And so we’ve reached the conclusions of another pointless Grammy Awards. Perhaps it truly is just an awards ceremony for industry elitists and musical heavyweights, but even those individuals couldn’t have helped but cringe when Taylor Swift attempted to duet with Stevie Nicks (shortly before taking home Album of the Year), Bon Jovi was given three songs, and Stealth star Jamie Foxx and Mr. Auto-tune, T-Pain were handed a microphone. And then, there were the awards themselves… Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” = Song of the Year? The Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. = Best Pop Album? Taylor Swift’s Fearless = Album of the Year? Seriously?
But wait, it got worse! The Grammys gave the Black Eyed Peas’ five minutes, while Jeff Beck, who was paying homage to the late Les Paul, received just two, LL Cool J, a man who hasn’t been relevant in 10 years, presented an award, and tonight, yes tonight as in January 31, 2010, marked the first time Neil Young won a Grammy — for best art direction on a boxed or special limited edition package. Sure, it might not be about the indies, but when Lance Armstrong questions the Grammys, you know something is wrong. In summary, the Grammys don’t get it. At all.
We’d be remiss, however, not to mention the few minutes actually worth watching, compliments of a wonderful performance by Green Day and the cast of American Idiot, a duet between Lady Gaga and Sir Elton John, and the stunning vocals of Mrs. Jay-Z,. Plus, props to the Grammys for giving Phoenix the award for Best Alternative Album (even if they didn’t air it!). But by the time it was all said and done, the evening once again proved to be a waste of three-and-a-half hours. The Black Eyed Peas? Seriously, need I say more?
Fortunately for you (those who were sensible enough to do something more worthwhile on Sunday night), we sat through the whole shindig (note the rather enjoyable NSFW live blog below!) just so we could pick out the few highlights and post them below. Enjoy (because we surely didn’t)!
A list of the 2010 Grammy “Winners”:
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift – Fearless
Song of the Year: Beyonce — “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Record of the Year: Kings of Leon – “Use Somebody”
Best Rock Album: Green Day — 21st Century Breakdown
Best Solo Rock Performance: Bruce Springsteen — “Working on a Dream”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Best Alternative Music Album: Phoenix — Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: Kings of Leon — “Use Somebody”
Best New Artist: Zac Brown Band
Best Contemporary R&B Album: Beyonce — I Am… Sasha Fierce
Best Electronic/Dance Album: Lady Gaga — The Fame
Best Hard Rock Performance: AC/DC — “War Machine”
Best Rap Solo Performance: Jay-Z — “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Best Rap Album: Eminem — Relapse
Best Comedy Album: Stephen Colbert — A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All!