(...Story Continued from Previous Page) 1 artist in the world and Mama," West continued, "all I'm going to do is
keep making you proud. We run this."
The Grammys, celebrating its 50th year, emphasized its history from the first
performance. Alicia Keys, glammed-up with a '50s style, sat at the piano
and sang "Learnin' the Blues" along with a black-and-white video performance
from the late Frank Sinatra.
"Frank Sinatra looked good for 150, didn't he," Prince joked moments later before introducing Keys as the
best female R&B vocal winner for her smash "No One."
Later, the casts from Cirque Du Soleil's "Love" Beatles' show and the
Beatles-inspired movie "Across the Universe" paid tribute to the Fab Four as Ringo
Starr, Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison watched from the
audience.
It was a hot-legs competition when Tina Turner teamed up with Beyoncé on "Proud Mary." The senior citizen kept up with her
younger counterpart, showcasing her famous dance moves while wearing a
tight-fitting silver bustier and pantsuit.
Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" earned two Grammys,
including for best female country vocal performance. Bruce Springsteen took three awards, including best rock song
for "Radio Nowhere." Other winners included the White Stripes, Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige with two each, the Foo Fighters and even Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama for best spoken-word album.
The last jazz album to win album of the year (not counting pop-jazz singer Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me") was "Getz/Gilberto," a
collaboration between Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, in 1964.
In any other year, West would have been the main story line thanks to his
history of awards-show tirades, his huge album "Graduation" and the shocking
death of his mother. But Winehouse's drama upstaged West and everyone else.
Many artists expressed support for her, such as Grammy-winner Chaka Khan, who admitted having her own problems in the
spotlight during her long career.
"She's walking her walk. We all have a walk in life, we have hard and
difficult times and going through that chaos often leads to clarity," Khan said.
"We have to have that room and that space, that privacy time, to be able to walk
your walk, make your mistakes and come out of it. It will make you
stronger."
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discussion
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