(February 01, 2010) You'd think the past few, dire years would have taught the music industry a sense of modesty.

No, though, for Sunday night's

telecast, the theme seemed to be "go big beyond all reason." Beyond all shame and good taste, too. But we kind of expect that from the Grammys.

Blame Lady Gaga for the ludicrously garish spectacle, maybe. Whoever was responsible for this 3 1/2-hour ear- and eyesore was obviously inspired to extremes by the unstoppably hitmaking pop tart's oversized persona, as he or she dreamed up an opener where Gaga came out (under)dressed like a superhero, got thrown in a pit of fire and then emerged from beneath the stage with Elton John astride a double-sided grand piano decorated with severed arms to duet on "Your Song."

By the looks of things, that person got drunk on power once that performance was greenlighted and went totally Cirque du Soleil hogwild for the rest of the thing. Seriously, did you see them dunk a nearly nude Pink in water and dangle her dripping over the crowd during that Sapphic dance-pack assault on "Glitter in the Air"? Oh, and they managed to exploit Michael Jackson's children again along the way, too.

Sigh. At least they finally gave Neil Young a Grammy. But given the riot of ill-conceived ideas spilling all over the stage last night – Beyoncé dropping an utterly incongruous verse from Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" into "If I Were A Boy," anyone? Jamie Foxx and T-Pain pretending to be opera singers? Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige bludgeoning all subtlety from "Bridge Over Troubled Water"? – it's probably a good thing he didn't show up for the broadcast.

Young's was about as high-profile a Canadian win as we got this year. The Great White North was all but shut out, no doubt particularly disappointing to hometown fans of Toronto rapper Drake, who lost in two rap categories.

Drake, a.k.a. Aubrey Drake Graham, did get to strut his stuff, though, and even got props (rightful, just bizarre) from noted hip-hop authority Quentin Tarantino for scoring two Grammy nods despite not yet having an album out.

The Grammy producers pulled out all the stops for the Toronto MC's performance, too, matching him up onstage with hip-hop superstars Lil' Wayne and Eminem, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and a full orchestra for a rather epic medley of tunes that concluded with a much-cheered rendition of the posse cut "Forever." Drake he took the stage to massive cheers and he's clearly got the industry behind him.

Oh, well, Canada, at least Seal mentioned Leonard Cohen in passing. And you had a Céline Dion sighting. In 3-D, no less. She turned up with Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson and a recording of Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" to give the late singer a drippy salute. It concluded with yet another awkward appearance by two of the children he fought so hard to keep from the spotlight before his death. Probably a good thing Michael didn't make it to the show, either.

Beyoncé's Six Grammys A Record-Breaking Haul

Source:  www.thestar.com - Ben Rayner

(February 01, 2010) LOS ANGELES–The 52nd Grammy Awards belonged to Beyoncé as the singer smashed the record for most trophies by a female artist in a single night.

The 28-year-old picked up a record six prizes Sunday, owning a ceremony in which a group of young artists helped put a fresh face on the greying Grammys.

"Wow, thank you so much," Beyoncé said as she took the stage to claim her award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"I'm sorry, I'm nervous. I'd love to thank my family for all their support, including my husband, I love you. And I'd like to thank all of my fans for all of their support over the years, goodnight, thank you."

Though Beyoncé was set to duel with 20-year-old Taylor Swift and 23-year-old Lady Gaga in all three of the Grammys' main categories, it didn't end up being much of a fight.

Swift did take Album of the Year for Fearless, and she took three other awards, including Best Country Album.

But Beyoncé won Song of the Year for the omnipresent "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and brought her all-time Grammy haul to 16 awards.

She had previously been tied for most wins by a female at a Grammys with Lauryn Hill, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Amy Winehouse.

Gaga, for her part, wound up marginalized in non-mainstream categories, despite having logged five No. 1 hits in little more than a year. She took home Best Dance Recording for the still-ubiquitous "Poker Face" and Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame.

If there was another upset to be witnessed during the evening, it might have been when Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" nabbed Record of the Year from Beyoncé. "Use Somebody" wound up winning in three categories by night's end, also notching Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Other three-time winners were Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, and the stubbornly massive Black Eyed Peas. Eminem and South Asian composer A.R. Rahman had two apiece.

While Swift couldn't rival Beyoncé's haul, the songstress with the long golden locks seemed thrilled to win at all.

Hours after she won two awards during the non-televised pre-show (and held one of the trophies up, exclaiming in disbelief: "This is a Grammy!"), Swift climbed the Staples Center stage again to claim the prize for Best Country Album.

"I just keep thinking back to when you're in second grade and you're singing at your talent show for the first time and people joke around and say: `Maybe we'll see you at the Grammys someday,' and that just feels like an impossible dream," said Swift, who had stood with her mouth agape for a few moments before summoning up an acceptance speech.

Pink performed her contemplative piano ballad "Glitter in the Air" while suspended high in the air. Backstage, Pink said she was a gymnast for eight years and has been doing silks for seven years, and claimed in all seriousness that she's a better singer while flying around like a marionette.

She admitted, though, that the strobe lights caused her to lose her balance for a moment. "I thought I was going to fall on my nude butt, but I worked it out," said the feisty singer.

"I would say that no one ever has another excuse to lip synch."

With files from Ben Rayner