Awards / Awards Shows

Garth Brooks opened the 2018 Country Music Awards with a dedication to the 12 people who were shot dead last week in the horrific massacre at a country bar in California.

Garth began the evening by lovingly dedicating the award show to the dozen people who were killed at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks during last week's College Country Night.

Garth told the audience the show would celebrate the lives of the men and women who were shot dead, and asked everyone to let music unite them in love in their enduring memory.

Kanye West is gunning for another title ... the new king of rock 'n' roll.

Sources close to West tell us his team at Def Jam submitted Kanye for "Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance" for his song "Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)" with Kid Cudi for a Grammy. The song is one of 7 from the duo's "Kids See Ghosts" album.

We're told the submissions have already made it through the screening process and were sent out on the first round ballot to voters. If Kanye's submissions snag enough support in the first round, they'll be nominated and up for the awards.

He's got a point ... 'Freeee' sounds like a rock song, loaded with heavy drums and guitars with vocals from Cudi and Ty Dolla $ign.

Our sources say Kanye's also been submitted for "Producer of the Year" -- you'll remember he did 5 albums in 5 weeks -- and his albums with Pusha T (Rap Album) and Teyana Taylor (R&B Album) are up for Grammys as well.

Bottom line -- Kanye could be ... the next Mick Jagger?

The 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards turned into one big party onstage and off, with the best artists and biggest ballers turning up in South Beach ... showing off their ice, style and swag.

Some of the stars who were dripping extra hard ... award winners Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled, Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka'Oir, Blac Chyna, T.I. and Tameka, O.T. Genasis, Fabolous ... and lots of other pairs and groups who reveled in the good times.

Also walking the red carpet at The Fillmore Miami Beach ... TMZ's Raquel Harper, in advance of her new TV show.

Camila Cabello's breakup with Fifth Harmony might be 2 years old, but it was fresh on the minds of people at The American Music Awards, who treated them like warring relatives at a wedding ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us three members of Fifth Harmony (current and former) attended the AMAs Tuesday night -- Camila, Lauren Jauregui and Normani. You didn't see them anywhere near each other though, and that was no accident.

We're told Camila was placed in the front row next to Taylor Swift, and the other 2 women were in totally different sections of the Microsoft Theater ... 'cause they weren't even within shouting distance of each other. Camila obviously had the best seat as she was nominated for multiple awards.

Our sources say there's been some leftover bad blood between these three in particular in the wake of Camila leaving the group in late 2016. There were conflicting accounts on how exactly her exit was handled -- Camila says she gave plenty notice, but 5H says she ghosted.

We're sure Camila's feud with her ex-group mates was the last thing on her mind -- she ended up walking away with 4 wins total ... New Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Video of the Year, and Favorite Pop/Rock Song.

Fifth Harmony wasn't nominated.

Good luck getting anywhere near Cardi B after she has a huge night at an award show -- she was rolling real DEEP as she and Offset hit the club in L.A. to celebrate her American Music Awards victories.

They rolled into Murano in West Hollywood around 1:15 AM, and there were at least a dozen people surrounding the couple. Some were bodyguards, some were just friends but the point is ... it was totally impossible to get anywhere near Cardi as they entered and left.

You could hear some disappointed fans yelling as they walked into the club.

The reason for the small army? We're guessing they're not taking any chances with scuffles after the NYC strip club incident and, of course, the infamous Nicki Minaj shoe-throwing caper.

For what it's worth ... Cardi took home 3 AMAs for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist, Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Song and Favorite Soul/R&B Song.

Congrats! From afar.

Music and fashion are all about expression, and the 2018 American Music Awards provided some great shots of celebs making statements with colorful ensembles, sparkling dresses and flashy outfits.

Some of the stars who shined extra bright Tuesday night ... Cardi B and Offset, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Jennifer Lopez and A-Rod, G-Eazy and Halsey ... and lots of other pairs and groups who shared in the harmony.

The biggest story of the night, though, was T-Swift's political spin on her record-breaking acceptance speech.

Aretha Franklin was honored at the 2018 American Music Awards with a star-studded performance of the Queen of Soul's timeless gospel classics ... with Gladys Knight leading the way.

Gladys, a friend of the late singer, started the tribute with a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace" ... bringing the audience to its feet one last time at the end of the 3-hour award show.

Gladys introduced Donnie McClurkin, and he energized the room by singing "Climbing Higher Mountains."

A gospel choir came onstage for CeCe Winans' performance of "Mary Don't You Weep" ... and people were dancing in the aisles by the time Ledisi launched into "How I Got Over."

The memorial performance ended with gospel duo Mary Mary singing a traditional gospel, "Old Landmark."

Aretha died August 16 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Taylor Swift didn't shy away from her newfound passion for politics during an acceptance speech at the 2018 American Music Awards ... pleading for people to hit the voting booths next month for the midterm elections.

Taylor saved her political pitch for her final acceptance speech ... reminding everyone that people decide who wins AMAs, and who wins political offices.

Tay didn't say who to vote for this time ... because she's already made clear she's voting for Democrats running for U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in her home state of Tennessee.

Taylor clearly didn't care about Donald Trump's message ... 'cause the Prez already told her to stay out of politics. Looks like the bad blood is still going.

8:40 PM PT -- The AMA's have come and ended without the face-to-face many fans were hoping for ... and it's because Nicki wasn't there. A source close to Minaj had told us the rapper flew in to L.A. Monday for Tuesday's show and was getting ready just hours before it started. However, a production source tells us Minaj was never, at any point, scheduled to appear. Guess the showdown will have to wait.

Cardi B and Nicki Minaj will be on the same turf tonight for the first time since Cardi chucked her shoe at Nicki and ended up with a huge lump on her head ... TMZ has learned.

Both ladies will be attending the AMAs Tuesday night in L.A. -- Cardi's a scheduled performer ... but we've learned Nicki will be there too. It's unclear if she'll take the stage though.

As you'll recall ... the last time the rappers were in the same room together, Cardi beelined it for Nicki and hurled a shoe at her, calling her a "p***y." Now, more than a month later, the 2 will be seated in the Microsoft Theater in L.A. Interesting to note, Cardi is up for 8 awards, Nicki was not nominated for any.

It's unclear how close they'll be seated to each other, but we know neither Cardi's team nor Nicki's made any special request to avoid each other.

Katt Williams' handlers wanted him to get some shine at the Emmys so badly, they kept him in the dark about a scheduled court date -- a decision that blew up in Katt's face with his weekend arrest.

Sources close to the comedian tell TMZ ... Williams' management team didn't tell him he was due in an Atlanta courtroom at the same time he was flying to L.A. last month to attend the Emmys. Yes, Katt was nominated for his role on the hit show "Atlanta," and he ended up winning.

However, we're told Katt's making it clear he would've picked going to court over the award show if anyone on his team had bothered to let him know what was at stake. When Katt no-showed for court, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Our sources say Katt never even knew about the warrant until he got busted in Oregon for allegedly assaulting his driver. He remains in a Portland jail, and no decision's been made yet on extradition.

Bottom line -- Katt feels like he's paying the price for his team choosing lady Emmy over Lady Justice.

Robert De Niro got back into his political comedy shtick again this weekend, making a sorry joke about Brett Kavanaugh hours after he was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

De Niro was receiving the Brass Ring Award Saturday evening at the Children's Diabetes Foundation's Carousel of Hope event in L.A., when, for whatever reason, he decided to wade into politics with a quip about the newly appointed Justice Kavanaugh. It mostly landed flat.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he goes ... "Now, one reminder. The drinks, wine and beer are flowing. But, be careful -- if you have too much, you may end up on the Supreme Court."

Besides the fact that he butchered the delivery of the line -- stumbling over his words -- it's clear he chose the wrong topic to bring up at a ceremony for the Children's Diabetes Foundation. The reactions to his joke were mixed, some nervously laughing ... others booing.

It's definitely not the first time De Niro has used his platform in such a public setting to bash the Trump administration. He got bleeped saying "F*** Trump" at the Tony Awards earlier this year, and seems to take every opportunity he can to slam the President.

Lindsey Graham says President Trump might not be deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize just yet, but if he wins it anyway ... liberals are going to lose it.

We got the South Carolina Senator on Capitol Hill Thursday evening and asked about the Prez being a favorite for the honor ... Graham says he's done a lot to deserve it by fighting ISIS and taking on Iran, but needs a little more help from North Korea.

As for the libs, Sen. Graham thinks if 45 manages to nab the Nobel, they'll be so distraught they'll head for the nearest window ... and take the leap.

Lindsey also throws some shade at past Peace Prize winner Barack Obama ... and a little at George W. too.

Katt Williams had some explaining to do about Tiffany Haddish and a gun that was supposedly pulled on him and, while he finally cleared the air ... it wasn't without difficulty.

We got the comedian Monday night strolling the streets of L.A. after the Emmys -- with his own in hand -- and asked him to elaborate on Atlanta radio host Wanda Smith's husband allegedly pointing a gun at his face and chasing him to a supermarket across the street.

Katt plays more than coy here ... he's just downright speaking in riddles with us. But, he does make one thing clear -- the sitch would've been far more dire if a gun was involved.

Our camera guy also asks about the apparent hatchet burying that happened when he saw Tiffany at the award show. She posted photos of him kneeling before her in what looked like pure contrition.

We got Tiffany at LAX Tuesday morning who echoed Katt's stance here ... no beef to see here. In fact, she's even open to working with the comedian in the future.

Katt does apologize though, saying he's sorry for bringing her up in a disparaging way ... and giving a shout-out to another comedian who apparently set him straight.

Donald Glover's creepy mansion dwelling, Michael Jackson-esque, character from his hit show, "Atlanta," made a surprise appearance at the 2018 Emmys -- except Donald wasn't behind the makeup.

DG and the rest of the "Atlanta" stars were in attendance Monday night, but so was Teddy Perkins ... who nearly killed Lakeith Stanfield's character in season 2. On the show, Donald played the role of Teddy, but at the Emmys ... this group shot sparked a mystery -- WHO'S WEARING THE MAKEUP???

Everyone assumed it was Donald until the photo made it clear that wasn't the case. Tuesday morning, comedian Jay Pharoah started taking credit for the appearance -- which would make sense, since his 'SNL' buddies wrote and hosted the Emmys.

If you haven't seen the show yet, here's an example of just how damn freaky Teddy Perkins really was during his brief stint in "Atlanta." Spoiler alert ... RIP, Teddy.

"Atlanta" had a pretty solid night with 16 nominations and 3 wins ... including Katt Williams' for his role on the series.

The 2018 Emmys have come and gone, but they didn't leave without some great shots of celebs backstage embracing each other in what turned into a big lovefest.

Some of the stars who were extra affectionate Monday night ... Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, Tiffany Haddish and Issa Rae, Henry Winkler and Bill Hader, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel and James Corden ... and lots of other pairs and groups who shared in the TV magic.

The biggest story of the night, though, probably belongs to Oscars director Glenn Weiss and his now-fiancee, Jan ... whom he proposed to while accepting his award.

This is one helluva first -- the guy who won an Emmy for directing the Oscars asked his girlfriend to marry him onstage while accepting his award ... and she happily said yes.

Glenn Weiss -- who won Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for the 2018 Oscars -- popped the question Monday night toward the tail end of his acceptance speech ... telling his significant other, Jan, that if she wondered why he didn't like calling her his GF, it was because he wanted to call her his wife. AWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

The entire crowd got to their feet as Jen made her way to the stage, where Glenn put the ring his own father used for his mother on the lucky lady's finger. He asked the question, and she eventually nodded yes while fighting back tears.

It was quite a moment, to say the least. Talk about a good proposal story, huh?