The hottest acts in the music business earn their appeal by hitting the recording studio and their road warrior tour bus to promote their latest pop, rap, rock, blues or jazzy creations. On Sunday, Feb. 12, the music makers get their chance to shine on the red carpet when the awards season spotlights the 54th Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Staples Center (8 p.m. ET, CBS). But even pop stars need a place to call home every once and awhile, so here is a tour of these musical cribs.

Kanye West

Song of the Year, Best Rap Album, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Best Rap Performance

Kanye West upped his arrogantly bad boy status for his scene-stealing antics at awards shows. And with a critically acclaimed new recording and tour with fellow rapper Jay-Z, Kanye might be amped to pull off another unscripted surprise. The talented rap artist is nominated this year for seven awards, including the coveted “Song of the Year” for his collaborative piece “All of the Lights” with Rihanna, Fergie and Kid Cudi.

West picked up his LA digs in 2003 for $1,750,000. The 2002-built home was described as a “modern masterpiece” designed by a “world-renowned Italian architect” most likely appealed to West’s love of style. The 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath piece of Hollywood Hills real estate sits on a winding drive with views of the city below. It was listed for sale for $3,995,000 in 2010.

Source: IMDb

Rihanna

Album of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Song of the Year

Another year, another Grammy nomination for Barbados-born singer Rihanna — or three. The ubiquitous crooner, who could sing the phone book and make it sound hot, is up for a trio of awards, including Song of the Year for her collaboration with Kanye West.

 

While Rihanna’s luck in her musical career has been stellar, her luck in real estate has been the exact opposite. RiRi bought her Beverly Hills modern mansion, above, for $6.9 million, but later filed several lawsuits against the builder, previous owner, home inspector and real estate agents. She charged that her home was poorly constructed, with numerous water leaks causing extensive damage. She then listed the home as a $4 million short sale. There’s no word where the star is staying now, but her real estate drama may leave her a little gun-shy when it comes to purchasing a new home.

Katy Perry

Best Pop Solo Performance

Pop-star Katy Perry ended her year on a sour note with an impending divorce with her husband Russell Brand, but the pop diva could ring in the new year with another Grammy win.

Before Perry and Brand called it quits, the two shared a stately 3-acre Los Feliz home, pictured below, that Brand purchased as a Christmas gift for Katy in 2009. The pair listed the home on the Los Feliz real estate market in May 2011 for $3.395 million; it sold for $3.3 million.

Perry and Brand bought another, bigger, home in Hollywood Hills in June 2011, where movers were spotted hauling Brand’s stuff away. Whether Katy sticks with this property remains to be seen.

Source: IMDb

Taylor Swift

Best Country Solo Performance

The guitar-strumming blonde has already won 4 Grammys, (as well as numerous other awards) including her win for Album of the Year in 2010, making Taylor Swift the youngest artist in Grammy history to nab the coveted award.

Although Swift owns two homes in Nashville — one is currently on the market — she left the country music capital to make Tinseltown her primary residence when she bought a private piece of Beverly Hills real estate in April for $3.97 million.

 

Swift’s new home, above, is a charming Cape Cod-style home situated on an over-an-acre lot with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

Source: IMDb

Christina Aguilera

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

A year ago, things were a little rough for Christina Aguilera. There was a lyrical snafu at the Super Bowl, a spill at the Grammy’s, a highly publicized divorce, and a public intoxication arrest. So far, 2012 appears to be going a bit better for the diva, who is in her second year on NBC’s “The Host” and has a Grammy nomination for “Moves Like Jagger” with Maroon 5.

Maybe that portends a turnaround in real estate for Aguilera as well. Although she was finally unable to unload one of her properties, she still has a home for sale in Beverly Hills.

The stucco mansion was put up for sale on the Beverly Hills real estate market in March 2011 for $13.5 million and although it’s been nearly a year, Aguilera hasn’t dropped the price. The home was previously owned by rocker family The Osbournes. They sold the whimsical property to Aguilera and her former husband Jason Bratman in 2007 for $11.7 million.

 

R. Kelly

Best R&B Album

It’s been a decade since R. Kelly picked up a Grammy for “I Believe I Can Fly,” which he received three nods for Best R&B Song, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture. Now the singer has been nominated for his album, “Love Letter.” Maybe he can again add a Grammy to his other award wins, including those at the AMAs, Billboard Awards and BET Awards in years past.

As for real estate, R. Kelly faced a $2.9 million foreclosure suit earlier this summer, although reports were that it was a strategic foreclosure. The singer-songwriter moved out of his mansion and stopped making payments to force the lender to make a loan modification. The home is now formally listed as a short sale for $1.595 million.

Built in 1997, Kelly’s Olympia Fields, IL mansion is only 30 miles from his hometown of Chicago. The 22,000-square-foot home sits on a private, wooded lot surrounded by a 12-foot high concrete and wrought-iron wall.

Kings of Leon

Best Rock Album

The Grammys are old hat for rock band Kings of Leon. The American rockers won both Record of the Year and Rock Song of the Year in the 52nd Grammy Awards. The family band, comprised of brothers Nathan, Jared, and Caleb Followill and their cousin, Matthew Followill, also picked up nominations the following year for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance in the 53rd Grammys. This year, the group is back with a nominee for Best Rock Album.

Amidst the hype of winning their first Grammy Awards in 2010, Jared Followill decided to hop on the real estate train and purchased a gorgeous Nashville home in his home state of Tennessee. Followill’s home, above, is a new construction property by Rogan Allen and sits on a private hill-top lot measuring just over an acre in size. The 7,441-square-foot home has three stories, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and gorgeous views of the Davidson County countryside. Public records show Jared dropped $1,825,000 for his new pad — a hefty step up from the “small, fixer-up” he was apparently living in before.


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