MUSIC TO THEIR EARS
Critics may argue the relevance of the Grammys, but performers know the award gives them a shot at fame
By David Lindquist
Posted: February 6, 2009
Grammy Awards season is prime time to criticize music's top prize.
And critics will be in full gab-mode during tonight's 51st annual Grammy Awards show, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Some detractors will say the list of nominees and winners is behind the times, while others will say it's filled with fleeting fads.
But the energy devoted to complaining about the Grammys -- "The Eagles make 'pop' music?" or "The Jonas Brothers are in the running for Best New Artist?" -- validates its importance, says Blender magazine associate editor Lizzy Goodman.
"There's no other annual event in music that inspires as much debate and taking stock of where we are with this whole pop culture thing," Goodman says.
Grammy voters may have missed the pop-culture mark by making Herbie Hancock's "River: The Joni Letters" Album of the Year in 2008 or making Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" Album of the Year in 2001.
While neither recording generated much buzz before Grammy night, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences president Neil Portnow says the 12,000 voters of his organization pay no heed to hype.
The Grammy is a peer award, unlike the fan-based American Music Award or sales-based Billboard Music Award.
"We are very specific that it's about quality and excellence," Portnow says. "That's what we're looking for. It's not about sales. It's not about popularity or affiliations."
Skepticism regarding the relevance of the Grammys isn't new to Portnow, who responds by touting the show as appointment television, thanks to recent landmark performances:
» Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for the first time in 10 years for the 2003 show.
» Prince and Beyoncé Knowles joined forces for a fiery show opener in 2004.
» The Police launched a high-profile reunion tour by playing the 2007 Grammys.
Tonight's show will feature rock band Radiohead making its first live television appearance in the United States since 2000.
"Even a band like Radiohead, considered the leaders of a very credible counterculture movement within music, are willing to show up and want to be a part of the Grammys," Blender's Goodman says. "That says something about the pull and power of the event."
Airing in 170 countries, the Grammys represent a worldwide coming-out party for emerging artists.
This year, female R&B artists dot the "Big Four" general categories of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
The class of 2009 includes Adele (a nominee for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist), Duffy (Best New Artist), Estelle (Song of the Year), Jazmine Sullivan (Best New Artist) and M.I.A. (Record of the Year).
The retro soul sounds of Adele and Duffy won over Indianapolis-based vocalist Lynda Sayyah.
"I don't think they're as mainstream, and I don't think they'll ever be mainstream because of their music," Sayyah says. "It's not club pop like Rihanna, but I do like their styles."
A strong showing on Grammy night can translate into a spike in popularity for an artist. Jazz icon Hancock, for instance, enjoyed a 967 percent sales bump the week after last year's win. The purchase of 54,000 albums nearly equaled all of "River's" sales during the previous four months.
In some cases, a Grammy nomination is enough to boost a career.
"How many people Googled Jazmine Sullivan's name when the nominations were announced?" Goodman says. "She's had a really big single ("Need U Bad") and very genre-specific support thus far, but this is a bigger deal. People are paying attention now."
Portnow says the Grammys aim to provide viewers with "discovery opportunities," which can become "career-changing, life-changing" moments for musicians.
Adele, Duffy, Estelle, Sullivan and M.I.A. could use some luck at Indianapolis pop radio station WZPL-FM (99.5).
Program director and on-air personality Dave Decker says Duffy's "Mercy" single spent a month in rotation but didn't catch on with listeners.
Estelle's "American Boy" received some airplay because of high-profile guest Kanye West.
"If Adele wins a Grammy, are we -- as a mass- appeal, adult Top 40 station -- going to start playing all her songs? Probably not," Decker says. "It doesn't hurt her, but I don't think it means people instantly love her music."
It's not easy for modern musicians to enter mainstream pop culture, Goodman says.
Tonight, Adele and Estelle will sing for millions of television viewers, plus a live audience of 15,000 at the Staples Center.
"It's not enough to be on 'Saturday Night Live,' " Goodman says. "You have to have a perfect storm of awareness-boosting moments, and (the Grammys telecast) is certainly one of them."
Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404.
NOMINEES 2009
Record of the Year
"Chasing Pavements," Adele
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay
"Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis
"Paper Planes, " M.I.A.
"Please Read the Letter," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Album of the Year
"Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," Coldplay
"Tha Carter III," Lil Wayne
"Year of the Gentleman, " Ne-Yo
"Raising Sand," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
"In Rainbows," Radiohead
Song of the Year
"American Boy," William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle featuring Kanye West)
"Chasing Pavements," Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele )
"I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
"Love Song," Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)
"Viva La Vida," Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)
Best New Artist
Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan
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AND THE WINNER IS............................
Plant, Krauss win 5 Grammys; Brown booked
02/09/2009 1:01 AM, AP
Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' unorthodox partnership yielded rich rewards on Grammy night, as the pair nabbed five awards for their haunting "Raising Sand," including record and album of the year honors.
But their sweep was overshadowed before the show even began when police announced that Chris Brown, himself a double nominee and scheduled performer, was being investigated for allegedly assaulting an unidentified woman the night before. Brown turned himself in to authorities and was briefly held before posting $50,000 bail Sunday night, jail records showed.
Brown and longtime girlfriend Rihanna, also nominated, were both slated to perform in different slots of the show, but separately dropped out at the last minute. The victim of Brown's alleged assault wasn't identified, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Rihanna's absence was related to Brown's.
Police booked the 19-year-old R&B singer and dancer on suspicion of making a criminal threat, a felony. Police did not explain how their initial report of an injury assault related to the charge, but it will ultimately be up to the district attorney's office to decide what charges, if any, should be brought against Brown.
Back at the Staples Center, Lil Wayne entered the evening with the most nominations with eight, and went home with four, including rap album of the year.
The pairing of the former Led Zeppelin rocker and Krauss, a bluegrass queen, may have seemed downright weird on paper, but the T Bone Burnett-produced album was universally acclaimed and highlighted Krauss' unique mastery of different musical styles. Subdued but emotionally stirring, "Raising Sand" was an artistic triumph for both artists, and perhaps demonstrated why Krauss is the most decorated female artist in Grammy history with 26.
"We ostensibly come from such different places on the musical map. There are radical differences in the ways we've gone about enjoying our lives as musicians," Plant said backstage after the show. "Alison has shown me so much of the America I've never been exposed to. There's so many songs in the air. America needs to know what it's songs are all about."
Plant and Krauss had already won a Grammy last year for "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" from "Raising Sand," bringing the record's haul to six. The single was released in time for Grammy contention that year, while the CD was not.
Jennifer Hudson provided the night's most emotional moments onstage. The Oscar winner took her first Grammy award — for best R&B album — for her self-titled debut.
Hudson, 27, made no direct reference to the October killings of her mother, brother and nephew that kept her in seclusion until just this month. But while fighting back tears, she made it clear that her family was foremost on her mind.
"I first would like to thank God who has brought me through. I would like to thank my family in heaven and those who are with me today.
Hudson later performed "You Pulled Me Through," a dramatic song about overcoming deep despair, with the lyrics: "When I was drowning, when I was so confused, you, you pulled me through." As she sang the last note, she looked directly into the camera and dissolved into tears once again.
The Grammy telecast was filled with eye-popping and eyebrow-raising performances, from Radiohead's collaboration with a college marching band to a televised black-and-white throwback performance from Jay-Z, T.I., Lil Wayne, Kanye West and a (very) pregnant M.I.A. on "Swagga Like Us."
But not even these could patch up the gaping hole in the telecast caused by the absences of Brown and Rihanna. She was supposed to sing "Live Your Life/Disturbia" as the second performance of the night, he was later to sing "Forever."
And each was nominated in the pop collaboration with vocals category, Brown for "No Air" with "American Idol" champion Jordin Sparks; and Rihanna for "If I Never See Your Face Again" with Maroon 5. Brown was also nominated for male R&B vocal performance for "Take You Down."
Neither won a Grammy on Sunday, and the Recording Academy found able replacements for their performance slots in Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban as they all sang Green's classic hit, "Let's Stay Together." No mention was made on the broadcast about the switch.
At about 3:30 Pacific time, just as the crowd was filing into the Staples Center, Los Angeles police released a report saying Brown was under investigation for an incident the night before. The report said he and a woman were driving in the ritzy neighborhood of Hancock Park when they began to argue around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Brown stopped the car and both got out, whereupon the argument escalated, the report said. The woman, who had visible injuries when police arrived, identified Brown as her attacker, but he had left the scene, the report said.
Police said Brown walked into a station around 7 p.m. and was interviewed by detectives, and was released after posting bail before 9 p.m. A black SUV was later seen leaving the jail facility, but it wasn't immediately clear whether Brown was inside.
Around the same time, Lil Wayne won the first Grammys of his career for "Tha Carter III," which took the 26-year-old rap veteran to from rap to pop MVP. It wasn't entirely his fault for not sweeping all eight of his nominations: he was competing against himself in two categories in which he won.
Besides rap album, he won best rap solo performance for "A Milli," rap song for "Lollipop" and rap/sung collaboration for "Swagga Like Us."
Coldplay won three, included song of the year for "Viva La Vida."
"We've never had so many Grammys in our life," said lead singer Chris Martin, perhaps so excited he got confused (they had already won four over the years). "We feel so grateful to be here. I'm going to tear up."
British singer Adele was also teary, as she beat the Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum, Jazmine Sullivan and fellow Brit singer Duffy to nab best new artist. It was her second award of the evening.
"Thank you so much. I'm going to cry. I want to thank my manager, my mom, she's in London. And Duffy I love you. I think you're amazing. Jonas Brothers, I love you as well," she said, delivering that last bit with a devilish look, eliciting laughter.
It was Adele's second award; she earlier won for best female pop vocal.
___
AP reporters Jacob Adelman, Beth Harris, Derrik J. Lang, Anthony McCartney and Natalie Rotman contributed to this story.
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FULL LIST OF GRAMMY WINNERS 2009
Album of the Year: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
Best Rap Album: Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: John Mayer, “Say”
Record of the Year: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Please Read This Letter”
Best New Artist: Adele
Best Rock Album: Coldplay, Viva la Vida
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Rich Woman”
Song of the Year: Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group: Sugarland, “Stay”
Best R&B Album: Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson
Industry Icon Award: Clive Davis
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Rick Rubin (Death Magnetic, Home Before Dark, Mercy, Seeing Things, Weezer)
Best Rock Song: Bruce Springsteen, “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”
Best Rock Instrumental Performance: “Peaches En Regalia,” Zappa Plays Zappa, Featuring Steve Vai & Napoleon Murphy Brock
Best Metal Performance: Metallica, “My Apocalypse”
Best Hard Rock Performance: The Mars Volta, “Wax Simulacra”
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Kings of Leon, “Sex on Fire”
Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: John Mayer, “Gravity”
Best Alternative Music Album: Radiohead, In Rainbows
Best Pop Vocal Album: Duffy, Rockferry
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
Best Pop Instrumental Album: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Jingle All The Way
Best Pop Instrumental Performance: Eagles, “I Dreamed There Was No War”
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books): Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth (Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood)
Best Contemporary R&B Album: Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains
Best R&B Song: Ne-Yo, “Miss Independent” (Mikkel S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen and S. Smith, songwriters)
Best Urban/Alternative Performance: Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am, “Be OK”
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Al Green Featuring Anthony Hamilton, “You’ve Got the Love I Need”
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Al Green Featuring John Legend, “Stay With Me (by the Sea)”
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: Alicia Keys; ” Superwoman”
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Ne-Yo, “Miss Independent”
Lil’ Wayne Frank Micelotta/Getty Images for MTV
Best Rap Song: Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major, “Lollipop” (D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer and R. Zamor, songwriters)
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Estelle Featuring Kanye West, “American Boy”
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: Jay-Z and T.I. Featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne, “Swagga Like Us”
Best Rap Solo Performance: Lil Wayne, “A Milli”
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Natalie Cole, Still Unforgettable
Best Country Album: George Strait, Troubadour
Best Country Song: Sugarland, “Stay” (Jennifer Nettles, songwriter)
Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947
Best Country Instrumental Performance: Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner, “Cluster Pluck”
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Killing the Blues”
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: Brad Paisley, “Letter to Me”
Carrie Underwood John Shearer/Getty Images
Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Carrie Underwood, “Last Name”
Best Reggae Album: Burning Spear, Jah Is Real
Best Hawaiian Music Album: Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho, Ikena
Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
Best Traditional Folk Album: Pete Seeger, At 89
Best Traditional Blues Album: B.B. King, One Kind Favor
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Dr. John and the Lower 911, City That Care Forgot
Best Long Form Music Video: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
Best Short Form Music Video: Weezer, “Pork and Beans”
Best Classical Album: Weill, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Producer of the Year, Classical: David Frost
Best Classical Crossover Album: The King’s Singers, Simple Gifts
Best Classical Contemporary Composition: John Corigliano, composer, Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (JoAnn Falletta, conductor)
Best Classical Vocal Performance: John Corigliano, Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan
Best Small Ensemble Performance: Spotless Rose, Hymns to the Virgin Mary
Best Chamber Music Performance: Elliott Carter, Pacifica Quartet, String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5
Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra): Gloria Cheng, Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky, and Lutoslawski
Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra): Hilary Hahn, Schoenberg, Sibelius: Violin Concertos (Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor)
Best Choral Performance: Sir Simon Rattle, “Symphony of Psalms”
Best Opera Recording: Weill, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Best Orchestral Performance: Shostakovich, “Symphony No. 4,” Bernard Haitink, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Best Engineered Album, Classical: Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago
Best Electronic/Dance Album: Daft Punk, Alive 2007
Best Dance Recording: Daft Punk, “Harder Better Faster Stronger”
Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: Kirk Franklin, The Fight of My Life
Best Traditional Gospel Album: The Blind Boys of Alabama, Down in New Orleans
Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Gaither Vocal Band, Lovin’ Life
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: CeCe Winans, Thy Kingdom Come
Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album: TobyMac, Alive and Transported
Best Gospel Song: Kirk Franklin, “Help Me Believe”
Best Gospel Performance: Mary Mary, “Get Up”
Best Latin Jazz Album: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Song for Chico
George Carlin Paul Schiraldi
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: Chick Corea and Gary Burton, The New Crystal Silence
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo: Terence Blanchard, soloist, “Be-Bop”
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Cassandra Wilson, Loverly
Best Contemporary Jazz Album: Randy Brecker, Randy in Brasil
Best New Age Album: Jack DeJohnette, Peace Time
Best Comedy Album: George Carlin, It’s Bad For Ya
Best Polka Album: Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra, Let the Whole World Sing
Best Contemporary World Music Album: Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo, Global Drum Project
Best Traditional World Music Album: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Best Native American Music Album: Come to Me Great Mystery—Native American Healing Songs
Best Norteño Album: Los Tigres del Norte, Raíces
Best Banda Album: Joan Sebástian, No Es de Madera
Best Tejano Album: Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution, Viva la Revolucion
Best Regional Mexican Album: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Amor, Dolor Y Lágrimas: Música Ranchera
Best Tropical Latin Album: José Feliciano, Señor Bachata
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: 45, Jaguares
Best Latin Pop Album: Juanes, La Vida…Es un Ratico
Best Musical Show Album: In the Heights
Best Musical Album for Children: They Might Be Giants, Here Come The 123s
Best Spoken Word Album for Children: Bill Harley, Yes to Running!
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): Natalie Cole, “Here’s That Rainy Day” (Nan Schwartz, arranger)
Best Instrumental Arrangement: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, “Define Dancing” (From Wall-E) (Thomas Newman, arranger)
Best Instrumental Composition: “The Adventures of Mutt” (From Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Best Surround Sound Album: Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain; Prelude to Khovanshchina
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: MGMT, “Electric Feel,” Justice Remix (Justice, remixers)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: The Raconteurs (Joe Chiccarelli, Vance Powell and Jack White III), Consolers of the Lonely
Best Historical Album: Art of Field Recording, Volume I: Fifty Years of Traditional American Music (Documented by Art Rosenbaum)
Best Album Notes: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Francis Davis, album notes writer)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: In Rainbows
Best Recording Package: Metallica, Death Magnetic (Bruce Duckworth, Sarah Moffat and David Turner, art directors)
Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, “Down to Earth” (From Wall-E)
Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Juno
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Text Message Might Be Behind Chris Brown And Rihanna Fight
Another woman asked Brown about 'hooking up later' in the text, according to TMZ.
by Jayson Rodriguez
A text message sent to Chris Brown from another woman may have ignited the explosive argument between the "Run It" singer and girlfriend Rihanna, according to TMZ.
A law-enforcement source who spoke with TMZ said the message asked Brown about "hooking up later." There were no further details, however, regarding the text or the identity of the person who sent the message. TMZ is also citing an alleged reference in the police report to an argument over a rapper, but that has yet to be confirmed.
Neither party has spoken publicly since reports surfaced about an alleged domestic-violence incident on Saturday. Brown turned himself in to police and was later released after posting $50,000 bail. The singer was charged with making criminal threats, and police are still investigating the matter before turning it over to the district attorney's office.
Rihanna's injuries aren't fully known yet. The Def Jam artist was taken to a hospital, and reports have varied regarding the extent of what happened to her — from large contusions on her face to a bloody nose. Her grandmother told a newspaper in the singer's native Barbados that Rihanna is "fine."
According to E!, though, Rihanna reportedly told police Brown choked her and left her unconscious following their altercation, where she allegedly threw the keys of Brown's rented car out the window, sending him into "a rage." Police then drove Rihanna to the hospital immediately rather than waiting for an ambulance after noticing her eye was black and swollen. E! is also reporting that Rihanna told police that Brown threatened to kill her.
Both artists backed out of their scheduled Grammy appearance on Sunday night and have canceled a number of upcoming appearances, including a concert overseas for Rihanna and a number of events Brown was set to appear at during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Brown's Doublemint gum endorsement deal has been suspended, and a number of his songs and past TV appearances have also been removed from airing on radio and TV.
This report is from MTV News.
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