Give A Grammy, Get Some Goodies

If you're a big star and you want a new blender, you could go to the store and plunk down $99 (it's a really nice blender), or you could call the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and offer to hand out a Grammy Award on Feb. 8.

Let us backtrack.

If you're a performer on the 48th Annual Grammy Awards show, or even if you just hand out a trophy, you get major payback.

First, there's the lavish Grammy Gift Basket, which is packed with goodies like an Oster blender ($99), a 12-month bi-coastal gym membership from The Sports Club/LA ($4,000), a handbags from Elliott Lucca ($188), skincare from Gingi ($700), and jeans from White Trash Palace ($150).

There is much more; in fact, the total estimated retail value of all the stuff in the basket comes out to more than $53,000.

But that's not all, folks.

Separately, there is something called Casio's presentation of the GRAMMY Talent Lounge featuring Exilim and G-Shock, which really boils down to the same thing: free stuff for the stars. The lounge will be open during rehearsals for the show (Feb. 5 through 7).

During that time, presenters and performers will be able to pick their pleasure from gifts provided by such companies as Gibson (guitars valued at up to $2,000), Solstice Sunglass Boutiques ($225), Mattel (things like Jucy Couture Barbie dolls), Escada ("assorted fashion" worth $700), Keurig (a single-cup gourmet coffee brewer valued at $200), and even Tupperware (worth more than $1,500).

As the lounge sponsor, Casio will be providing products like the newest Exilim Digital Camera as well as Baby-G and G-Shock watches.

Stars who already have agreed to perform on the show include Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Jamie Foxx with Kanye West, John Legend, U2 and Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill and Keith Urban, and Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock. Presenters will include Big & Rich, Tom Hanks and Terrence Howard.

The basket and the lounge are both arranged by Distinctive Assets, an entertainment marketing company that's based in Los Angeles, a job the company has been doing for six years for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The 48th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held Feb. 8 at the Staples Center in L.A. and broadcast by CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
By ELLEN CREAN