FEATURE STORY

A Night at the Grammys

Sometimes the Grammy Awards get it backwards. At this year’s ceremony, rock legend Bruce Springsteen won a folk music award; folk icon Bob Dylan won the rock vocal award; Shakira, the only Latin artist to perform, did a version of “Hips Don’t Lie” with Wyclef Jean that owed more to South Asia than to South America; and Rascal Flatts, the only country band on the show, did a tribute to the Eagles, a classic rock band.

But there’s more. Inspired by American Idol, the Grammys let viewers vote for an amateur singer to appear at the end of the show in a duet with Justin Timberlake, but the voters did not get to see three finalists audition. On the other hand, in true American Idol-style, Carrie Underwood got to perform two cover songs -- even though she’s already a bona fide America Idol winner with her own hit tunes.

But you have to give the Grammys credit for trying. Let’s face it: It is not easy to provide the kind of spontaneous moments that make such ceremonies memorable.

Musicians are accustomed to working in a recording studio or playing their songs in concert. So, it is always a challenge for them to stand in front of a live television audience and deliver a powerful performance for the cameras or read from a script or say something inspiring or amusing in an acceptance speech.

Since they cannot count on the artists, the producers of the Grammy Awards try to manufacture a few “magic moments” every year. Still, one wonders why that American Idol moment was placed near the end of the 3-1/2 hour telecast, when most Idol fans were already tucked into bed. Meanwhile, the reunited Police, an act loved by older audiences but unfamiliar to many younger music fans, opened the show at 8 pm – exactly when the kids were watching.

Only a handful of awards are actually presented on the televised show, but these presentations did provide some fun moments. As predicted here, the Dixie Chicks were the night’s big winners, capturing all five categories in which they were nominated, including album of the year for Taking the Long Way. They also provided the best unscripted remarks. Lead singer Natalie Maines, who got the band in trouble in 2003 with her negative comments about President Bush, declared herself “speechless” after the band won song of the year honors for “Not Ready to Make Nice.”

Maines was hardly speechless later in the show when the Dixie Chicks were announced as winners of the best country album prize. “That’s interesting,” said Maines. “A lot of people just turned the TV off.” Although the Grammy voters embraced the Chicks, country radio stations and hard-core country fans have tuned out the trio since Maines’ anti-Bush rant.

Maines’ bandmate Emily Robison also reflected on country radio’s ban of the band. “It’s a strange place to be without a genre” she said, adding that the band’s core fans had stayed with them.

But no one at the Grammys is really without a genre. Depending how you count it, the Grammy Awards honor artistic achievement in about 40 different genres. Yet, only the mainstream formats – rock, pop, R&B and rap – were represented on this year’s show. In some past years, jazz or blues or classical or Latin might have gotten a showcase, but this year there was hardly a peep.

Other big winners were the highly emotional Mary J. Blige, who led the field with eight nominations and won three awards in the R&B category. Carrie Underwood won for best new artist and best female country vocal. Rapper T.I. was honored twice, although the best rap album award went to Ludacris. Red Hot Chili Peppers won three rock awards and the late Michael Brecker was honored twice in jazz.

In addition to his award for best solo rock vocal performance for “Someday Baby,” Bob Dylan earned a contemporary folk/Americana award for his album Modern Times. John Mayer and John Legend also won two awards each.

Christina Aguilera won for female pop vocal performance and, in one of the night’s highlights, gave a winning performance of the James Brown hit “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” in tribute to the soul music great, who died on Christmas day.

The Grammy Awards are based on a vote by members of the Recording Academy. To be a member, you must have credits on at least six recording projects, as performer, producer, engineer or cover designer, for example.

For a complete list of winners, go to Grammys.com.