MANY of the world’s most promising young pop stars have had their hopes dashed after the over-forties scooped the most prestigious of America’s pre-eminent music awards.
The late blues singer Ray Charles — who died last June, aged 73 — swept the board with eight Grammys at this year’s awards, including the coveted Record of the Year, won last year by Coldplay, and Album of the Year.
Much of the rest of the prize-giving on Sunday night was dominated by older rockers with Bruce Springsteen, 55, winning best solo vocal performance, Rod Stewart, 60, winning best traditional pop vocal album and U2, whose lead singer Bono is 44, awarded three prizes — best rock song, rock video and rock performance. In 2003, Stewart, who was unable to collect his prize as he had just embarked on his Australian tour, said he was “astounded” never to have won a Grammy — adding “they tend not to give it to the British unless you’re Sting”. Sting failed to win any Grammys this year.
The award for best Metal performance went to Motörhead, whose lead singer, Lemmy, is 59. Prince, who is 46 , also won two awards.
Despite handing Britney Spears her first Grammy for best dance recording and the rock band Green Day best rock album, judges at the 47th awards remained conservative, even sentimental, in their voting. A bestselling album and a well-reviewed biopic of his life may have persuaded them to posthumously honour Ray Charles with eight awards on top of the many Grammys he won during his lifetime.
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Charles — nicknamed the Genius for his prodigious talent despite blindness and a heroin habit — was awarded Record of the Year for a duet with Norah Jones, and Album of the Year for his final album, a series of duets called Genius Loves Company.
The actor Jamie Foxx, who portrayed Charles in the biopic Ray, teamed up with Alicia Keys to sing Georgia On My Mind and If I Ain’t Got You during the awards.
Alicia Keys won four awards including best R&B album and Kanye West won best rap album for The College Dropout.
Joss Stone was nominated for a best new artist Grammy but lost out to Maroon 5. Annie Lennox won an award for best film song with Into The West.
The former US President Bill Clinton picked up the second Grammy of his career, winning the spoken word award for the audio version of his autobiography My Life.
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WHO WON WHAT
Album of the year
Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles and various artists
Record of the year
Here We Go Again, Ray Charles and Norah Jones
Song of the year
Daughters, John Mayer
Best new artist
Maroon 5
Best female pop vocal performance
Sunrise, Norah Jones
Best male pop vocal performance
Daughters, John Mayer
Best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal Heaven, Los Lonely Boys
Best pop collaboration with vocal
Here We Go Again, Ray Charles and Norah Jones
Best pop vocal album
Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles and various artists
Best dance recording
Toxic, Britney Spears
Best electronic/dance album
Kish Kash, Basement Jaxx
Best traditional pop vocal album
Stardust . . . The Great American Songbook Volume III, Rod Stewart
Best rock album
American Idiot, Green Day
Best female R&B vocal performance
If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys
Best male R&B vocal performance
Call My Name, Prince
Best R&B album
The Diary Of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys
Best contemporary R&B album
Confessions, Usher
Best rap album
The College Dropout, Kanye West
Best country album
Van Lear Rose, Loretta Lynn
Best jazz vocal album
R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal), Nancy Wilson
Best classical album
Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls, Lorin Maazel, conductor; John Adams & Lawrence Rock, producers (Brooklyn Youth Chorus & New York Choral Artists; New York Philharmonic)
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