Grammys, Award Shows | featured news

The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for lead nominee - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.

Soul traditionalist Adele triumphed over pop stars, a veteran rock act and an up-and-coming songwriter/producer to win the most prestigious Grammy prize, album of the year, for her "21." It was her sixth award out of six nominations, a clean sweep.

With nothing more than a piano, a little black dress and a microphone, Adele rouses crowds using her emotions and her voice.

Adele's vocal cords have healed from surgery in November, allowing the 23-year-old British songstress to perform on the Grammys stage next month, she and the Recording Academy confirmed Tuesday.

Lady Gaga in an egg and Justin Bieber resulted in a slight ratings bump for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on CBS. From 8-11:30PM, the show, which crowned Nashville-based Lady Antebellum as the night's big winners, drew 26.55 million viewers and a 10.0/26 in adults 18-49. Compared to last year's highly-rated telecast that aired on Jan. 31, outside the February sweep, the Grammys were up a tenth (1%) in adults 18-49 (from 9.9/24) and 3% in total viewers (from 25.87 million). It was the best delivery for the awards show in adults 18-49 since 2004 and in viewers since 2001. CBS won the night with a 8.2/22 in 18-49 and 23.7 million viewers.

The Recording Academy is finally getting some satisfaction, with Mick Jagger's first appearance on the Grammy stage.

The head of Taylor Swift's record label is fired up and ready to defend his superstar from people who are criticizing her Grammy-night performance. "She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her," said Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta in a phone interview. "This is not `American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."

A popular and eye-popping mix of stars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga drew a TV audience of 25.8 million Americans to the Grammy Awards -- the biggest TV audience for the telecast in six years, according to preliminary television ratings on Monday.

Last year, as the Grammys were approaching, the show's executive producer was in frequent talks with Michael Jackson to appear on the telecast to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Thriller."...

Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift are to perform at the 52nd Annual Grammys early next year.