O Brother Where Art Thou is Grammy surprise

Whoever came up with the idea of asking soul legend Patti LaBelle to join Christina Aguilera, Pink Mya and Lil’ Kim in their umptenth performance of Lady Marmalade deserves a Grammy trophy all his very own. LaBelle, who recorded the original version of the disco classic some decades ago provided a brief but exciting spin to what looked like another lackadaisical evening of the Grammy Awards. I know it was nice to see that Christina has put on some becoming pounds and that Pink has taken some off but even supposedly exciting newcomers Alicia Keys and Nelly Furtado maintained a somber tone throughout the two-hour plus ceremonies held at the huge Staples Center in Los Angeles last Wednesday.

Must have been the times as the American music industry seemed to be still in the 9/11 mode. Must have been the evening’s theme of gospel music. That can be uplifting but you have to admit it is not something you have fun with. There is also the piracy problem. Pirates there do not duplicate though, they download from the net. Or it must have been simply because the composition of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is truly aging and while there are always new faces with new sounds they are seldom able to hold a candle to the established stars who are always of a certain age. So when a bluegrass soundtrack pulls up the biggest surprise win of all and a 30-year-old recording by James Taylor gets a Grammy, you cannot help but think that today’s pop music is really in big trouble.

Given this situation, it is not at all strange that this year’s batch of awardees divides the trophies across a wide cross-section of artists. They range from the most venerable Irish pop group of them all, U2 and the barely 20-something soul music sensation Alicia Keys, from a bluegrass collection to the folk-rock meanderings of Train. Keys was the big winner with five out of her six nominations. U2 scored with four wins out of eight and the soundtrack of the George Clooney starrer O Brother Where Art Thou picked up five including Best Album over obvious favorite U2.

Some bright spots of the evening: Tony Bennett and Billy Joel performing New York State of Mind, the medley of songs from West Side Story with young violinist Joshua Bell, Outkast in outrageous get-ups doing Ms. Jackson, Mary J. Blige in a stunning live rendition of No More Drama, 75-year-old Ralph Stanley winning for country vocal performance with O Death and actor Steve Martin getting a Grammy. It turns out that the famous comedian, writer, producer, director and a lot of other things is also a mean banjo player. He is one of the collaborators in Foggy Mountain Breakdown, which won for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

Here are the winners in the main categories:

• Best Album: O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack by various artists

• Record of the Year: Walk On by U2

• Song of the Year: Fallin’ by Alicia Keys

• New Artist: Alicia Keys

• Rock Album: All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2

• R&B Album: Songs In A Minor by Alicia Keys

• R&B Song: Fallin’ by Alicia Keys

• Pop Performance by a Group: Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of by U2

• Rock Performance by a Group: Elevation by U2

• Female Pop Vocal Performance: I’m Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado

• Male Pop Vocal Performance: Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight by James Taylor

• Rock Song: Drops of Jupiter by Train

• Pop Collaboration with Vocals: Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink

• Male Rock Vocal Performance: Dig In by Lenny Kravitz

• Female Rock Vocal Performance: Get Right With God by Lucinda Williams

• Hard Rock Vocal Performance: Crawling by Linkin Park

• Best Country Performance by a Group: The Lucky One by Alison Krauss and Union Station

• Dance Recording: All For You by Janet Jackson

• Alternative Music Album: Parachutes by Coldplay

• R&B Performance by a Group: Survivor by Destiny’s Child

• Rap Album: Stankonia by Outkast

• Rap Solo Performance: Get Ur Freak On by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot

• Rap Performance by a Group: Ms. Jackson by Outkast

• Male R&B Vocal Performance: U Remind Me by Usher

• Female R&B Vocal Performance: Fallin’ by Alicia Keys

• Traditional R&B Vocal Album: At Last by Gladys Knight

• Reggae Album: Halfway Tree by Damian Marley

• Pop Vocal Album: Lovers Rock by Sade

• Rap/Sung Collaboration: Let Me Blow Ya Mind by Eve and Gwen Stefani

• Compilation Soundtrack Album: O Brother Where Art Thou

• Producer of the Year: T-Bone Burnett for O Brother Where Art Thou

• Short Form Video: Weapon of Choice by Bootsy Collins and Fatboy Slim