Grammy Awards

From LoveToKnow Music

Those who had predicted the 2006 Grammy Awards would herald the comeback of Mariah Carey were proven wrong on February 8th when U2 walked away with five statues, including the coveted Album of the Year and Song of the Year titles. Despite Carey’s eight nominations for her album “The Emancipation of Mimi,” she went home with three awards, all presented during the pre-telecast portion of the ceremony. U2’s five prizes for “How To Dismantle A Bomb” and the single “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” brought their career total number of Grammys to 22.

Grammy Awards 2006

Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson beat out Carey in the Best Female Pop Vocal category for “Since U Been Gone” and also won for Best Pop Album. However, she garnered the most attention for the people she thanked during her acceptance speech – or rather, who she didn’t thank. Clarkson had no words of gratitude for the show that launched her rise to fame. Amid rumors of legal wrangling (denied by Clarkson) between the show and Clarkson over the rights to use her songs in American Idol broadcasts, it seemed a pointed slight. (Who had the last laugh is open to debate, though, as the American Idol episode broadcast opposite the Grammys trounced the award show in the Neilsen ratings.)

Other big winners were Kanye West protégé, John Legend, with 3 trophies including Best New Artist, West himself with three, and Allison Krauss and Union Station, also with three, including one for Best Country Album. Krauss’s awards solidify her standing as the top female Grammy winner of all time, and her put at number seven overall.

The Grammy performances were a mixed bag this year, with the show starting out with an appearance by the animated music group Gorillaz, backed up by De La Soul. Madonna shook her way through the Gorillaz cartoon world on her way to launching into her recent hit “Hung Up.” Alicia Keys was joined on stage by Stevie Wonder to perform Wonder’s “Higher Ground” in tribute to Coretta Scott King. Paul McCartney, Linkin Park, and Jay-Z performed a rather confusing version of the Beatles song “Yesterday.” The highlight of the night for everyone, though, was the surprise appearance of Sly Stone, who has not performed in public since 1993. A tribute to Sly and The Family Stone had been planned for the evening, but the 61 year old, mohawked pioneer of psychedelic soul was not expected to be present. In the words of Keith Urban, “Everything else pales in comparison.”

Major Awards of the Night:

Album of the Year: U2 – “How To Dismantle A Bomb”

Record of the Year: Green Day – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”

Best New Artist: John Legend

Song of the Year: U2 – Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Kelly Clarkson – “Since U Been Gone”

Best Male Pop Performance Stevie Wonder – “From The Bottom Of My Heart”

Best R&B Album John Legend – “Get Lifted”

Best Contemporary R&B Album Mariah Carey – “The Emancipation of Mimi”

Best Country Album Allison Krauss and Union Station – “Lonely Runs Both Ways”

For more a full list of all 108 awards and video clips from the Grammy ceremony, visit the official Grammy site at www.grammy.com