For M.I.A., the show must go on.
The vocalist, whose “Paper Planes” is up for record of the year, is ready to give birth. In fact, her due date was Sunday, but she was on the red carpet, looking dazzling in a blue patterned dress that couldn’t help but show off her very pregnant form. “It’s working its way down right now,” she told CNN, patting her belly. “I’m taking it 10 minutes by 10 minutes by 10 minutes.” Given the happy circumstances, she considers herself a winner either way, she said. Watch M.I.A. talk about her music and her work ยป The Grammy winners themselves — a handful, anyway — will be announced on the broadcast for the 51st annual Grammy Awards, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. But though the broadcast is still to come, there are already quite a number of people with awards. The Grammys have more than 100 categories, and most honors are given out before the show. George Carlin won best comedy album Grammy for “It’s Bad for Ya,” a recording of his last HBO special. It was the late comedian’s fifth Grammy Award. His daughter, Kelly, accepted on his behalf, saying she’d take better care of it than Carlin did with his first Grammy — which was taken apart in a “chemically induced, altered state,” she said. Other winners included the film “Juno,” which won best compilation soundtrack; Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, who won best motion picture song for “Down to Earth” from the film “WALL-E”; and R&B singer Ne-Yo, who won two awards.
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Ne-Yo said he didn’t have a speech prepared for any awards he wins on the broadcast. “That would assume victory,” he told CNN on the red carpet, impishly showing his “if-anybody-but-Ne-Yo-wins face.” The biggest awards — record of the year, song of the year, album of the year and best new artist, among a handful of others — still await. As usual, the Grammys will be laden with star power. This year’s Grammy performers include Paul McCartney (with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl backing him on drums), U2, Coldplay, Grammy nominations leader Lil’ Wayne, Radiohead, Kenny Chesney and Justin Timberlake. Jennifer Hudson, who sang “Holly Holy” Friday at the special show for the MusiCares Person of the Year, Neil Diamond, is scheduled to sing an emotional ballad, “You Pulled Me Through,” on the show. Among the presenters: Craig Ferguson, Sheryl Crow, Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow (wife of Coldplay singer/pianist Chris Martin) and Al Green. However, two scheduled performers — Rihanna and Chris Brown — had to pull out due to an alleged domestic violence incident. Los Angeles police were looking for Brown after receiving an early-morning domestic violence report. Authorities say Brown and a woman were involved in an argument in a vehicle. After stopping his car, the argument escalated when Brown stopped the car and the woman got out, the Los Angeles Police Department said, citing the victim’s account. A representative for Brown at the ICM agency in Los Angeles could not immediately be reached for comment. Though the performances are often praised, the Grammys have been frequently mocked for their middle-of-the-road honors. However, there will certainly be many chances for the Grammys to give awards to both popular and relatively cutting-edge performers. Rapper Lil’ Wayne received eight nominations, including album of the year for his “Tha Carter III.” Coldplay earned seven nods, including album of the year for “Viva La Vida” and record of the year for the title track. Among others with multiple nominations are Ne-Yo, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Radiohead and newcomer Jazmine Sullivan. Blender’s Joe Levy said this year’s album of the year category — which also includes Plant and Krauss’ “Raising Sand,” Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” and Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” — looks to be competitive. Even if the award goes to Plant and Krauss’ minimalist, T Bone Burnett-produced album — the “adult” favorite — it’s still OK, says Levy. “Raising Sand” is “a classy grown-up record — a subdued sound, and if that wins album of the year, then, you know what The dude from Led Zeppelin won album of the year,” Levy said. “The people at the Grammys are trying to figure out how to be classy and grown up, but still cool.” The big awards feature artists from many genres. Aside from Coldplay, nominees for record of the year are Adele’s “Chasing Pavements,” Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love,” M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” and Plant and Krauss’ “Please Read the Letter.” The nominees for song of the year, a songwriters’ award, include “American Boy,” popularized by Estelle featuring Kanye West; “Chasing Pavements,” whose hit version was performed by Adele; “I’m Yours,” written and performed by Jason Mraz; “Love Song,” written and performed by Sara Bareilles; and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” written by the band. Despite all his nominations, Lil’ Wayne has low expectations of winning. “Do I think I’m going to win any No,” he said in a recent video blog, according to the Canadian Press. “Because you know politics. I think they think it’s just enough to nominate me or something.”
Levy, too, is trying to keep his expectations low — though he still hopes for some big moments. “If anyone can have an evening packed with musical excitement and dull the excitement … it’s NARAS,” he said, referring to The Recording Academy, the organization that oversees the awards. “[But] they’re trying to make a case this year that something exciting is going on. So they packed it with performers, young and old. Anything that features Miley Cyrus and U2 is definitely casting a wide net, but I think it could be a good one.”
