Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Lil Wayne Win Big At 51st Grammys

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the big winners at the 51st annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, tallying five trophies, including album of the year for the Rounder project “Raising Sand” and record of the year for “Please Read The Letter.”

“We are thrilled and very grateful to everybody who is excited for us,” Krauss said. “I’m bewildered,” Plant said. “In the old days we would have called this selling out — but it’s a good way to spend a Sunday.”

The wins came on top of their victories for pop collaboration with vocals for “Rich Woman,” as well as best country collaboration with vocals for “Killing the Blues” and best contemporary folk/Americana album. Krauss and Plant performed both “Rich Woman” and “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” during the show.

“This project has been spectacular from the beginning,” Plant said. “We’re very proud of the job T-Bone Burnett did for us to make it so good.” The album of the year honor was presented by Green Day, who also announced the title of their new album, due in May, will be “21st Century Breakdown.”

Lil Wayne won rap album of the year for “Tha Carter III” as well as best rap solo performance for “A Milli,” rap song for “Lollipop” and rap/sung collaboration for “Swagga Like Us” during the pre-telecast. The artist, who joined Allen Toussaint, Terence Blanchard and Robin Thicke for a musical salute to New Orleans, led the nominee field going into tonight with nods in eight categories.

U2 kicked off the broadcast by performing its new single, “Get on Your Boots.” The first major award of the night, song of the year, went to Coldplay for “Viva La Vida,” which the group performed as part of a medley that began with surprise guest Jay-Z rapping on “Lost.” While accepting, drummer Guy Champion jokingly apologized to Paul McCartney for “blatantly recycling” the Beatles’ outfits from the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” era.

The song also won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals during the pre-telecast, and Coldplay later won best rock album for “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.” “We’re not, of course, the heaviest of rock bands — you may have noticed,” frontman Chris Martin said. “We’re kind of the limestone of rock bands. Not as hard, but still charming.”

Whitney Houston made a surprise appearance to present Jennifer Hudson with the trophy for best R&B album for her self-titled Arista debut. Hudson, whose mother, brother and nephew were murdered in Chicago last fall, was overwhelmed by emotion as she accepted the Grammy. “I would like to thank my family in heaven and those who are here today,” she said. The artist later performed “You Pulled Me Through” with the help of a choir.

Trumping the Jonas Brothers and Duffy, 20-year-old British vocalist Adele was a surprise winner for best new artist, having already won best female pop vocal performance for “Chasing Pavements.” She later performed the song with Sugarland.

There was drama before the Grammys even began, as Rihanna canceled her performance about a half-hour prior to the telecast. Speculation is rampant that the move is connected to a domestic battery incident involving her boyfriend, R&B star Chris Brown, early this morning in L.A. A segment with Brown performing his hit “Forever” was also scrapped; Brown turned himself in to local police around 7:15 p.m. PT.

Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban and Boyz II Men gave an impromptu performance of “Let’s Stay Together” in Rihanna’s place. Other performances included Radiohead playing “15 Step” with the USC marching band, Dave Grohl drumming with McCartney and his band on “I Saw Her Standing There,” an extremely pregnant M.I.A. joining Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and T.I. for “Swagga Like Us,” Carrie Underwood with “Last Name,” which earlier won best female country vocal performance, and a Kid Rock medley dedicated to Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell, who died late last month.

Teen queens Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus joined up on Swift’s “Fifteen,” while Neil Diamond led a sing-a-long on “Sweet Caroline.” The Jonas Brothers played “Burnin’ Up,” and then teamed up with Stevie Wonder to sing “Superstition.” West joined Estelle for their Grammy-winning “American Boy,” and newcomer Katy Perry delivered a saucy, theatrical performance of “I Kissed a Girl.” There were also multi-artist tributes to the Four Tops and Bo Diddley.

Sugarland won best country performance by a duo or group with vocals for “Stay,” having already won best country song for it during the pre-telecast. “I told myself I was going to be cool because Paul McCartney and Coldplay are here,” said lead singer Jennifer Nettles. “I’m so not cool.”

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, took a political bent in his comments, noting that President Barack Obama is a two-time Grammy winner for the spoken word performance for his books, and that the Academy will continue to push for the enactment of Performance Rights Act. In addition, he asked Obama for the development of a cabinet-level position dedicated to culture and the arts.

There was also some reunion news during the broadcast. Before presenting Coldplay with best rock album, the members of Blink 182 announced they were getting back together after a four-year hiatus. “We used to play music together, and we decided we’re going to play music together again,” said drummer Travis Barker, still with his arm in a sling following his survival of a deadly plane crash last year.

Here are the Grammy Awards presented during the telecast:

Best R&B album: “Jennifer Hudson,” Jennifer Hudson
Best country performance by a duo or group with vocals: “Say,” Sugarland
Song of the year: “Viva La Vida,” Coldplay
Best pop collaboration with vocals: “Rich Woman,” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Best rock album: “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” Coldplay
Best new artist: Adele
Record of the year: “Please Read The Letter,” Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
Best male pop vocal: “Say,” John Mayer
Best rap album: “Tha Carter III,” Lil Wayne
Album of the year: “Raising Sand,” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Blink 182 Announces Reunion At Grammys

As expected, Blink 182 announced it is reuniting for a tour and new album during tonight’s Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The group has been on hiatus for more than four years.

“We used to play music together, and we decided we’re going to play music together again,” said drummer Travis Barker, still with his arm in a sling following his survival of a deadly plane crash last year.

In a statement sent to the media, the band said, “To put it simply, We’re back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again.  Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy.” Rumors are swirling that the band will open for Green Day this summer, but details have not been announced.

Since Blink-182’s split, Barker and Mark Hoppus formed +44, while Tom DeLonge fronted Angels & Airwaves. The band’s last show was Dec. 16, 2004.

Blink 182’s four studio albums and one live set have sold a combined 12.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group posted 10 top 10 hits on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, including the No. 1s “All the Small Things” and “I Miss You.”

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 6

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 5

2009 Grammy Awards - The Winners

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”

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”

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

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

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 4

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 3

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 2

2009 Grammy Awards - Red Carpet Music Stars - Part 1

Chris Brown Under Investigation For Assault; Brown & Rihanna To Miss Grammys

Rihanna and Chris Brown have pulled out of the Grammy Awards following an alleged violent incident on Saturday night, Access Hollywood has learned.

The LAPD is currently investigating Brown for assault following an alleged domestic violence felony battery against an undisclosed woman at 12:30 AM on Sunday in Los Angeles.

According to the LAPD, the R&B singer and the woman were in a vehicle on North June St. in the Hancock Park area of LA, where the victim claims an argument occurred. Brown allegedly stopped the car and the woman suffered “visible injuries” and identified the singer as her attacker.

“Mr Brown is a suspect that we are looking for… we would definitely like to speak with him,” a spokesperson for the LAPD told Access on Sunday.

When contacted by Access on Sunday night, a rep for Rihanna said that the singer was “well.”

“Rihanna is well. Thank you for concern and support,” the rep said.

A rep for Chris Brown did not return calls from Access.

“We have just been informed that Rihanna will not be attending tonight’s 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards,” a Grammy rep confirmed to Access late Sunday afternoon. “We’re sorry she is unable to join us this evening.”

On Saturday evening, the music couple walked the red carpet separately at the Grammy Salute to Industry Icons honoring Clive Davis at the Beverly Hilton, and were spotted smiling together inside the party.

Rihanna was set to perform and is nominated for three Grammys, while Brown is up for two awards at the ceremony.

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