Tanja M. LadenHow'd you like the Grammys last night? Not so much? Well, perhaps that's just because you didn't get invited the schwagapalooza, aka the gifting suites. This year as always, Grammy presenters, performers and nominees got a shit ton of free stuff.
The lounge was open from Thursday until Saturday before the Grammys. Lorde, Gloria Gaynor and Billie Joe Armstrong came, as did Steven Tyler, Lance Bass and Nine Inch Nails, and finally Ringo Starr, Boyz II Men, George Clinton and Queen Latifah on the last day. Fancy!
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Credit: Tanja M. Laden
The gifts themselves totaled $25,000 in value, not including those in the “unofficial gift lounges” (ever heard of a vagina steamer?) and other Grammy-related ceremonies. At $8000, the most expensive gift in the lounge was a “Best of Las Vegas” package, which included show tickets to everything from Blue Man Group to the Chippendales, plus a Pawn Stars tour where the recipient actually gets to be on the show. Dot-Marie Jones – aka Coach Beiste on Glee – was said to be really excited about the Las Vegas package.
Credit: Tanja M. Laden
The host of the Grammys LL Cool J, was said to be impressed by the “world's first bluetooth gramophone” from Gramovox ($350), which replicates the old-timey funneled sound when connected to a bluetooth-enabled device. Ok!
But that was just the tip of the iceberg…
[The old-timers from the band Chicago breezed through the tent and stopped to pick up a six-month supply of his-and-her sexual health supplements from BioXgenic ($300). Meanwhile, Japanese company McCoy gave away anti-cellulite creams fashioned from “world-patented ionized technology” ($250) – it's not yet available to the general American public yet. There was also stuff like a clip-on camera ($279), “a stylish bra pocket” (you know, so you can hold your phone and stuff in your bra) ($25), and a shower head with wireless speaker ($199).
Some of the bigger name celebs, we were told, waited in limos outside for the gifts to be brought to them rather than go inside and get them themselves. Classy! While many of the gift recipients weren't above posing for pictures with their swag for publicity purposes, others actually said they didn't want their pictures taken.
Which brings us to the whole point of these kinds of gifting suites: companies give their stuff away so celebrities will promote their products. And what's the point of giving gifts to famous people if they just sit in their limos and refuse to pose their pictures? Ah celebrities, what can you do?
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