When Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder awarded Kelly Clarkson the first televised award at the 48th annual Grammy Awards on Wednesday night – for female pop vocal performance, which Clarkson accepted after Madonna opened the show with her best Olivia Newton-John impersonation with her single “Hung Up” – it was as if the academy were tipping its hand.
In the end, radio ruled at this year’s Grammys. U2, which was just crowned the No. 2 money-making group in the States in 2005 (its $150 million was second only to the Rolling Stones’ $168 million), was the big winner with five awards, stealing the thunder from Mariah Carey, Kanye West and John Legend – each of whom was nominated for a field-leading eight awards and walked away with three apiece.
All of those musicians: Big radio spins. Big sales. Big money.
It’s called mass appeal. And it’s what the Grammys do, along with putting on an increasingly more entertaining, music-packed show. And while this year wasn’t one for the ages, it was a record-breaker.
A lot of the advance buzz centered on the telecast’s record number of performances, from Clarkson’s solo ballad to collaborations that went as far as to pair Madonna with animated pop band The Gorillaz.
And the telecast owned up to the buzz and excitement.
U2’s extravagant one-two punch of “Vertigo” and “One,” joined by an on-fire Mary J. Blige for the latter, was on-point. Bruce Springsteen, whose “Devils & Dust” wowed in a raw solo performance and also won the award for solo rock vocal performance, was the epitome of class, closing his song about a soldier in Iraq with a quick “Bring ’em home.”
The Jay-Z/Linkin Park mash-up performance was epic, largely due to Paul McCartney, who joined the crew’s “Encore/Numb” with his own “Yesterday.” But McCartney’s solo work on “Helter Skelter” earlier in the show fell flat.
It was epic news that Sly Stone, a recluse who hadn’t performed publicly for years, appeared in a sparkling jacket and platinum Mohawk, but the massive tribute to his band Sly & the Family Stone – which included Steven Tyler, Ciara, Joss Stone, John Legend and countless others and was the show’s obvious creative centerpiece – was a disorganized disaster. Stone barely sang, and when he did, it was barely audible. His keys work, too, was limited.
Carey’s voice was definitely off in her “We Belong Together,” one of the biggest hits of her career. (The pop star who sold nearly 6 million albums last year has never been known for her live shows.)
But even tepid, forgettable performances from Sugarland, Clarkson and Keith Urban are better than actors and musicians dully reading from teleprompters.
It’s not as if the Grammy’s are about the awards, anyway. Sure, it’s huge to win an award at a certain point in your career – or on certain levels, even.
Locals who had big nights: Colorado’s Dianne Reeves won the jazz vocal album award for her soundtrack to George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck”; Boulder’s Silver Wave Records won for Native American album with its “Sacred Ground – A Tribute to Mother Earth”; and Colorado Symphony Orchestra conductor laureate Marin Alsop didn’t win in her nominated category – instrumental soloist(s) performance (with orchestra) – but conducted multiple pieces for which Tim Handley won producer of the year, classical.
The evening’s undisputed highlight was West’s “Gold Digger,” which was a visual and aural feat that pitted West’s high school marching band against actor Jamie Foxx’s marching band. It was an event, and what people will be talking about today at the office.
Performers at next year’s awards could learn a thing or two from his tenacity and creativity.`
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
