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51st Annual Grammy Awards
THE SHOW
LED ZEPPELIN never won a Grammy, but their lead singer ROBERT PLANT went home with his arms full of Grammy gold last night. Plant and his duet partner, country singer ALISON KRAUSS, took home five Grammy Awards thanks to Raising Sand, their duet album of rootsy blues, folk and bluegrass tunes. It was named Album of the Year, and a track from the disc, "Please Read The Letter," was named Record of the Year. The duo also won in several lesser categories. Accepting Album of the Year -- the final award of the night -- Plant said, "In the old days, we would've called this selling out. But I think it's a good way to spend a Sunday."
But behind the scenes, the big news wasn't who won -- it was the fact that nominees and scheduled Grammy performers CHRIS BROWN and his girlfriend RIHANNA had both abruptly pulled out of the broadcast following Chris' alleged involvement in a domestic violence incident early Sunday morning. Before the broadcast started, the LAPD announced that Chris and an unidentified woman -- who many assumed to be Rihanna -- had argued, with the woman ending up with "visible bruises." Chris, who had left the scene of the incident by the time the police arrived, turned himself in a few hours after the Grammy telecast began. He was booked on charges of "criminal threats," posted 50 thousand dollars' bail and was released.
Since both Chris and Rihanna were due to perform on the show, Grammy producers scrambled to plug the hole left by their absence. They came up with AL GREEN, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, KEITH URBAN and BOYZ II MEN, all performing Green's classic "Let's Stay Together." It actually sounded great, and not thrown together at all.
Though the Grammys offered performances from plenty of music legends last night -- including Plant, U2, PAUL MCCARTNEY, NEIL DIAMOND and BB KING -- the telecast actually seemed to focus heavily on what's happening now in music. Plenty of airtime was given over to rap and hip-hop, including a show-stopping performance of "Swagga Like Us" that teamed KANYE WEST, T.I., LIL WAYNE and JAY-Z -- all decked out in tuxedos -- with nine-months-pregnant British rapper M.I.A. There were also performances from COLDPLAY, who took home three Grammys including Song of the Year, KID ROCK, who did a medley of three songs, and RADIOHEAD, who teamed up with the USC Marching Band for their first U.S. TV appearance in nine years.
Teens and tweens watching were no doubt thrilled that THE JONAS BROTHERS, who lost the Best New Artist trophy, also performed, with none other than STEVIE WONDER joining them for "Burnin' Up" and his own "Superstition." And MILEY CYRUS and TAYLOR SWIFT, both of whom used to date different Jonas Brothers, performed a duet of Taylor's song "Fifteen." American Idol fans were happy to see JENNIFER HUDSON be handed her first Grammy by WHITNEY HOUSTON, who looked beautiful but seemed a bit unfocused. KATY PERRY emerged from the ceiling in a giant golden banana to sing "I Kissed A Girl," but the much-publicized "My Grammy Moment" aspect of her performance -- where fans' homemade videos were played behind her -- was not mentioned at all.
Country music was well-represented too, with a rocking performance by CARRIE UNDERWOOD, a very low-key rendition of "Better As A Memory" from KENNY CHESNEY and an emotionally-searing rendition of "Stay" from SUGARLAND. Sugarland also joined Best New Artist winner ADELE for the last few lines of her song "Chasing Pavements."
Unlike past years, there were no classical performances at all, and the only nod to jazz was a New Orleans music tribute that was part of a segment featuring LIL WAYNE and ROBIN THICKE.
Also of note: the three members of BLINK-182, who shared a stage for the first time since 2004 to present an award last night, announced that they were reuniting musically as well.
THE WINNERS
Here's a list of Grammy winners in key pop, rock, country, R&B, rap and video categories:
Record of the Year Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, "Please Read The Letter"
Song of the Year (award to songwriter) "Viva La Vida," Coldplay/artist and songwriters
Album of the Year Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand
Best New Artist Adele
POP FIELD
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Chasing Pavements," Adele
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Say," John Mayer
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: "Viva La Vida," Coldplay
Best Pop Vocal Album Rockferry, Duffy
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, "Rich Woman"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Still Unforgettable, Natalie Cole
Best Dance Recording
"Harder Better Faster Stronger," Daft Punk
ROCK FIELD
Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance "Gravity," John Mayer
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
"Sex On Fire," Kings Of Leon
Best Rock Song "Girls In Their Summer Clothes," Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
Best Rock Album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay
Best Alternative Music Album In Rainbows, Radiohead
R&B FIELD
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance "Superwoman," Alicia Keys
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
"Miss Independent," Ne-Yo
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals "Stay With Me (By The Sea)," Al Green Featuring John Legend
Best Contemporary R&B Album Growing Pains, Mary J. Blige
Best R&B Album Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson
Best R&B Song "Miss Independent," M.S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen & S. Smith, songwriters/Ne-Yo, artist.
RAP FIELD
Best Rap Solo Performance "A Milli," Lil Wayne
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"American Boy," Estelle Featuring Kanye West
Best Rap Song "Lollipop," D. Carter, S. Garrett, D.Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters/Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major, artist.
Best Rap Album Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne & T.I., "Swagger Like Us"
COUNTRY FIELD
Best Female Performance Country Vocal
"Last Name," Carrie Underwood
Best Male Country Vocal Performance "Letter To Me," Brad Paisley
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
"Killing The Blues," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Best Country Song "Stay," Jennifer Nettles, songwriter/Sugarland, artist
Best Country Album Troubadour, George Strait
Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals Sugarland, "Stay"
VIDEO FIELD
Best Short Form Music Video "Pork And Beans," Weezer
Best Long Form Music Video Runnin' Down A Dream, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
THE PERFORMANCES
Here's a rundown of last night's Grammy performances:
U2 kicked off the show with their new single "Get On Your Boots." BONO started the performance by singing while behind LARRY MULLEN JR's drum riser, in front of a massive video screen that flashed the song's lyrics.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, AL GREEN, BOYZ II MEN and KEITH URBAN all performed a hastily-assembled version of Green's classic "Let's Stay Together," which had been added at the last minute to make up for the fact that neither CHRIS BROWN nor RIHANNA were performing.
CHRIS MARTIN of COLDPLAY and JAY-Z performed the remix version of Coldplay's "Lost," and then the entire band segued into "Viva La Vida."
CARRIE UNDERWOOD, wearing a gold mini-dress with enormous sleeves, did a fiery performance of "Last Name."
KID ROCK did a three-song medley of "Amen," "All Summer Long" and "Rock and Roll Jesus." During "Amen," a photo of Kid's latest mug shot flashed on the screen behind him, garnering laughs from the audience.
TAYLOR SWIFT & MILEY CYRUS duetted on an acoustic version of Taylor's song "Fifteen" while sitting on stools.
JENNIFER HUDSON took it to church with an emotional reading of her ballad "You Pulled Me Through," backed by a gospel choir.
JONAS BROTHERS & STEVIE WONDER duetted on the JoBros' hit "Burnin' Up" and Stevie's "Superstition." It actually sounded okay, believe it or not.
KATY PERRY descended from the ceiling in a giant gold banana to sing "I Kissed A Girl." She showed off loads of cleavage in a CARMEN MIRANDA-inspired sequinned dress, while female dancers surrounded her.
KANYE WEST and ESTELLE performed "American Boy." Both wore silver sparkles -- Estelle in a dress and Kanye with a blazer.
KENNY CHESNEY did a low-key version of his song "Better As A Memory," with just an acoustic guitar.
KANYE WEST, T.I., JAY-Z, LIL WAYNE and nine-months-pregnant British rapper M.I.A. all teamed for a "Rap Pack" performance of "Swagga Like Us." All the men were decked out in tuxedos, and the first part of the performance was broadcast in black & white to give it a classic feel.
PAUL MCCARTNEY, with DAVE GROHL on drums, sang "I Saw Her Standing There." He was actually nominated for a live version of that track, but didn't win.
SUGARLAND performed a stripped-down version of "Stay," which was immediately followed by ADELE singing "Chasing Pavements." Sugarland's JENNIFER NETTLES joined Adele for the last few lines of her song.
RADIOHEAD teamed up with the USC Marching Band, which has a history of playing with rock bands, to perform "15 Step." It was the band's first U.S. TV performance in nine years.
T.I. and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE did a dramatic performance of "Dead & Gone," with Justin at the piano, and a bunch of young bucket drummers pounding away.
SMOKEY ROBINSON, JAMIE FOXX and NE-YO teamed up with the only surviving original member of the FOUR TOPS, DUKE FAKIR, in a Four Tops tribute that included "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing In the Shadows Of Love" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)."
NEIL DIAMOND sang "Sweet Caroline."
Guitarists JOHN MAYER, KEITH URBAN, BB KING and BUDDY GUY all did a tribute to the late BO DIDDLEY, performing his song "Bo Diddley."
LIL WAYNE performed "Tie My Hands" with ROBIN THICKE and New Orleans music legend ALAN TOUSSAINT.
ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS sang "Rich Woman" and "Gone Gone Gone," from their Grammy winning album Raising Sand.
STEVIE WONDER closed the show with "All About the Love Again" from the Presidential inauguration album Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise.
BACKSTAGE
After winning five Grammys last night, ROBERT PLANT and ALISON KRAUSS had reason to sing each other's praises. Plant said his collaboration with Krauss is the, quote, "most remarkable liaison" in which he's been involved -- high praise from a former member of LED ZEPPELIN. For her part, Krauss said it was nice to have received such respect from the Grammys.
ESTELLE, who was honored for best rap/sung collaboration for "American Boy," said it was amazing to have picked up a Grammy after watching the ceremony on TV in previous years.
Estelle also saluted JENNIFER HUDSON for resuming her music career following the October deaths of her family members. Similarly, CARRIE UNDERWOOD said she hopes her fellow American Idol alumnus can find peace.
SUGARLAND's JENNIFER NETTLES felt the need to explain why she dropped PAUL MCCARTNEY's name during her acceptance speech for best country performance by a duo or group, saying, quote, "His was the first face that I saw whenever we were walking up outside, hugging my mother and his wife, but somehow I focused on him and I thought, 'Okay, that's Paul McCartney.''
McCartney was also seen backstage, where he said his most significant achievement was the birth of his kids, which he joked wasn't hard to achieve.
While Recording Academy chairman NEIL PORTNOW would have liked to have discussed the scheduled performances of CHRIS BROWN and RIHANNA at the Grammys, he instead was forced to answer questions regarding their last-minute cancellations. As Brown's assault case drew attention away from the ceremony, Portnow said he would reserve judgment in the matter until more details come to light, stating, quote, "Musicians are no different than anybody else. Everybody has certain problems at times in their lives, things that maybe you wish didn't happen, maybe you're not proud of."
One of the many musical highlights of the Grammys ceremony was THE FOUR TOPS tribute featuring original Four Tops member DUKE FAKIR, plus JAMIE FOXX, NE-YO and SMOKEY ROBINSON. Fakir said it was a fun experience, but it couldn't compare to performing with the original Four Tops.
Dane Cook Scope, Norfolk, VA
Sat, Nov 7, 2009 08:00 PM
Rob Thomas Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 07:00 PM
Can you play Carol of the Bells. Dalilah please!
hey hey! This would be fun if it works. I have a knack for screwing this stuff up tough! Great night to all. Peace a Love!
