When LL Cool J was on the red carpet for the SAG Awards on Sunday, TV Guide’s Chris Harrison asked him the secret to his amazing physique at 43 and LL said “just keep spinning.” LL, born James Todd Smith, elaborates on his life philosophy in the March issue of Men’s Fitness and I have to say I found his advice inspirational – or maybe I was just mesmerized by his rock hard body. This is one good looking man and he clearly works hard for his career and his fitness, which he says are intertwined.

“Fitness and career longevity absolutely go hand-in-hand,” LL Cool J says. “What goes on the outside is definitely a manifestation of what goes on the inside.”

Seek Balance
“The four quadrants of your life are health (exercise and diet), business (going after your dreams and working toward them), family and friends (spending time with them and enjoying them) and the spiritual (giving to charity and being grateful). It’s like a scale. The secret to balancing a scale is putting equal amount of weight on both sides. Obviously no one is perfect, but if you always mean to balance the four quadrants in your life, things kinda fall in place.”

Let Things Go
“Do your best, put all of your energy in, and then you gotta let it go. If you become too attached to something, that can block your success. At the same time, don’t rest on your laurels. Don’t plant a seed, then sit on top of it to protect it – you’ll keep it from growing.”

Learn To Do What You Don’t Feel Like Doing
“Sometimes you roll out of bed and don’t feel like going to the gym – doesn’t matter. You gotta master your emotions, master yourself. What’s that saying – ‘A man who can conquer himself is greater than the one who can conquer a city’? If it’s the right thing, and you know you’re supposed to do it – do it even if you don’t feel like doing it.”

Don’t Limit Yourself
“Constantly envision what you see yourself being. Don’t allow yourself to be defined by what other people say you are. Dreams don’t have deadlines. Don’t let fear control you. There was a time 10 years ago when there was big backlash against rappers turning into actors. My response to that was to study really hard, go to acting school, focus my energy into acting. And now I’m doing what I’m doing.”

[From Men's Fitness, print edition, March, 2011]

The Men’s Fitness website has a ton of workout tips from LL Cool J’s trainer if you’d like to learn more about how he earned that hot body. The magazine focuses mostly on his motivational advice, and that’s clearly more important to him. He puts a lot of quotes up on Twitter too. I don’t know much about LL’s personal life, but Wikipedia has him living in Long Island with his wife and four kids. He’s starred on NCIS: Los Angeles since it premiered in August, 2009.

I’ve liked this guy ever since I listened to his music in high school, and it’s nice to see him make such a solid career move to television. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and I love that he’s kept his “Mamma Said Knock You Out” body. They did Photoshop these pics a lot, though. Check out the line above his bellybutton in that second image from the top. I had to stare at it for a while before I caught that.

And one more thing – these photos would have been significantly enhanced by LL removing his baseball cap. I love bald men, especially when they work it.

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In the tabloid industry, there’s an often-used tactic in which magazines take old interviews with celebrities and re-hash them to make them appear to be current. It’s something we at CB usually see through and our readers do, too. “OK!” is a frequent offender. Tabloids doing it is one thing, but a popular news channel? Apparently, Fox News is taking some heat from two celebrities for this very practice. Rap star and actor LL Cool J and country star Toby Keith have both issued statements that the new Fox News program, “Real American Stories,” hosted by Sarah Palin, has recycled old footage of them as part of the program – and they want viewers to know they had nothing to do with it.

Is there a feud brewing between LL Cool J and Sarah Palin?

Originally, the rapper and star of “NCIS: Los Angeles” was being promoted as a guest on Sarah’s new show, “Real American Stories.” However, he claims he was never actually asked to be on the program.

“Contrary to what was reported, LL Cool J was never scheduled to be a guest on ‘Real American Stories’ with Sarah Palin this week,” his rep tells ET. “The show had planned to use an interview from 2008 that was being re-purposed without LL’s permission.”

The rep went on to say there is no animosity on their end, adding, “This statement is not a reflection of any feelings LL has toward Fox News or Ms. Palin, whom he has never met, rather a clarification of what we have seen published in the media.”

However, a rep for Fox news tells ET a different story. When ET asked the network to clarify LL’s appearance, the Fox rep responded by saying they decided to cut him from the show altogether, telling ET: “‘Real American Stories’ features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe [LL Cool J]‘s interview fit that criteria. However, as it appears that [LL Cool J] does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career.”

[From ET]

Wow! That Fox News response is rather nasty, eh? I don’t think LL could have made it any more clear that he has no problem with Palin – he just wanted to set the record straight that he wasn’t a “new guest” on the show. Meanwhile, Toby Keith has made a similar statement about his involvement in the show.

What are they putting in the water at those tea parties?

Just hours after LL Cool J took issue with Fox News for splicing old footage of him into a promo for a Sarah Palin-hosted special in which she profiles “real Americans,” country singer Toby Keith said that the very same thing happened to him!

Keith’s rep, Elaine Schock, confirmed to E! News Wednesday that the U.S.A.-championing artist has never been interviewed by Palin, yet there’s a clip of him in the same commercial, right before LL Cool J comes on.

“I have no idea what interview they are using,” Schock told the New York Times’ Arts Beat blog.

“Toby’s talked to Fox a number of times, and I had no idea that this was going to be on Sarah Palin’s special. Fox has never contacted me—not now, not when they were putting this together, not at all. I have no idea what they’re using.”

She later informed the Times that the interview likely occurred in early 2009.

After ending up the target of a negative tweet, the network has since dropped the repurposed LL Cool J interview from Real American Stories, airing Thursday night.

Keith, a self-described “conservative Democrat” who’s known for his unflagging support of U.S. troops, has helped give Fox News some celebrity cachet over the years, sitting down for multiple chats about his music and movie projects.

[From E! Online]

Hmmm. I wonder if Fox News has plans to issue a similar scathing statement about Toby as they did with LL? Again, it doesn’t appear that either celebrity has a problem specifically with Palin, and I doubt she had any control over how Fox News decided to edit this show together using old footage. But if Fox wants to make Palin their media darling and give her any kind of credibility as a news show host, they may want to avoid such shady journalism tactics. I’m sure the channel and this new show have a big enough budget to go out and interview guests to air new footage, right?

Many announcement ceremonies for major televised awards shows are done in press conference form, often star-studded, but nothing with any production value. In an increased effort to stay relevant, the Grammys decided to take a different approach, making a mini-event night of it with new stars doing nostalgic performances between the nominee announcements.

CBS aired the Grammy Nominations Concert that was mercifully shorter and even more entertaining than the actual Grammys usually are. The show opened with Mariah Carey in a 60′s inspired Christmas number, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. There weren’t alot of close-ups, but from what I saw, Mariah looked great, sounded great, and wasn’t lip syncing. Christmas songs are kind of Carey’s element.

Mariah Carey “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

The show was hosted by LL Cool J and Taylor Swift. LL always seems so laid back and easy going, and hosting works for him. Taylor held her own and got better as the show went on. She’s young and truthfully didn’t seem to know anything more about LL than what was on the cue cards, though. Needless to say, it was LL who mini-interviewed The Jonas Brothers after their first, and only, nomination.

Ne-Yo announced the nominees for Best New Artist: Adele, Duffy, The Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum, Jazmin Sullivan.

Celine Dion took the cheese level off the chart with “Too Young at 17″ which is a borderline cheesy song, anway (although, the kind of cheese you can’t help but love, like this garlic and herb gournay from Costco I’m eating right now!). But as great a voice as Dion has, you add her turn of phrase to an already yummy cheese song, it instantly becomes Cheez Whiz. Throw in the way she looks longingly into the camera and it’s spray can cheese.

Celine Dion – “Too Young at 17″

Celine announced the nominees for Album of the Year: Coldplay “Viva la Vida”, Lil Wayne “Tha Carter III”, Ne-Yo “Year of the Gentleman”, Robert Plant & Alison Kraus “Raising Sand”, Radiohead “In Rainbows”

Foo Fighters laid down the Foo on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” I wouldn’t have thought anyone could rock out to a Carly Simon hit, but Dave Grohl can often pull things off you never expected. Loved it!

Foo Fighters – “You’re so Vain” (recorded by an audience member)

Dave then announced the nominees for Best Collaboration with Vocals: Alicia Keys & John Mayer “Lessons Learned”, Madonna Justin Timberlake & Timbaland “4 Minutes”, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Rich Woman”, Rhianna & Maroon 5 “If I Never See Your Face Again”, Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown “No Air”

And Best Country Performance: Brooks & Dunn “God Must Be Busy”, Lady Antebellum “Love Don’t Live Here”, Rascall Flatts “Everyday”, The Steel Drivers “Blue Side of the Mountain, Sugarland “Stay”

Christina Aguilera once again vocally blew everyone away with her verson of Billie Holiday’s “I Love You Porgy” from Porgy & Bess. It was fantastic. She also looked lovely, with relatively understated makeup.

Christina Aguilera – “I Love You Porgy”

Taylor Swift did an less than stellar rendition of Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry” but Joe Jonas was sitting right in the front row so that had to feel good for her, probably a little uncomfortable for him. Swift’s performance improved considerably when she switched to her own “White Horse” which was just as appropriately aimed at Jonas.

Taylor Swift – “I’m Sorry” and “White Horse”

Taylor announced the nominees for Best Rap Duo or Group: Big Boi, Raekwon & Andre 300 “Royal Flush”, Jay Z, TI, Kanye West & Lil Wayne “Swagger Like Us”, Lil Wayne & JayZ “Mr. Carter”, Ludacris & TI “Wish You Would”, Young Jeezy & Kanye West “Put On”

John Mayer was in his comfort zone, where he actually makes some pretty good music, with BB King, playing and singing some great old R&B. Mayer should make more of this kind of music than his corny pop ballads. He’s not without talent. I do hope he didn’t think the standing O was in any way for him, though. BB King is legend.

John Mayer and BB King (audience recorded video)

Mayer announced the nominees for Record of the Year: Adele “Chasing Pavements”, Coldplay “Viva La Vida”, Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love”, MIA “Paper Planes”, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Please Read the Letter”

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS on February 8th.

Shown last night are Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, LL Cool J, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, Smokie Robinson, and Natalie Cole. Credit: WENN

In Touch has details of the performer’s backstage riders at the VMAs and they’re really not all the demanding – except for Christina Aguilera, who is said to have had 41 items on her list, and LL Cool J, whose list is particularly expensive and detailed. I think that In Touch distilled this list down to just a few things for each musician. The Jonas Brothers prefer both regular and sugar free Red Bull, Vitamin Water and vegetarian sushi while Kid Rock wants socks and ChapStick.

Christina Aguilera
- 1 large boom box that plays CDs, no alarm clock stereos
- 1 full length mirror
- 1 space heater
- 1 table just for makeup and dressing
- 2 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne
- 3 L’Occitane vanilla-scented candles with matches
- 1 cozy blanket
- 4 black bath towels
- 1 case of Arrowhead water

LL Cool J
- 1 black super stretch limo
- 14 airline tickets
- 14 hotel rooms
- 3 dressings (ranch, thousand island, honey mustard)
- 24 long-stem roses with no thorns, with individual water reservoir tips

Rihanna
- 1 lighted professional makeup mirror
- 2 Trish McEvoy blueberry candles
- 1 large, comfy sofa
- 24 Buffalo wings, hot sauce on the side
- 1 whole roasted chicken, spiced with jerk seasoning and cut into parts

Kid Rock
- 1 toaster
- 1 tube of ChapStick
- 1 pack of white crew socks
- 2 bottles of Grey Goose or Ketel One vodka
- 2 low fat yogurts (raspberry)
- 1 package of baby wipes

Jonas Brothers
- 8 Red Bull Sugarfree beverages, plus 6 regular Red Bulls
- 2 plastic bottles of room-temperature apple juice
- 12 bath-size towels (must be freshly laundered)
- 24 pieces of California sushi rolls
- 1 package of Oreo Double Stuff
- 6 bottles Vitaminwater (yellow, red, orange)
- 3 packages of Listerine Pocket-packs breath strips

[From In Touch, print edition, September 22, 2008]

I like setting up the guest room when people stay over and putting out towels, water, bath gel and hand cream and stuff. Sometimes I tie a little ribbon around the towel set, which I learned how to do in a Martha Stewart book. I think I would enjoy outfitting the celebrities’ dressing rooms and making them all special with baskets filled with their favorite things. Of course unlike the guests at my house no one would be thanking me for it and it would get tedious after a day or two. The people who do that job must chewed out regularly for forgetting small little details and/or not being able to read the privileged folks’ minds.

According Snopes.com, Van Halen added the seemingly strange request “no brown M&Ms” to their concert riders to make sure that all the more important requests about their technical and sound requirements were followed precisely. If there were brown M&Ms – they could be sure that the other details were skipped over too.

It’s about comfort for these stars rather than technical precision. The Jonas Brothers probably just want to get a nice caffeine buzz before they go on while Kid Rock has sweaty feet and needs new socks. I wonder what was in Britney’s rider. (Here’s what she asked for during her 2000 tour.) What would be on your list if you could get a bunch of stuff put in a room for you at work?

I was watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, (not that I recommend it as I find him kind of hoaky) and LL Cool J was on. He has a new workout book called “LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout” that he says is about being the best that you can be. People assume there’s some trick to getting buff or that celebrities are fit because they have so many advantages, but LL said that it just takes work. I was impressed with how genuinely enthused he is about fitness, and all of the positive things he said. He said working out helps you think better, makes you feel more confident, and helps you do better at any job. It gives you energy that you can tap into to achive your goals in life.

LL is really ripped, and he doesn’t take steriods and that’s what his book is about. In another interview that I found online, LL says the book is not about quick fixes, and tries to help people make lifestyle changes that last:

It’s about correct form. It’s about meal plans as opposed to diets. It’s a lifestyle book. I think that’s what separates it from all these quick fixes. You have all of these books that promise great abs in 30 seconds, that promise that you’ll be in shape in three easy weeks. You see the results when you see me. I’m a walking billboard and a living witness to the fact that everything in this book is real; it’s really been done.

It’s aimed at people who want to be in shape or people who want to change their lives. There is no age, there is no demographic for fitness — fitness is for everyone…

Once you have a roaring flame, it doesn’t take as many logs to keep it going. At this point, I’ll sit down and eat ice cream and have some apple pie. But I’m also working out all week, and I’m in shape and still burning fat. It’s a little different from someone who maybe feels like they are 15 or 30 pounds overweight. They can’t cheat yet. Once you get to a certain point, you can kind of live a little bit, and that’s a good thing. My focus is on getting this book out there and benefiting as many people as I can with it. I’m so excited about my book that I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t think of anything else.

LL has one more album coming out with Def Jam, and was the first artist signed to the label when Russell Simmons started it. He has the last album under his current contract due in April of this year.

Although he didn’t talk about it on the show, he recently gave a generous gift of custom made cribs to P. Diddy’s twins. Diddy had the $2,250 cribs on his baby registry.

Marc Anthony hightailed it out of there when he saw his poorly made-up wife getting it on with healthy hottie LL Cool J for a video shoot.

Hey, at least he didn’t freak out, flip anyone off or shove and shout at LL for getting too close to his woman. Marc probably realizes he would lose any fight with buff LL. in about two minutes. Hell, LL is so confident about it he’s telling the story to the papers.

Here are Marc and J.Lo leaving their hotel in Santander, Spain on 10/12. Man I would love to be able to take a private jet to travel. [via]