Blog Posts by Paul Grein

There was a day when you wouldn’t see “the F word” in the title of a top 10 hit. Times change. “F**kin Problems” by A$AP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar jumps from #15 to #10 in its 13th week on the Hot 100. It’s the third top 10 hit in two years with the once-taboo word in its title. P!nk’s “F**kin’ Perfect” peaked at #2 in February 2011. Cee-Lo Green’s “F**k You!” spent four weeks at #2 the following month.

Two other song titles on this week’s Hot 100 will offend those with tender sensibilities. “Bad Ass” by Kid Ink featuring Meek Mill & Wale debuts at #90. Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” re-enters the chart at #98.

Gary Allan’s Set You Free enters The Billboard 200 at #1. It’s the country star’s first #1 album. Set You Free also enters Top Country Albums at #1, ending Taylor Swift’s 13-week lock on the top spot. This is the second time that a Swift album has been knocked off the top of the country chart by a star who is much less famous than she is. Fearless was bounced from #1 in February 2009 by Dierks Bentley’s Feel That Fire.

Allan, 45, is far from an overnight success. He first cracked the pop and country album charts in 1996 with Used Heart For Sale. Set You Free is his fifth top five album on The Billboard 200, following Tough All Over (#3 in 2005), Greatest Hits (#5 in 2007), Living Hard (#3 in 2007) and Get Off On The Pain (#5 in 2010). It’s his third #1 on Top Country Albums, following Tough All Over and Greatest Hits.

Allan’s “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)” jumps to #1 on this week’s Hot Country Songs chart. It's Allan's first #1 country hit since 2004’s “Nothing On But The Radio.”

Justin Timberlake will need to put on that “Suit & Tie.” He’s been added to the bill for the 55th annual Grammy Awards. It will be Timberlake’s first appearance on the Grammy telecast since 2009, when he and T.I. performed their smash “Dead And Gone.” The Recording Academy didn’t announce what song Timberlake would perform, and didn’t announce Jay-Z as a co-performer, so it’s possible that Timberlake will do a song other than his current hit, “Suit & Tie.”

“Suit & Tie” drops from #4 to #13 in its third week on the Hot 100.

Kathryn Bigelow made Oscar history three years ago when she became the first woman to win for Best Achievement in Directing. By contrast, a woman has yet to win a Grammy as Producer of the Year. (A movie director and a record producer both take the lead in setting the overall creative direction.)

It won’t happen this year, either. Five men are competing for Producer of the Year (Non Classical): Dan Auerbach (whose credits during the year included his own band, The Black Keys, and Dr. John), Jeff Bhasker (who produces fun.), Diplo (whose credits included Usher’s “Climax” and Alex Clare’s “Too Close”), Markus Dravs (whose credits included albums by Mumford & Sons and Coldplay) and Salaam Remi (whose credits included Nas’ Life Is Good and “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys featuring Nicki Minaj).

The picture changes if you look at nominations instead of awards. Six women have been nominated for the Grammy for Producer of the Year, compared to just four that have been nominated for the Oscar for directing.

They don’t give a Grammy for the best opening line in a song, but if they did, fun.’s “We Are Young” would be a prime contender this year: “Give me a second/I need to get my story straight.” The Kelly Clarkson hit “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” also has a compelling opening line: “You know the bed feels warmer/Sleeping here alone.” These opening lines draw you in; they command your attention right from the start.

Both of these songs received Grammy nominations for Song of the Year. fun. co-wrote “We Are Young” with their producer, Jeff Bhasker. Jorgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin and Ali Tamposi wrote Clarkson’s smash.

A grand total of 260 songs have been nominated for Song of the Year over the past 55 years. Many have vivid, memorable opening lines. I played them all over the weekend. Here are 40 of the very best. I tell you who had the highest-charting Hot 100 hit with the song, who wrote it and whether it won for Song of the Year or was just nominated. They’re listed in reverse chronological order.

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta’s decision to allow women in combat has stirred much discussion and debate. Do women have the physical strength to serve on the front lines? Is this a matter of equality and fairness or an example of political correctness? While that discussion continues, there’s no debate that women can more than hold their own when competing with men in vocal competitions. We found that out last year when the Recording Academy combined previously separate male and female vocal competitions in pop, country and R&B. Last year, just one male artist earned a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. (It was Bruno Mars for a song with, ironically, a militaristic title, “Grenade.”) This year, not one male artist earned a nod. Ouch.

Bruce Springsteen has a good chance to win at least one Grammy this year, and possibly two. The Boss has amassed 20 Grammys to date. If he wins both, he’ll tie U2 for the most Grammys won by a rock act. (That is unless U2 also wins another Grammy this year. The band is nominated for Best Long Form Music Video.)

Let’s take a closer look at the rock and alternative fields.

Elton John, who memorably performed on the Grammys with Eminem in 2001 and Lady Gaga in 2010, will team with Ed Sheeran in a performance on this year’s telecast. Sheeran is nominated for Song of the Year for his hit ballad “The A Team.” The 55th annual Grammy Awards are set to air Feb. 10 from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Elton has a long history of championing new artists. Eminem was still fairly new in February 2001 when he and Elton performed “Stan,” a song from The Marshall Mathers LP, on the Grammy telecast. Eminem was under fire at the time for lyrics that some deemed homophobic. Elton’s embrace was seen as the support that was needed to quell the controversy. Gaga was still fairly new in January 2010 when she and Elton opened the telecast with a medley of two of her songs, “Poker Face” and “Speechless,” and one of his, “Your Song.”