Epress.am News from Armenia
After months of build-up, the winners of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards were announced Feb. 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And as always, the glitz and glamour was mixed with a few pleasant surprises, as well as more than a few groans, writes Brock Thiessen in Exclaim!
On the indie rock front, the obvious act to watch was Arcade Fire, who were up for three Grammys: Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Album of the Year. Along with playing the ceremony, they won the night’s big award of Album of the Year, to which they later responded, “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. Thank you EVERYONE.”
For the other two categories, the Blacks Keys took the award for Best Alternative Music Album with their Brothers LP, as well as the award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The band also nabbed Best Recording Package with Brothers.
Still on the rock front, Neil Young won a Grammy for Best Rock Song thanks to his Le Noise track “Angry World,” while Them Crooked Vultures nabbed the award for Best Hard Rock Performance with their self-titled album’s “New Fang” and Iron Maiden took Best Metal Performance with “El Dorado” from The Final Frontier.
On the R&B/hip-hop side of things, John Legend & the Roots took the awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song. Meanwhile, Sade won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Cee Lo was awarded Best Urban/Alternative Performance, and Eminem took Best Rap Album for Recovery.
However, the big winner was Jay-Z, who took the awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song with his Alicia Keys-equipped track “Empire State of Mind.” Jay also took the award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his collaboration with Swizz Beatz, “On to the Next One.”
Oh, and Lady Gaga took the Grammy carpet in a big egg. Thanks to her The Fame Monster LP, she also won Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Other notable winners include La Roux (Best Electronic/Dance Album), the White Stripes (Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for Under Great White Northern Lights), Eminem (Best Rap Solo Performance), Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz (Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group), Mavis Staples (Best Americana Album), Danger Mouse (Producer of the Year, Non-Classical) and Muse (Best Rock Album).