, with our seven strangers of Arielle, Ashley, Cory, Jay, Jamie, Jenny and Thomas all ready to enjoy what these next few months have in store for them. But the thing that they all have in common is that they all have a complicated romance with their exes and are eager to enjoy the single life in the City. And a catch is that they'll not only become very excited about getting the call, they'll also have only a couple hours to pack, say goodbye to their loved ones and fly out to the Bay Area and arrive at their house in the Polk Gulch district.

   But at some point during the season, just as the relationships are building, the roommates will be in for the surprise of their lives when, upon arriving from a day's excursion, they'll be caught completely off guard when those same exes from back home have moved in, and for good. This new living situation, the first time we've seen this on The Real World, will undoubtedly make for even more of what we come to expect from this generation of the show: not just the rights and hookups, but also love triangles, jealousy, scandal, and breakups & make ups as well. No doubt our roommates will all be tested to their limit of loyalty, friendship and learning to live with people you might be uncomfortable with. And if one thing is certain about all this: Love will rule the house more than in the past.

And now, to the main event: the following are the actual tweets of the cast, alumni & fans as America got to see the premiere of Real World Ex-Plosion. As we begin, please note there is explicit language in certain tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)  So without further delay, off we go, starting with the buzz 24 hours before the premiere, and the cast flying out to Los Angeles to tape the After Shows that will air at certain times during the season.

DC BLOG: What's to Come in 2014

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Well, happy new year to everyone if we haven't talked yet. And welcome to 2014 and my first DCBLOG post of the new year (sorry, haven't posted a blog in the past few weeks, been busy with the holidays). Looking back on the past year and a half, I've really grown in the social media world. Joining Twitter, Instagram, Blogger and expanding my social media footprint beyond Facebook & MySpace has really benefited me. I'm able to communicate with people I've never known until I met them virtually, along with those we all know in the entertainment and sports worlds.

Here on the 'Blog since I joined at the beginning of last summer, we have covered a number of things, including some sports, music and other things along the way. And I shared you a couple memories that stand out to me having just turned 30 this past year.

   But, of course, we have devoted most of our resources here covering The Real World and The Challenge, which is what I have been most into the past year - you can tell my obsession by me tweeting with the cast & posting some IG pix that's RW/Challenge related. We provided our unique  SocialPulse of how the cast & fans saw the biggest moments of a great Challenge season in Thailand, gave you a unique fan's point of view at the cast reunions for both Rivals II and RW Portland, and covering all angles of the franchise I follow most in the television world. I received nothing but positive feedback from fans and some cast members for the great job I've done covering the shows, not bad for someone who only took up blogging when he found an app for his iPad to write about these things.

As for what's coming up, you can expect another busy time for me here on the Blog. We will again be devoting the same kind of wall-to-wall coverage for the upcoming Real World Ex-Plosion throughout the season as it unfolds from here in the Bay Area, beginning this Wednesday. DC SocialPulse will return to provide an exclusive running diary of episode tweets from cast, alumni & fans as the drama and everything takes place in the loft and in the city. I'll also be getting fans' point of view on the season including Reunion Revealed, and may expand to also cover the After Shows as well (they film that the day after the premiere). And since this is the first full Real World that I'll be blogging on, I'll be utilizing my broad knowledge of this series to put this all in historical perspective, with my work cut out in a number of story ideas that I'll be able to blog about as the season rolls on. Expect coverage to be extensive and with the next RW blog coming up this weekend as the season debuts this week.

I'll also be devoting more & more posts on here covering the sports world, especially with the busy year that's coming. Of course, the two biggest events of the season are coming: Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City, followed four days later by the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. And you can expect plenty of coverage of the ladder as the latest edition of the one sports event I look forward to most takes place in February, and we'll also blog during the busy first part of the sports year with the NBA All-Star Game, NASCAR, March Madness, golf, MLB, NHL and more also taking shape, leading us to the year's other big sports event, the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in the summer.

Then, I'll be carrying that momentum from both San Francisco and Sochi right into the upcoming season of The Challenge. And as we did with Rivals II, we'll be on top of Challenge 25 as well: SocialPulse, fans' POV and so much more. Looking at the cast that will again have a good mix of veterans and newcomers, I'll have my work cut out once again in introducing (or re-introducing) some of the competitors to those passionate Challenge fans. And if what we've seen with TJ tweeting after the very first mission, and from one of those on this cast is true, we should be in for another fantastic Challenge season. So, expect wall-to-wall Challenge coverage coming your way in the springtime.

Aside from the RW/Challenge franchise and the sports world, I'll be expanding my blogging horizons as well, as promised in my first post. With the Grammys on the horizon, I'll be looking at the nominations and cover music on here too. Plus, we'll also be launching DC Inside, where I'll be taking an inside look at things I'm most into. And we'll cover other things too, including that Vegas travelogue.

So, we're off and running. Enjoy your weekend, and talk to you then.

- DC