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Sunday's Grammy Awards featured an impressive lineup of performances and pairings of some of the world's greatest musicians, including the night's big winners: Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and Jennifer Hudson.
But the real story of the night didn't unfold on stage: R&B star Chris Brown, who was scheduled to perform Sunday night, instead turned himself into Los Angeles police and was charged with felony criminal threats after a reported dispute with a woman earlier in the day.
He was released after posting $50,000 bail. The case will now be sent to the district attorney's office and further charges could be filed.
The woman involved in the incident, which was reported around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, has not yet been named. According to police, Brown and the woman were in a vehicle in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles when, according to the victim, they became involved in an argument.
LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors said Tuesday they want more evidence from police before determining whether to press charges against Chris Brown, who's accused in a domestic dispute that reportedly involves pop superstar Rihanna.
Police presented a case regarding Brown on Tuesday, but did not release any of its details, Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said. She said the office would have no further comment on the case.
Brown was arrested Sunday night after surrendering to police, who sought the 19-year-old singer when a woman identified him as her attacker during a fight the night before. Numerous media outlets, citing sources and police officials who were not named, have identified the woman as 20-year-old Rihanna, Brown's longtime girlfriend.
Though an initial police news release indicated that they were investigating a battery on a woman who was injured, Brown was booked only on suspicion of making a criminal threat, a felony. Police have said that prosecutors would determine what charges, if any, were warranted.
The district attorney's kicking the case back to police could signal that prosecutors are seeking to build stronger charges against Brown; or it could mean the current evidence is too flimsy or has holes that would drop it to a misdemeanor or make it go away altogether, Loyola University law professor Stan Goldman said.
"Sending it back certainly isn't the death penalty," Goldman said.
"If you're Chris Brown," he added, "it's both bad and good."
A police spokeswoman said the department had no comment about the district attorney's decision.
The department has said it was alerted to the incident in the upscale Hancock Park neighborhood by a 911 call, but have provided few official details beyond the initial report. Brown's attorney and spokesman have not returned multiple calls and e-mails seeking comment since Sunday.
Brown remains free on $50,000 bail.
The allegations have at least momentarily tarnished Brown's squeaky-clean image. At least one major sponsor, Wrigley, has suspended ad campaigns featuring the singer, who has scored with hits such as 2005's "Run It!" and a Grammy-nominated duet with Jordin Sparks, "No Air."
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WAKS-FM, a Cleveland-area radio station has stopped playing Brown's music until the allegations are resolved after outraged listeners called to criticize the singer. Stations in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis also reportedly pulled Brown's music.
Brown has withdrawn from public appearances in Phoenix scheduled for this weekend before the NBA All-Star game. Rihanna on Tuesday postponed a planned concert in Malaysia.
Brown and Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, skipped planned performances at Sunday's Grammy Awards, leaving fellow recording artists to try to make sense of the allegations.
Kanye West, who toured with Rihanna, said on Ryan Seacrest's morning radio show Tuesday morning that the reports of abuse were "devastating."
"I feel like, just as a person, I don't care how famous she is or even if she just worked at McDonald's, that should never happen," West said on the show, which is broadcast on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. "It should never come to that place."
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AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this story.
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
The Associated Press
The 51st annual Grammys was an all-ages affair ultimately dominated by a rock legend who took up with a younger bluegrass singer on a whim.
The unlikely pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss that produced the hit album "Raising Sand" won five Grammys on Sunday including album of the year. The former Led Zeppelin frontman, previously best known for his high-decibel shrieking and rock star theatrics, found more docile Nashville melodies with Krauss.
While accepting the Grammy for album of the year, the 37-year-old Krauss — perhaps wanting to remind the audience that Plant's rock star hadn't entirely matured — said there's "never a dull moment" with the 60-year-old singer.
"Raising Sand," produced by T Bone Burnett, bested fellow nominees Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, Coldplay and Radiohead. Their "Please Read the Letter" also won record of the year.
"I'm bewildered," said Plant. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but I think it's a good way to spend a Sunday."
In a performance-stuffed live broadcast on CBS, the subject of age — and intertwining musical realms — was always close at hand.
Taylor Swift, 19, and Miley Cyrus, 16, sang a duet of Swift's "Fifteen." The 66-year-old Paul McCartney, with 40-year-old Dave Grohl on drums, sang the Beatles classic about a girl who "was just 17."
Stevie Wonder performed with the Jonas Brothers and even a nine-months pregnant woman — the rapper M.I.A. — hobbled out on the stage to join the dapperly dressed Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T.I. in a "rap summit" performance of T.I.'s "Swagger Like Us."
Before the night's end, Plant and Krauss seemed to be in a three-horse race with Lil Wayne and Coldplay — a trio of acts of wildly different sounds.
Lil Wayne — who led the field with eight nominations — won three awards, including best rap album for "Tha Carter III," for which he literally hopped on stage to receive. (His tally came to four Grammys if you count his inclusion on "Swagger Like Us," which won best rap performance by a duo or group.)
By JAKE COYLE AP Entertainment Writer
It is time to predict who will actually take home Oscar, and while the general nominations are relatively easy to call, the actual winners are often harder to predict. In a backwards way, I wish there was one year when my predicting many categories is really moot because that would mean I am not second-guessing political factors and other trends and the vote is based solely on artistic quality.
Of course, politics and artistic quality are not necessarily mutually exclusive but the former should be minimized as much as possible so that we can have some pleasant and truly deserving surprise wins. Anyway, enough of my rambling... here are my predictions for who will win the Oscars as well as my preferences for who should win.
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire, of course. It has the PGA and DGA on its side and, after the last few years’ Best Picture winners such as Million Dollar Baby, Crash, The Departed, and No Country for Old Men have been so downbeat, the Academy will feel that this is their opportunity to honor an uplifting film. The fact that it is set in India is also a gigantic boost, as the Oscars are really enthusiastic over the theme of globalization these days and this is the friendliest one they can pick.
In fact, it is the only particularly memorable movie in this category’s lineup, although it is getting ever clearer that the Academy tends to ignore films that really distend the realm of cinema. There are good movies here such as Milk, Frost/Nixon or The Reader but how many people will actually remember these movies after the next few years? And does The Curious Case of Benjamin Button really tell a story that exploits the possibilities of its wild premise beyond its slick technical and visual surface? Well, at least they will end up (hopefully) picking the one movie that stands out the most.
Prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
Preference: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: The Best Picture front runner will also carry the torch here for the director, Danny Boyle. He has been an ambitious director, immersing himself in almost any genre and most, including the DGA that has honored him, would agree that immersing himself so well in a foreign culture this time has allowed him to direct one of his best films yet. If there is a dark horse, I do not think it will be David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as many people believe, but Gus Van Sant, as there might be votes of sympathy for him after not winning for Good Will Hunting and making a slew of films that are strictly personal and outside the mainstream (although, of course, the Academy would choose to pick him for a more commercial movie like Milk rather than a more unconventional, ambitious film like Paranoid Park). Ron Howard is already a past recent winner and Stephen Daldry should be happy just with his nomination here, although he may start to get restless after losing with all three nominations.
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Jennifer Aniston is notoriously quiet about her relationships, but in the new issue of Vogue, the former 'Friends' star opens up about her love life, past and present.
In response to an interview Angelina Jolie gave about falling in love with her ex-husband Brad Pitt while they were still married, Jen defends herself, Usmagazine.com reports.
"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening. I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss," she tells Vogue.
"That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool," she adds.
Aniston reveals, however, that she and Pitt "had an amicable split" and she and the actor have shared "a few very kind hellos ... and congratulations on your babies."
Aniston even talks about her on-again, off-again romance with John Mayer.
"People need to mind their own business! Did you ever think Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield made sense? Love just shows up," she claims.
One thing is for certain. You won't see Mayer bragging about dumping her anymore.
"Trust me, you'll never see that happen again from that man."
