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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

121. Rocio -
i was kind of disappointed as well, I liked the T.I. and JT performance as well as Carrie Underwood's... I think Miley sang horrible with Taylor... not a good combo and the Jonas kids with Stevie!!!??? Come on! That was a disaster! I liked Kid Rock's performance and Coldplay... Katy Perry's was somewhat uncomfortable and so was M.I.A although props for showing up to perform...I wished Neil Diamond would of sung "Pretty Amazing Grace"....the presenters were horrible!!!! weird grammy's, could've been better

122. Andreas -
I LOVED Radiohead!!! Absolutely fantastic! I also think this was one of the best Grammys ever. Great performances from almost everybody.

123. Beth -
What a Horror Show! The only things worth seeing/hearing were the dancers with the Dirty dozen Brass Band, McCartney waking us up with the early Beatles, "When I Saw Her Standing There" and yes, Radiohead's "15 Step" with the marching band was REAL...(real good!)
The rest was smaltzy, redundant, overrated!
As to Thom Yorke sounding whiny, wow, I remember people used to say the same thing about Neil Young and Bob Dylan!!!! Maybe folks prefer the slick warblings of Justin Timberlake or Neil Diamond! (Safe, boring, heard it to death.)

124. Fubar -
The Grammys were a perfect example of why the music industry is having so much trouble. Hey music industry, if you are wondering why people don't buy stuff anymore just take a look at the Grammys. Crap, crap, crap! The lowest point had to be the "tribute" to Dean Martin. I mean, wtf was that? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to actually talk abotu Dean and maybe play some of his songs if you are giving him a Lifetime Achievement award? The Whitney Houston incident was a trainwreck. Whatever Grammy committee member had the forethought to invite her should be run out of the business. And Coldplay as best rock performance? That actually beat out the year they picked as Jethro Tull as best metal performance for the worst pick ever.
I think the Grammys need to quite trying to do the "odd pairings". It is getting a little old watching rappers destroy good songs by pairing them with rockers or country singers. The only decent performances of the night were Kid Rock, Paul McCartney, Jennifer Hudson, and Kenny Chesney. Even Radiohead sucked, which was disappointing to say the least.

125. Observant -
I thought it was one of the better Grammy's in a long time. I liked the way they combined groups together. Paul McCartney was great. He is my favorite "Beatle". It was terrible to hear about Chris Brown and Rihanna. :(

126. Rhacalee Jonas -
I love the Jonas Brothers and they should have won! But I cant believe Nick messed up the lyrics to Superstition! His fave song! But he was so cute when did it.

127. Kathy Burton -
I think Neil Diamond can sing "Sweet Caroline" anytime he pleases, since it is one of his top hits. So what if it is played at Fenway Park at the 8th inning, it was Neil Diamond's song, first and foremost!!! How do you get a cheesy rendition of your own song???? I thought M.I.A. was disgusting, she needs to pick out better clothes!! Only caught bits and pieces of the show, but loved the tribute to Bo Diddley though, with B.B. King, Keith Urban and John Maher!!

128. Stephen -
Damn am I getting old. Grammys just not what used to be. So many crap performances.

129. Phil O -
adele is the stuff

130. camashe -
1. Performance of the Night- Radiohead!

2. Most Disappointing Performance-Coldplay. I love them but I was expecting for something more spectacular from Chris and the gang.

3. Best Throw Back Performance- Neil Diamond. Yes, it was a bit cheesy but that made it even more fun. I know that 99% of viewers were singing along at home.

4. Most Cringeworthy Performance- Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers. I kept expecting Stevie to jump out of his seat everytime one of the brothers pranced around him but they never manage once to throw him off. He's that good.

5. Performance That Wasnt As Bad As I Thought It Would Be- Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. Even though I kept waiting for Miley's voice to crack. Eeek.....

6. Performance We Could Have Done Without- That whole MIA thing. ughh

7. Performance That Lived Up to Expectations- Carrie Underwood. She can sing. Even though the music drowned her out a bit.

8. Most So-So Performance- U2. Hmmm

9. Funniest Presenter- Craig Ferguson

10. Most Disappointing Presenter- Whitney Houston. She came out looking a lot more decent than she had in a long time and for some reason I thought she was going to be calm, cool and collected- and maybe a little classy. But no such thing.

11. Performance That Was Definitely a Filler- That first one with JT. I think.........

12. Performance That I Kept Hoping Would End- JT and TI. Which is funny cause I like JT and I like TI a bit

13. Most Perplexing Acceptance- Lil Wayne. I glance off the tv for a bit then when I looked back his entire family then some had somehow appeared on stage! Plus I held my breath the entire time cause I was sure his pants was gonna fall off.

14. Performance I Still Dont Have a Definite Opinion On- Kid Rock. It was kinda good but sorta not good at the same time. I dont know what to make of this new Kid Rock. But that Jesus song wasn't as bad as I thought it would be based on the title.

I think that's enough. Everything else was ok-ish.

131. xusxt -
I can't believe people would go see Katy Perry in concert. Her live voice is horrid and she can't dance. Also what was pregers thinking with the outfit?! Other than that it was pretty good. Adele/Sugarland duet and Jennifer Hudson where in the top 5 for me. I also enjoyed Whitney being high as hell on stage.

132. camashe -
1. Performance of the Night- Radiohead!

2. Most Disappointing Performance-Coldplay. I love them but I was expecting for something more spectacular from Chris and the gang.

3. Best Throw Back Performance- Neil Diamond. Yes, it was a bit cheesy but that made it even more fun. I know that 99% of viewers were singing along at home.

4. Most Cringeworthy Performance- Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers. I kept expecting Stevie to jump out of his seat everytime one of the brothers pranced around him but they never manage once to throw him off. He's that good.

5. Performance That Wasnt As Bad As I Thought It Would Be- Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. Even though I kept waiting for Miley's voice to crack. Eeek.....

6. Performance We Could Have Done Without- That whole MIA thing. ughh

7. Performance That Lived Up to Expectations- Carrie Underwood. She can sing. Even though the music drowned her out a bit.

8. Most So-So Performance- U2. Hmmm

9. Funniest Presenter- Craig Ferguson

10. Most Disappointing Presenter- Whitney Houston. She came out looking a lot more decent than she had in a long time and for some reason I thought she was going to be calm, cool and collected- and maybe a little classy. But no such thing.

11. Performance That Was Definitely a Filler- That first one with JT. I think.........

12. Performance That I Kept Hoping Would End- JT and TI. Which is funny cause I like JT and I like TI a bit

13. Most Perplexing Acceptance- Lil Wayne. I glance off the tv for a bit then when I looked back his entire family then some had somehow appeared on stage! Plus I held my breath the entire time cause I was sure his pants was gonna fall off.

14. Performance I Still Dont Have a Definite Opinion On- Kid Rock. It was kinda good but sorta not good at the same time. I dont know what to make of this new Kid Rock. But that Jesus song wasn't as bad as I thought it would be based on the title.

I think that's enough. Everything else was ok-ish.

133. Ruff -
People are losing jobs and homes who gives a rats ass about the grammies!!! LIL wayne please !! music is music they get awards for the music you buy where are your awards!!! for the person who downlaoded the most songs it just as bad as cribs brag about the house they live that you bought them !! what a bunch of crap!! Losers!!

134. LisaA -
What about Nickelback? Their albums are awesome, especially Dark Horse.

135. ladybug -
M I A should have been m.i.a. and stayed home on bedrest. Aargh. She is a walking advertisement for birth control. So demure, so ladylike, so bopping around on her due date. You go gal.

136. Mo K -
I am going out there and allow myself to sound like an elitist but its for the sack of truth. if you didn't like radiohead's performance, you may just not get it nor capable of understanding what makes them so amazing. thats ok, its not meant for everyone.

137. Kathy Burton -
Michelle M. Comment #71....and you are dissing Robert Plant, do you even know who he is??? One of the Rock Legends, who has blessed us with his talent once again!! Have you ever heard of Led Zepplin???? Stairway to Heaven????

138. Adam -
whoever wrote this was an idiot. Radiohead was ridiculously amazing and Katy Perry made me wish I was deaf.

139. Place Sucks -
Obviously Rihanna should have just "shut up and drove"

140. RussC -
What happened to Katy Perry? She used to be a Christian singer and now she is singing "I kissed a girl" What trash is this?
The music business is a sick waste!!!
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