A night of surprises at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards with Arcade Fire winning album of the year and Esperanza Spalding awarded best new artist. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES - It was a night of surprises at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. French-Canadian rock band Arcade Fire beat out front-runners Eminem and Lady Gaga for album of the year. Favorites Eminem and Bruno Mars took home a few prizes but not nearly the armfuls that were expected. Eminem led the field with ten nominations but took home only two: best rap album, and rap solo performance. Flamboyant pop singer Lady Gaga, who opened her performance by hatching from an egg, and rapper Jay-Z won three awards each, both of them beating Eminem along the way.Country group Lady Antebellum had a good night, taking home four prizes including song of the year for "Need You Now." In another shocker, American singer/bassist Esperanza Spalding was named best new artist, beating out favored contenders Drake and Justin Bieber. It was a night of star studded night of performances. Barbra Streisand performed "Evergreen" the love theme from "A Star Is Born." Urban pop singer Cee Lo, accompanied by singer/actress Gwyneth Paltrow and a band of Jim Henson puppets, censored himself when he performed "Forget You!," the family-friendly version of his nominated tune Rock 'n' roll bad boy Mick Jagger was on his best behavior as he made his first Grammys performance by singing "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" in a tribute to its singer Solomon Burke. The Rolling Stones frontman earned a standing ovation for his efforts. Lindsay Claiborn, Reuters. |
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