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The 51st Grammys: Hours To Go Before We Sleep!

Posted Sun Feb 8, 2009 11:11pm PST by Billy Altman in And The Winner Is...

We have to admit that, compared to recent years, the 51st edition of the Grammy Awards ceremonies did carry a bit of suspense. For instance, Would Lil Wayne be the first rapper to win Album of the Year, and if so, would his pants stay up? If they won Song of the Year for "Viva La Vida," would Coldplay get coldcocked onstage by Joe Satriani, the guitarist whose instrumental "If I Could Fly" surely seemed to have been stolen lock, stock, and riff by Chris Martin and crew? Would ultra-pregnant M.I.A., appearing on her actual due date, become the first Grammy nominee to drop a baby right in the middle of a performance? And what on earth happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna, both of whom were no-shows on the telecast owing to a late Saturday night post-party altercation that apparently left Rihanna injured and Brown arrested on battery charges?

Well, over the course of a three-and-a-half-hour program in which a grand total of 10 (!) awards were actually given out (believe it or not, the rest of the 110 total Grammys up for grabs were all doled out, as has been the practice for some time now, in a hurried pre-telecast ceremony on the floor of L.A.'s Staples Center), we did get answers to the first three of those four questions: respectively, no, no and no.

Lil Wayne won Best Rap Album, but not Album of the Year, which, as per the Recording Academy's usual conservative bent, went to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Americana album Raising Sand. Coldplay won Song of the Year without anyone yelling, "Thief!" And M.I.A., wearing a sort of maternity leotard thing, made it through her part on "Swagga Like Us" without going into labor--though for any of us who actually made it through the whole darned show, labor was indeed the operative word.

As for the Chris Brown/Rihanna flareup, we'll probably need to wait for the police blotter sometime tomorrow to find out about that one.

Still, the 51st Grammy Awards show did overall have its share of moments to remember. And to that end, here's our own top 10: Yahoo!'s 2009 Grammy telecast "And The Winner Is" awards:

The "Rising To The Occasion" Award goes to Jennifer Hudson, for surpassing her dramatic rendition of the national anthem at last week's Super Bowl with a riveting (and decidedly non-lip-synched) performance of her uplifting "You Pulled Me Through."

The "Stooping To The Occasion" Award goes to Thom Yorke and Radiohead, whose whiny rendition of "15 Step" was so bad-vibed that you kind of wished they'd have just left the stage and allowed the USC Trojan Marching Band accompanying them to do the song by themselves.

The "Haven't We Seen This Picture Before?" Award goes to Whitney Houston, who looked and sounded as out-of-it as a presenter in 2009 as she did as a performer in 2000, when they had to remind her that her song was over and she kind of needed to leave the stage so the show could continue.

The "I Wonder What They're Thinking Right Now?" Award goes to Dean Martin's son and daughter, who after hearing Queen Latifah salute their late dad's Lifetime Achievement nod, then heard her introduce Kanye West, T.I., Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z as the "Rap Pack." Somewhere, Frank Sinatra is spinning in his grave.

The "Best Date Placement" Award goes to Paul McCartney, for using his upfront aisle-seat pull to show off new gal pal Nancy Shevell. Oh, Heather...

The "I Went To The Grammys And A Boston Red Sox Game Broke Out" Award goes to Neil Diamond, for his pluperfectly cheesy rendition of the Fenway Park 8th-inning staple "Sweet Caroline." And how 'bout those eyebrows?

The "Works Well With Fruit" Award goes to Katy Perry, for making the kitchiest most out of her performance of "I Kissed A Girl," complete with an entrance out of a giant peeled banana (insert your favorite Freud joke here) and a trash 'n' vaudeville outfit that, were she alive today, Carmen Miranda would kill for.

The "Was This In The Script?" Award goes to presenter Samuel L. Jackson, who actually began his intro of T.I. and Justin Timberlake with the following salutation: "People of Earth!"  Somewhere, Ed Wood is smiling.

The "Was This In The Script II?" Award goes to presenter Craig Ferguson, who announced that he was up for a Best Sex Tape Award: "It's me vs. Screech." Even Paris Hilton blushed at that one.

And, finally, the "All Kidding Aside" Award goes to NARAS chief Neil Portnow, for noting the organization's commitment to improving health care, saving music education in schools, and protecting musician's intellectual rights. And yes, past Grammy Award winner Barack Obama, a cabinet position of Secretary of the Arts is a pretty good idea. Just ask Quincy Jones.

392 Comments

41. LisaM -
Hey can anyone tell me why Beyonce was never mentioned last night at the Grammy's? Jay-Zee was there, but no wife...What is up with that? Isn't she a singer?

42. MBA GIRL -
aaahhhh......vintage Whitney! Can't blame Bobby this time.

43. barkmarket -
Radiohead was the best part of the show!

44. Trish -
THAT WAS THE WORST GRAMMY'S I HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. WHO THE *******WAS IN CHARGE OF IT. I THOUGHT I WAS WATCHING A TRAINWRECK HAPPENING AND WHAT THE ******* DID MIA THINK SHE WAS PROVING THAT SHE'S AN IDIOT SHE MADE JAY-Z, TI,AND LIL WAYNE LOOK BAD OH KAYANE WEST CAN LOOK BAD ALL BY HIMSELF AND THE REST OF THE SHOW JUST PLAIN SUCKED. HOPE NEXT YEAR IS BETTER

45. Michelle -
Show overall was crappy. Stevie Wonder and the Jonus brothers - come on. It seemed to me that the one brother even forgot the words there for a second. There is a reason people are popular only in certain genra's let's not try and mix them.

46. PinkDolphin -
While MIA's outfit was a shocker, it was about a million times better than what she wore on the red carpet. I thought it was kind of cute in a way cuz she was all belly.

the show itself seemed like it was put together sloppily. They really need to work on who they get to introduce people...at least make sure they know how to deliver a laugh..I was embarrassed for the Rock.

JT was awesome as always.

Lil Wayne should've performed a a different song.

47. Yahoo! Music User -
Show should just be cancelled. Giving those no talent idiots air time when they are so bad at everything it makes you get cold chills. RAP is aweful, and the people have no soul. Just trying to be weirdert then the rest. I for one turned it off in the first 20 minutes. Sad situation these poeple with no talent and no soul make any money at all.

48. Petie -
it was in poor taste if you ask me that during the part where they show all that have passed during the year that they left out le roi moore of the Dave Matthews Band, he only is a grammy winner himself and they put up there numerous sax players none of us had heard of!! pretty crappy Grammys!

49. Yahoo! Music User -
Once again ROBERT PLANT KICKS A$$! Count 'em, 5! THE ROCK GOD LIVES ON!

50. Gina C -
i am completely disgusted in M.I.A's outfit choice. nice job "mommy"

51. James L -
I didn't watch it,but you're a complete douchebag for your comments about Radiohead.With all the crap music out today,you're an idiot for disrespecting one of the greatest bands ever.

52. E L -
madonna needs to perform (usually) to make it a fun nite!

53. Yahoo! Music User -
Grammy's suck s**t. All it is is a bunch of stupid n****s running around acting like idiots. And a bunch of H****s trying to act like there black and look stupid. The millions they spent on that show is stupid. People that watch it are just as much to blame but for watching this stupid show with stupid people acting ut on stage.

54. chaZ -
I was very disappointed by the Grammys this year...M.I.A. should have been in the hospital where she belonged having her baby, not on stage running around in polka dots! And poor Katy Perry, the outfit was hideous and not to mention she looked like a scared fish out of water trying her best to perform while jumping and skipping around the stage!
By far the most enjoyable performance was Jennifer Hudson.

55. amanda -
rtyhhyhrr fggirjhrtjijrdhgjhghdgdggerreyhbddhbsfdvdcxc

56. Jakob Z -
You know how I know the Grammys are gay? They gave Coldplay the best "Rock" Album...seriously..Rock? I don't think so. Plus there is no mention on Blink-182 announcing their return. That is much better news then half of this article.

57. Yahoo! Music User -
Not even a blip on the remote cruiser...could not have cared less even if they handed me bail out money to watch.

58. anonymous -
this article sounds whiny. why is this author so criticle? where you trying to be funny? This is the music business. And picking on Neil Diamond??? wtf.
I thought the show was rather amusing. I fell to my knees when Radiohead performed. MIA, Jay Z, TI and Little Wayne killed it.
But I could have done w/out the Jonas Blowhards performing w/ Stevie Wonder. That was weird

59. Maya -
Little Wayne is a sucka.

60. GlendaS -
I enjoyed the country girl. The one that sang something about Last Name. Wow she has some vocals and that girl that was playing the guitar for the song was good also. I think Miley did real well singing but that other girl singing with her sounded like awful.I also liked Jennifer Hudson and Paul McCartney.
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