Grammy Recap
Last night marked the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards live on CBS. The performances were great, the acceptance speeches were short, and the house was packed with A-List stars. While the rumors that Britney Spears would perform turned out false, yet again, the starlet did attend the ceremony and the night had some great performances. Some of the highlights included Green Day‘s “21 Guns” as it will appear in the upcoming stage production American Idiot, P!nk‘s aerial performance, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Antebellum singing their hits “I Gotta Feeling” and “Need You Now”.
My favorite performance of the night was the 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, and Smoky Robinson. Mostly because it gave me the chance to see what it would like to have Carrie in my living room.
I also enjoyed seeing these two divas share the stage in what was a great opening to the show. Lady Gaga and Elton John burned it up with a great piano medley.
And while I’m still unsure why Taylor Swift continues to take some of the biggest awards in music – she won Album of the Year after the most embarrassing performance of the night (she couldn’t hold a note while trying to keep up with the legendary Stevie Nicks) – the night had some very deserving winners. A full list of winners is below.
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Halo”- Beyoncé
Song of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” — Thaddis Harrell, Beyonc— Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyonc—)
Best Solo Rock Performance: “Working on a Dream” — Bruce Springsteen
Record of the Year: “Use Somebody” — Kings of Leon
Best Country Album: Fearless — Taylor Swift
Best Rock Album: 21st Century Breakdown — Green Day
Best Hard Rock Performance: “War Machine” — AC/DC
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Run This Town” — Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West
Best Dance Recording: “Poker Face” — Lady Gaga
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Use Somebody” — Kings of Leon
Best New Artist: Zac Brown Band
Best Electronic/Dance Album: The Fame — Lady Gaga
Best Alternative Music Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — Phoenix
Best Contemporary R&B Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce — Beyoncé
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” — Beyoncé
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “I Gotta Feeling” — The Black Eyed Peas
Best Rock Song: “Use Somebody” — Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
Best Pop Vocal Album: The E.N.D. — The Black Eyed Peas
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Pretty Wings” — Maxwell
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Blame It” — Jamie Foxx & T-Pain
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “At Last” — Beyoncé
Best Rock Instrumental Performance: “A Day in the Life” — Jeff Beck
Best Urban/Alternative Performance: “Pearls” — India.Arie & Dobet Gnahore
Best R&B Song: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” — Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
Best Rap Solo Performance: “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)” — Jay-Z
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Crack a Bottle” — Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent
Best Rap Song: “Run This Town” — Jeff Bhasker, Shawn Carter, Robyn Fenty, Kanye West & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Athanasios Alatas, songwriter) (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)
Best Rap Album: Relapse — Eminem
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Make It Mine” — Jason Mraz
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: “Lucky” — Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
Best Female Country Vocal Performance: “White Horse” — Taylor Swift
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: “Sweet Thing” — Keith Urban
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden — Michael Bublé
Best Metal Performance: “Dissident Aggressor” — Judas Priest
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “I Run to You” — Lady Antebellum
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: “I Told You So” — Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis
Best Country Song: “White Horse” — Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Best Americana Album: Electric Dirt — Levon Helm
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Already Free — The Derek Trucks Band
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: Slumdog Millionaire — Various Artists, A.R. Rahman, producer
Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire) — Gulzar, A.R. Rahman & Tanvi Shah, songwriters (A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash)
Best Recording Package: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today — Stefan Sagmeister, art director (David Byrne & Brian Eno)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972) — Gary Burden, Jenice Heo & Neil Young, art directors (Neil Young)
Best Short Form Music Video: “Boom Boom Pow” — The Black Eyed Peas
Best Long Form Music Video: “The Beatles Love – All Together Now” — (Various Artists)
Best Comedy Album: A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All! — Stephen Colbert
