Janet Bags the Grammys

Janet Jackson skipped last night's Grammy ceremony, where she was to honor Luther Vandross, after CBS required her to apologize for last Sunday's breast-baring performance with Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show.

The Grammy program, which was aired on a five-minute delay, was void of any particularly titillating moments after CBS received numerous complaints for its Super Bowl coverage last week. Christina Aguilera had a graphic superimposed across her chest briefly when she accepted the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in a skin-baring dress. "I don't want to have the same thing happen that Janet had done," she said.

Timberlake, who won a pair of awards, decided to appear at the event and apologized during his acceptance speech for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. "I know it's been a rough week on everybody," he said. "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable and I apologize if you guys are offended."

As a result of the controversy, Jackson's boyfriend, producer Jermaine Dupri, resigned as the president of the Atlanta chapter of the Grammys. "I didn't want to be a part of something that's not treating people in the right light," he said. "I feel like what's going on with Janet is unfair."

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

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