Grammys live!

8:48 p.m.: 2008 Grammys, quick recap:

Biggest shock: Herbie Hancock winning album of the year. Kanye West deserved it, and the rapper has now been shut out of the major pop categories for three consecutive albums. Yes, he said he deserves it, and yes he's arrogant, but awarding West is awarding an artist in his prime, and awarding an artist who is not afraid to speak his mind -- something mainstream music needs more of.

Best performance: West's "Stronger" with Daft Punk, a preview of West's glow-in-the dark tour. West brought the sample to life with a performance that was impossible not to watch, and then offered a tribute to his mother with the touching "Hey Mama."

Biggest winners: Amy Winehouse won five of six, losing only in album of the year. Recording Academy voters, known for being conservative (see Hancock), were taken by the troubled pop star, and looked past her transgressions. West still won quite a bit, taking home four awards, but again, his wins in the genre categories. It's par for the course for West, but also becoming increasingly inexcusable.

What happened to? The big Michael Jackson tribute? CBS commercials teased it, but is anyone really surprised this didn't happen? And really, let's be thankful it didn't.

8:29 pm.: Did that really just happen? Did Recording Academy voters really just seal the relevance of the Grammy Awards in a coffin and bury it for good? Is Kanye not going to get up on stage and take that thing away from him? 

Hancock: "I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time."

For passing up the artist-of-the-moment for an industry favorite? That's what the Grammys always do, sir.

8:27 p.m.: Album of the year: Herbie Hancock. "River: The Joni Letters."

8:26 p.m.: will.i.am., rapping about how awesome it is to win a Grammy, referencing U2 and Bobby McFerrin and "Mack the Knife" and declaring: "There's a lot of dope shows but this is as dope as it gets." Forty-five seconds we ain't getting back.

8:25 p.m.: A commercial for Grammy.com just said "celebrate Grammys future" on the site. Ah, the website celebrates the future of rock so the show doesn't have to.

8:15 p.m. John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. "Great Balls of Fire" is the centerpiece of this nostalgia convention, which felt a bit like a museum exhibit. It's almost 8:30, when this thing is supposed to end, and still no Jackson tribute, which was teased in the commercial.

8:12 p.m.: Bonnie Raitt: "Rock 'n' roll and the Grammys began right around the same time." And apparently so did this three-plus-hours show.

8:04 p.m. So after the extended Recording Academy/Musicares plug, with Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow, we go straight into the Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli duet. And the Nielsen numbers begin to slide.

7:49 p.m.: Record of the year: Winehouse, "Rehab." The singer is tearing up on the London satellite. She has her mom with her and gives a shout-out to her man Blake Fielder-Civil, "incarcerated," she notes. This gives Winehouse a record/song sweep. It also pulls Winehouse ahead of Kayne, giving her five awards to his four with album of the year still up for grabs.   

7:41 p.m.: Cuba Gooding Jr.in London, introducing Winehouse. Her London studio is set up to look like an old jazz club, and her performance of "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab" would make more sense if they were in black & white, and took place in the '50s.

7:34 p.m.: Rap sung/collaboration: Rihanna's "Umbrella" featuring Jay-Z. The rapper/entrepreneur is mirroring everything she says.

7:28 p.m.: Let's make this show a little more sophisticated, folks. Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock and an orchestra on George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," and a little dueling pianos shtick.

7:21 p.m.: Vince Gill, winning best country album. After accepting the award from Ringo, he acknowledged receiving the trophy from a Beatle, and said, "Have you had that yet, Kanye?" At least they didn't ask Gill to share his acceptance speech with Brad Paisley.

7:18 p.m.: Ringo, telling everyone in the crowd they all look fab. Can't wait for Grammys 2009, when a Broadway cast gives us a tribute to the time on the Grammys Ringo said everyone looked fab. It'll be better when it's remixed with 75 violins. 

7:16 p.m. Oh, wait, there is SOMETHING that can ruin it. John Mayer. Come on, John, lay on some thick, guitar wankery on this one. Yeah, like that, completely make the song unlistenable. Mission accomplished. 

7:12 p.m.: Stevie Wonder, giving a brief tribute to Berry Gordy. Then Keys is back, singing "No One." It's a slower, slightly more subdued version of the anthem. This is a great single. Nothing can ruin it. Nothing. Nope, nothing.

7:11 p.m. About 90 minutes to go.

7:03 p.m.: Best rock album promo. Wilco seemed to get a shorter clip than any other band. The Foo Fighters win. A concession for them not winning album of the year. A shame it wasn't Daughtry. It's been a while since we heard a shout-out to Simon Fuller.

7:02 p.m. Vocalist Keely Smith, here to duet with Kid Rock. Smith won the Grammy for best performance by a vocal group or chorus in 1959, the first time it was awarded. This pairing makes total sense. Because when you're bringing out a singer in her 70s, you want her to pair up with a classy man like Mr. Rock. 

6:57 p.m. Earl Scruggs, recognized for receiving lifetime achievement award. Thirty seconds later, Feist, singing "1234." Scruggs would approve. Or something.

6:50 p.m.: Gospel segment. Giant medley! Aretha Frankin! Choir! A shame it had to follow West's acceptance speech.

6:42 p.m.: These Grammys belong to Kanye. First, he gives the best musical performance of the night, and now the best acceptance speech. "We basically made this our new place of residence," West said as he took to the podium, referring to his multiple Grammy wins. He gave a short speech about challenging himself as an artist, and the orchestra began. "Come on, you gonna play the music on me."

They were, and they did. It wasn't until Kanye began talking about his mother that it was turned down, and only after West said, "It would be in a good taste to stop the music." If there's going to be spontaneity at the Grammys, it's going to be from West.

He also gave a shout-out to Winehouse producer Mark Ronson, saying, "If i don't get to get up here for album of the year, you deserve it just as much as me. I deserve it too."

6:38 p.m.: Chris Brown said something about how much he likes DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince winning the first ever best rap album award, but it trailed off, and it got quiet, and we had to wait an extra 10 seconds before West's "Graduation" won for best rap album. Kanye, the floor:

6:34 p.m.: Brad Paisley, singing "Ticks." Look at you, Nashville, delivering the most sexually-explicit song of this year's Grammy Awards.

6:31 p.m.: Target commercial, offering another interpretation of the Beatles' "Hello Goodbye." Get ready: In 2009, the Grammys will add "best use of popular music in a commercial" as category No. 111. But if that field existed this year, Feist would have gotten only one nomination instead of four.

6:27 p.m.: Haven't the Foo Fighters already been honored for this song? Is this different than the song they've been recording their entire career?

6:24 p.m.: Come on John Paul Jones. You're conducting this orchestra. It's your job to make this tune moderately more interesting than it is on the radio. Shouldn't be tough.

6:21 p.m.: Here's the Grammy "Idol" moment. Anne Marie Calhoun won! She is this year's Robyn Troup. She will be the featured orchestral performer with the Foo Fighters on "The Pretender."

6:15 p.m. Winehouse wins song of the year. Satellite performance is teased again.

6:08 p.m.: Beyonce gives way to Tina Turner, who sings "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Better Be Good to Me." And that gives way to Tina & Beyonce singing "Proud Mary." Can't argue with Tina, and Beyonce is more than holding her own. This will do in the 100-year anniversary clip-show in 2058.

6:05 p.m.: Is Beyonce scatting? Or is that spoken word? She's rattling off famous people who have performed at the Grammys: Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, and on and on. It's the list as song. But if she's not even singing, why is this lip synced?

6:04 p.m. Beyonce! Look forward to only seven or eight more Beyonce awards show performances this year.

5:56 p.m.: Best soundtrack: "Love." Sigh. Ringo's on stage. Says of the project: "It turned into a beautiful dream." Not really a surprise it won. Maybe if there's a "Once" sequel they can cover "Norwegian Wood" and secure a Grammy.

5:54 p.m.: Yes, apparently we must, as Fergie, who never met an award show she didn't like, and John Legend arrive to sing "Finally."

5:52 p.m.: Gone is the glow-in-the-dark effects, and West is singing "Hey Mama." Just him on the stage, and a relatively quiet orchestra. Must we go back to giving out awards? Can Kanye just perform for another 2.5 hours?

5:49 p.m.: Side-note: Two of the best singles of 2007 -- "Stronger" and "No One" -- are not nominated for record of the year.

5:45 p.m.: Here we go. Glow-in-the-dark Kanye with a back-lit pyramid. This is it. The best three minutes of the show are ahead. Hope U2 and Miley Cyrus are watching. Someone must combine 3-D and glow-in-the-dark concert effects in 2008. Bono?

5:42 p.m.: Commercial break. Kanye West's performance with Daft Punk is teased. Some 2007 music is up ahead.

5:37 p.m.: The moment we've all been waiting for: Vote for your favorite orchestral musician via text message. Later on, they'll be drowned out by the Foo Fighters, so the few cents it costs you to send that txt will no doubt be worth it.

5:35 p.m.: Best new artist: Amy Winehouse. But no satellite acceptance speech.

5:30 p.m.: Is the Las Vegas board of tourism being paid for this Beatles "Love" segment? "A Day in the Life" was the centerpiece of the "Love" clip, and now we're moving into "Let It Be" from the cast of "Across the Universe." All right, no more Beatles tribute segments. We get it, they're the Beatles, we like them, no need to keep reminding us we like them by giving us bad versions of their songs.

5:25 p.m.: Now Hanks is shouting: "The power of the Beatles." THIS.THEATRICAL.MEDLEY.WILL.BE.IMPORTANT. As Oscars blogger Patrick Day just said, "I feel like Tom Hanks should announce all important things in our lives. Elections. The new pope."

5:23 p.m.: Tom Hanks. Perfect for the Grammys. Who could forget all his classic No. 1 hits?

5:22 p.m. The Time is back, for one brief final verse of its hit, but it was Rihanna's show, as noted by the giant "R' above the stage.

5:19 p.m.: The Time segues to Rihanna's "Umbrella," getting to the first verse, then cutting to "Don't Stop the Music." Hey, where'd the Time go? Rihanna's voice is killer, but she looks like a waitress at the Rainforest Cafe in that dress.

5:17 p.m.: Jimmy Jam. And now the original members of the Time. Prince was here earlier. Maybe he'll perform too. That'd be something. The Prince & the Time. For now, they're singing "Jungle Love."

So, let's recap: 18 minutes into the show, and two songs recorded prior to 2007.

5:11 p.m.: Keys, who just opened the show, wins for best female R&B vocal performance for "No One." Her speech is eventually cut off by the Grammy orchestra, about 30 seconds too late. Once an artist thanks the radio promotion team, cue the symphony. The symphony should also be cued for thanking agents, managers, A&R folks. Commercial, and Keys is backstage, probably preparing for next year's show-stopping Grammy opener with Frank AND Joey Bishop.

5:05 p.m. Carrie Underwood, singing "Before He Cheats." She's dropped her pre-show dress for dominatrix cocktail waitress outfit. The bluesy nature of the song was erased, thanks to a theatrical rhythmic team behind her, clanging on all sorts of rhythmic instruments.

5:02 p.m.: Cut to Alicia Keys, duetting with Sinatra on "Learning the Blues." Death shall never be a deterrent to a superstar award show pairing.

5:01 p.m.: Let the rock 'n' roll begin ... with retrospective Frank Sinatra clips

PRE-SHOW BLOGGING BELOW:

3:45 p.m.: The pre-show is ending. The White Stripes won best alternative album, and Mark Ronson took home producer of the year, non-classical, citing Timbaland & Magoo's "Welcome to Our World" as one of his favorite records.

Artists now rush out of the Staples Center and rejoin the red carpet. All signs point to a big night ahead for West and Winehouse, who both did well in the pre-show. West has won three awards thus far, which includes his collaboration with Common on "Southside."

Winehouse has already won best pop vocal album for "Back to Black," a category in which she beat out offerings from Paul McCartney and Maroon 5. It sets up a West vs. Winehouse showdown in the album of the year field.

Winners will be continually updated here, and the live-blogging will resume closer to showtime, at 5 p.m. PST.

3:40 p.m.: The Foo Fighters just nabbed best hard rock performance for "The Pretender," but the more interesting story is with Slayer, best metal performance for "Final Six." The winning song was actually an addition to "Christ Illusion," an album released in 2006 and reissued in September of 2007.

3:36 p.m.: "Radio Nowhere" from Bruce Spingsteen wins best rock solo vocal performance.

3:35 p.m.: Best dance album: The Chemical Brothers, besting critic faves LCD Soundsystem.

3:31 p.m.: Best pop instrumental album: The Beastie Boys' "Mix-Up." And best pop vocal album? Winehouse. That's two in the pop category for the soul revivalist. It's early, but big nominees West and Winehouse are off-and-running.

3:29 p.m. Best female pop vocal performance: Amy Winehouse. But no satellite feed from London yet. Perhaps the last-minute Friday visa still didn't grant pre-show privileges. 

3:23 p.m.: Boo! The Eagles' "How Long" just won for best marketing campaign at a big box retailer best country performance by a duo or group with vocal.   

3:18 p.m.: Carrie Underwood wins best country vocal performance for "Before He Cheats." Her speech gave a few shout-outs to Simon Fuller and "American Idol." "I wouldn't be singing at all anywhere if it weren't for that show," she said.

3:18 p.m.: Nope. Eric Clapton and JJ Cale.

3:16 p.m.: Best contemporary blues. This better be Bettye LaVette.

3:11 p.m.: R&B kiddo Ne-Yo won best contemporary R&B album, besting newcomer Emily King and Akon, who had a breakthrough year in 2007. Most of you, as did I, had Akon winning the award. But controversy also followed Akon last year, and that probably swayed some voters. Expect to see him in a Jacko tribute in a few hours.

2:59 p.m.: List of winners! Here's a budding list of winners, for those keeping score at home.

2:56 p.m.: Best jazz vocal album: Patti Austin. "You can tell I'm in shock because I'm in Crocs," she said.

2:55 p.m.: Best contemporary jazz album: Herbie Hancock. Those looking for a list of winners, like all of us at 202 W. First St. in Los Angeles, will have one at about 3 p.m.-ish. Stay tuned.

2:50 p.m.: Kanye, as expected, is cleaning up the rap fields. His "Good Life" featuring T-Pain won best rap song. After which, Patti Austin said, "I'm so glad Kanye won everything because you know how cranky he gets when he loses." Yes, but that crankiness is one reason we tune in.

2:48 p.m.: Best rap solo performance: Kanye West's "Stronger." Best rap performance by a duo or group: Common's "Southside" featuring Kanye West.

Rap categories: All Chicago, thus far.

2:37 p.m.: There's a tie in the pre-show! The Clark Sisters and Aretha Franklin & Mary J. Blige have all won for best gospel performance. But there's no tie in the gospel song category, where  The Clark Sisters' "Blessed & Highly Favored" wins all by its lonesome. 

2:31 p.m.: Pinetop Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards and Koko Taylor singing "Let the Good Times Roll." Beautiful. Some Italian beef, and the Staples Center could start to feel like the Taste of Chicago.

2:25 p.m.: Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow is up. The Friday night Musicares dinner with Aretha Franklin raised a record $4.5 mil., he said. Read Ann Powers' review of it here, if you haven't already.

2:20 p.m.: This pre-show is flying, strike-afflicted Golden Globes style. Steven Marley just won best reggae album for "Mind Control." But having covering the Grammys from the Staples Center in the past, it's always amusing to watch artists rush from the red carpet to the pre-show and then back to the red carpet, as that's where all the press is.

1:45 p.m.: Ahhh, the first major bummer of the night. "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls" beat "Once's" "Falling Slowly"  in the best song written for a motion picture, television or other visual media category.

1:40 p.m.: The pre-show crowd is getting testy, booing some of the nominees for best spoken word album, which sees Barack Obama battling it out with Bill Clinton. And the winner? Barack. It's his second Grammy. Surely that's worth some superdelegates, no? 

1:37 p.m.: A Beatles-related project just scored its first win of the night. The Cirque du Soleil project "Love" won best surround sound album. Sir George Martin was not around to accept the award, but he'll be in the building this evening (spoiler alert!).

1:28: Score one for the indies! Bright Eyes' "Cassadaga" just nabbed best recording package for its nifty little case, which requires a viewfinder to see the art.

1:26 p.m. Madonna's "The Confessions Tour." Best long form music video.

1:21 p.m.: Your co-hosts for the pre-show, Patti Austin and Peter Frampton. Oh wow--now he's jamming with John Paul Jones and Cee-Lo in a totally classic rock-meets-psychedelic version of "Crazy." No, sorry, that's not happening. But Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" just best short form music video.

One down. One hundred and nine to go.

1:16 p.m.: Jimmy Jam just mispronounced "zydeco." Forgiven, sir -- it's a new category this year.

1:12 p.m.: It's brunch at the Grammys! Grammy.com is streaming the pre-show live, where you can see all the artists and awards not-fit-for CBS. Best new artist nominee Ledisi is getting the proceedings underway with her "Today," a smooth, jazzy R&B number.

(Photo courtesy WireImage)

Comments

[Julian]

It's really ridiculous that the Grammys continues to honor the same people over and over again. Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin and Prince do no deserve to keep winning for atrocious material.

[RBBrittain]

Correction: Kanye West won FOUR awards in the pre-show--all four rap categories, including Best Rap Song where he appears in the songwriting credits as "K. West". The sweep is clearly on--and I'm no rap fan.

In both Rap Song and Rap Performance by Duo/Group, he had to beat himself--which I suspect is the closest we'll see to Kanye losing tonight. (If you don't get that joke, set the wayback machine to the 2005 Grammycast.)

[-Todd Martens]

Thanks, RBBrittain, but I'm still only seeing three:

-Best rap solo performance

-Best rap duo/group

-Best rap song

In double-check during the first commercial break.

[JJHART]

Why is this show so BLACK!!!!?? Ummmm,,, what about Gwen, Barbra Steissand, Bette Midler? Have their been no caucasian, Latino or Asian artists that deserve attention? Am I on BET or CBS???

[rockworms]

Hey Todd, come live blog with us over at rockworms too!

http://www.rockworms.com/Blog/Live-Blogging-during-the-grammys-tonight.html

[JJHART]

John Mayer is a douchebag.

[Lisa]

Biased, are we, toward Kanye??? He's a total JERK even if he's got a dead mom....ARROGANT SOB without any recognition for any artist or work except his OWN.

[Tom]

Awesome! Amy Winehouse rocks. Get her album if you haven't yet!!!! Really happy for her - great that they are recognising a different kind of music.

[Patricia]

I just wanted to read about the show. I don't really care for Todd Martens' sarcasm. What is it with the Internet that makes bloggers think their attitude really matters more than the facts of the event?

Is this some generational thing? I'm really getting tired of it.

[dan]

i'm sitting here in shock. i feel that i just wasted three and a half hours. that last award negated the great performances i saw tonight. what a crock. and kanye is right

[Michael]

I love it. Hope Kanye has a total meltdown. Seriously what is wrong with him that he has such a craving to win awards. It's just pathetic.

[Julien]

I'm glad Herbie Hancock ended the Amy Winehouse Parade and Honor a Crackhead Show.

[IMHO]

really don't care about any of this. i'm on new sites constantly and so i saw this story. i would never look to the industry to learn about good or interesting music. podcasts, NPR, the NYT, yes. Grammys, no.

Coltrane was never given a grammy while he was alive.

Screw the Grammys.

[patroklos]

Kanye doesn't deserve an award for moving units. He's mediocre anyway. Guess what, Todd. Hancock isn't just an "industry favorite". He's a real musician with more talent than Kanye is even capable of conceptualizing. Not to mention the magnificent work done on that album by Wayne Shorter, Tina Turner, Norah Jones, the magnificent Joni Mitchell, etc. All those who truly love music will celebrate Hancock's win. I hope this win will encourage the true music lovers among today's youth to listen to the album.

[RBBrittain]

Clarification: I was looking at the LAT's pre-show winner list when writing earlier; it had Kanye winning for Rap/Sung Collaboration.

The Grammy website didn't have ANY winners up at the time; it wasn't till after the show started that I saw it not included among the Grammy winners. And since the Grammy site has missed a pre-show winner at least once in the past, I couldn't be sure it wasn't an error on their part till that award was presented on-air to Rihanna & Jay-Z.

[BS]

Right on IMHO. Herbie Hancock made a jazzy adult album and rock and rap critics go apecrap. Why is adult music so marginalized? Go Herbie, and he didn't need drug or hood street cred.

[S. Pearson]

No, Kanye does not deserve it. He's mainstream and not that good. Since when is rap relevant anyway? Indie, alternative etc. labels are producing true new and brave music. Herbie Hancock is a giant. He's a jazz legend. An appellation Kanye will never carry.

[MQMurphy]

Todd - I've got to agree with patroklos and the others - Hancock definitely deserved it. I like Kanye - he's a talent powerhouse, but music is an Art, not a competition. I mean, "Jasper Johns - for Best Use of Patriotic Iconography"??

[sandra]

sorry but this show absolutely reflects the state of the mainstream music recording industry today... and what a sad, sad state it is... i stopped listening to radio a long time ago, so when i turn this kind of show on, i know how bad the material is from the first note... thank goodness for satellite and internet radio...

[Chicago48]

What Kanye should do next is team with Herbie (or another jazz great) and make a rap-jazz album, that way he WILL WIN.

Now about this Amy Wino that everybody is so hyped up about. Let's be real -- Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings do it better....but because of the race thing (Amy is white, Sharon is black), you won't see Sharon getting an award.

I think Kanye just needs to learn how to write and speak a good acceptance speech. He's probably saying what other rappers are saying. But somebody needs to sit him down and write an acceptance speech for him.

As for Herbie winning -- I'm going to buy the CD because I haven't heard a good jazz album in years, since the Miles Davis-Coltrane days.

I left the TV show after Aretha sang, it was a good show pairing the old with the new. Brilliant.

[LoveZilla]

KonYou, in his acceptance
speech reportedly said
"...We run this..."
Son, do you have a mouse in your pocket? And, be very careful
you just might wake The Sleeping
Giant.

[MUSICFAN]

Firstly, I think that Kanye West is an exceptional artist. I also believe that his three albums (though not in three consecutive years, as you incorrectly stated) were deserving of album of the year nominations. However, he was not snubbed. I'm really sick of people saying it is getting to the point of "unacceptable" that he hasn't won. A lot of major artists, including those at the peak of their career, have never even been nominated for Album of the year, much less three times! Kanye only has HIMSELF to blame for his arrogance. Like others have mentioned, he holds no one but him self in consideration. Don't you think those voting members would be sick of hearing "I have the best album, obviously, no one else can even compare to me." Imagine if an actor came out and did that in the oscar derby! Oh wait...it did...Eddie Murphey. I'm sure he's enjoying that empty place on his mantle too. Secondly, if one more INEPT reporter refers to Herbie Hancock as the "CONSERVATIVE" choice for Album of the Year, I will explode. There is nothing conservative about picking a experimental jazz recording over mainstream popular fare. Thirdly, if Kanye is as good as everyone says he is, and really deserves an Album of the Year win...then maybe he can continue to make music. After all it took Herbie over 45 albums til he won. Makes Kanye's complaining seem even more pathetic doesn't it? I'd like to see Kanye still relevent in 10 years, much less 40 years.

[Jezebel]

I think it is time for the Grammys to get rid of the Best New Artist categor because they never seem to know who is actually "new". Feist and Amy Winehouse are NOT new artists. Boy! The industry is truly clueless and anything but edgey. What a borefest last night was.

[musician]

Herbie Hancock doesn't need awards. He is a true musician regardless, and blows away hacks like KW.
In ten years people will say "KW who?"
Herbie has been growing and maturing since the 60's, and he keeps getting better. Can KW play an instrument?
Give us a break on the platitudes.

[RS]

I don't like how race was mentioned in the poster's comments. I thought we were talking about music artists, not the color of the artist's skin. When will America get over this racial hump? And by the way, Rap & alternative are becoming more & more mainstream as older people are less influencing the music scene. Most of the people who make racial comments are of an older generation. Wake up before you pass away! Racists make me sick!