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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

61. williamh -
No one mentioned how bad u2 was,lets face it music just isnt the same any more,to much crap to fill up a lame three hour show,That chic is gonna come out next week and perform while breast feedind that might be worth watching

62. James -
U2 opening was teriffic. Coldplay are the greatest. Kate was ok. Whitney seemed a little out.
Plant and Alison was Fab.
Justine was hot !! What a Grammy Show!!!!
Well done!!

63. SIDNEY H B -
The music industry is to blame for the Grammys. If you are a voting member you are ever so gently pushed to voting for the labels acts they want to push based on sales.
So we have tennie bopper bands like Disneys Jonas Brothers trying to preform with Stevie Wonder for street credibility. It didn't work and they suck.

64. Cool -
RADIOHEAD.....most overrated band EVER!!!

65. mjfan4ever -
The show stealer was M.I.A love her. She killed it . Swagger like Us was the best The rest of the show was corny.

66. Yahoo! Music User -
whiney? Thom was one of the few that really SANG as opposed to lip-synching or bouncing around in some ridiculous getup, not to mention that an entire MARCHING BAND couldn't drown him out!

67. Fred -
The rendition of the "Rat Pack" to the "Rap Pack" was just horrendous. To desecrate the memory of the original "Rat Pack" with that so called performance was a joke. Who can understand that CRAP anyway??? When will this be removed. The only music last night was anything but Rap. Come on lets quit buying into this stuff and make the rappers get real jobs.

68. Michelle M -
I feel sorry for Thom Yorke & Co. of Radiohead for having to sit through that boring, LAME, embarrassing show just to find out that the old washed up LAME Robert Plant won album of the year. The grammies are a friggin joke and so are you for dissing Radiohead. You're ignorant.

69. MichealT -
and what about kid rock ? an u2?,,,,we all know the politics would happen...

70. Andy -
Billy Altman is an idiot who obviously understands less about good music than he does about the tidal relevance of the pop shlock on E! Get a brain, Billy, and write about things that make sense to you... like what new shows are coming on Mtv, who the wardrobe designers for "He Just Isn't That Into You" are, and guest speakers on the View are. You idiot.

71. Yahoo! Music User -
i got bored, really!
I hated the performance of the Jonas Brothers. The people behind this show shouldve not allowed these brothers to perform with Stevie W. I couldnt understand why they kept on walking onstage while performing bringing their "No sound" guitars! Its like choreographed. And Miley Cyrus, gosh! her voice was annoying. She's like the oldest performer in the group (including the band backing up behind her and taylor swift). Carrie Underwood was overshadowed by her female lead guitarist. My first reaction was, Wow! that guitar player...when it was supposed to be Carrie's spotlight.

72. Richard W -
Didn't watch. Don't think that I could have watch MIA in that nausiating outfit that showed her big ugly belly. Wear a maternity outfit. Please.

73. Zippo -
adele shouldve left the gum under her seat.

74. Lyssa -
My mom and I enjoy watching the Grammys last night and it was great.

75. crazyone -
I watched it all, but Kid Rock deserved a little more than He got

76. Dennis -
Have we sunk so low in musical taste that a clown like Justin Timberlake actually is considered good? He reminds me of a bad lounge act. He shouldn't have even been allowed anywhere near Al Green. And the Rap Pack? What a joke! How about picking up some instruments and try and play, instead of yelling out a bunch of garbage. Rap is pathetic.

77. Kaven -
And they want to know why nobody is buying the music ?

78. Angela V -
I enjoyed Sugarland's performance...they are great! Strangely enough, I enjoyed Miley and Taylor, as well. Radiohead is o.k. I really happy that Blinkk 182 is back and Justin is just an all around talented guy! I just don't get the Lil' Wayne, thing??? I just don't think he's that great???? Also Robert Plant and Allison??? I really didn't care for it.

79. raven -
im still disturbed by the M.I.A performance

80. Bruce -
The Boss pulled a muscle trying to act like a kid at the Superbowl.
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