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Arts & Entertainment

Grammys Bring Tributes, Eggs and Major Upsets

Entertainment writer Brian Conradi brings you the highlights of the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Sunday marked the 53rd Grammy Awards Ceremony, one of the biggest nights for the music industry.  It's a time when artists from all generations come together to celebrate success, recognize their achievements, and of course, showcase big names in the hopes of making a dollar or two. Regardless of the exact motivation behind them, the awards themselves are just a fraction of the appeal.

Surreal pop star Lady Gaga kicked off the evening by arriving on to the red carpet inside a giant egg. She then "hatched" from it, and performed her new single, “Born This Way," in a performance that, despite the prehistoric intro, didn't have any of the star's signature shocking moments.

Lady Gaga may have walked away with awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, but on the tails of a show that lacked her usual over-the-top burlesque style, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

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Sunday night did have a moment of redemption for fans of the bizarre, however: Rapper and producer Cee Lo Green raised the bar with his sanitized hit single, “Forget You” (a song that normally begins with another word), but not without being joined by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. For many viewers, the number probably was reminiscent of Elton John’s 1977 performance on The Muppet Show, which was complete with fur, feathers and a puppet back-up band.

With Paltrow's virtually non-existent music career (let's see, she's married to rock star Chris Martin of Coldplay, and released a mediocre duet with Huey Lewis well after the 80s household singer's prime years), she and the Muppets arguably were comparably qualified to take the stage.

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Thankfully, for lovers of rock 'n roll's golden age like me, there was plenty to be found that night. The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger gave a wild rendition of the Solomon Burke blues tune, “Everybody Needs Sombody to Love." The bigger moment, however, was a tribute to Aretha Franklin with the quintet of Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Florence Welch and Yolanda Adams singing a medley of the Queen of Soul’s greatest hits.

Two other big stars of the night were pop-country icon Lady Antebellum, and a dark-horse indie rock band, Arcade Fire.

Lady Antebellum scored two awards for her music, but also took home the Record of the Year Award for her sophomore album's title track, “Need You Now.” The big shock of the night, though, came when Arcade Fire beat out superstars such as Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and others to win the night's heftiest honor, Record of the Year. The win was a major upset for an award that has typically favored major stars and big record labels.

Perhaps the success of Arcade Fire will begin a new trend of smaller artists standing toe-to-toe with the majors – a shift that could make next year's awards all the more intriguing.

For a complete list of Grammy nominees and winners, click here.

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