Love Notes

LOS ANGELES — “We’ll be drinking apple juice and hanging out with our moms,” joked Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine backstage at the Grammy Awards Sunday night of the band’s plans after being honored as Best New Artist.

That was hardly the case because, whether you win or lose, there are always parties to attend. Levine and his mates first hit the Entertainment Weekly-sponsored bash at Geisha House, where Usher and Nelly serenaded the crowd from their perch atop a couch while Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi boogied down.

At EMI’s party at the Beverly Hills Hotel, lovey-dovey couples including Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri, Laura Dern and Ben Harper, and Lisa Marie Presley and fiancé Michael Lockwood munched on chocolate-covered strawberries in poolside cabanas. Joss Stone, still high off her performance with Melissa Etheridge, gushed, “That’s like the highlight of my life, you know!”

“I don’t drink, but tonight I’m going to let my friend Captain Morgan take advantage of me,” joked John Mayer. It’s the kind of philosophy that most of the artists take on a night like this (especially when nearly every major label hosts a party), whether it be Kanye West, who arrived at his own Valentine-themed bash (sponsored by Boost Mobile) at midnight or Ciara, who worked the Sony BMG fete with air kisses. Five minutes after Ricky Martin left to continue the party shuffle, Slash, still clutching a glass of red wine, jogged after his own limo, which had apparently left without him.

At Warner Music Group’s party at Pacific Design Center, Zach Braff bragged about his best soundtrack trophy (for “Garden State”) and his wardrobe. “I’ve combined Prada’s beautiful sleek formal style with my old beat-up lucky sweatshirt. Trust me, tomorrow Gwen Stefani will be wearing this.” His gal pal Mandy Moore was careful to pose separately for photographers outside, but the couple canoodled once safely inside. “The luxury of being in this business is that you get a lot of help to get ready. I couldn’t pull off all of this by myself,” she said. “A couple of hours ago I was in my pajamas vegging out on the couch.”