Grammy WhammyThe 2006 Grammys was quite a show for the millions of television viewers tuned into the near-four-hour telecast. Keeping up with their new tradition of going heavy on performances and light on the award presentations, the music extravaganza offered something for everyone.
The show opened with a pleasant surprise:an animated set by veteran rap group
De La Soul that featured rock group
Gorillaz and pop diva
Madonna, who sang her dance song ‘Hung Up.’ “And that was the first of 26 performances,” the announcer added before rolling off an endless list of presenters and performers from a multitude of genres.
Grammy favorites
Alicia Keys and
Stevie Wonder presented the first award, after doing an impromptu version of Wonder’s classic ‘Higher Ground,’ which he dedicated to the late human rights activist
Coretta Scott King
.
Best New Artist winner
John Legend’s candid pre-taped interview segment aired before his stirring performance of ‘Ordinary People.’ British rock group
U2 opened their inspired set with a lively version of ‘Vertigo,’ which segued into a hearty rendition of ‘One Love,’ featuring queen of hip-hop soul
Mary J. Blige -- the gospel-inflected tune appearing on her new album, ‘The Breakthrough.’
Grammy winning rapper/actor
Ludacris joined his ‘Crash’ co-star
Matt Dillon in the on-air acknowledgment of legendary rocker
David Bowie receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. They then presented the award for Best Rap Album, which went to
Kanye West -- who accepted the award wearing an unbuttoned red silk shirt, exposing his hairy chest, and accentuated by black leather gloves. Hamming it up, West read from a piece of paper that had the words ‘Thank You List’ for the audience to see. “Could you imagine being Kanye West’s publicist?” he joked after thanking his flack publicly.
When the
Black Eyed Peas and actress
Jennifer Love Hewitt presented John Legend with the award for Best R&B Performance-- Male, the musical wunderkind accepted his award in a more gracious way, revealing that ‘Ordinary People’ was the first song he wrote after he signed the deal with Sony. After also publicly sharing that the song was intended for the Black Eyed Peas, he added: “I’m just grateful to have God giving me this gift.”
Mariah Carey, who won a total of three awards off-camera, traded in her usual sexually alluring attire for something more appealing to television censors as she sang a gospel-
infused medley of ‘We Belong Together’ and ‘Fly Like A Bird’ into a rhinestone encrusted microphone, backed by
Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade. After the spirited performance, ‘Desperate Housewives’ star
Teri Hatcher commented, ‘Doesn’t it feel like everyone just got saved?’ before presenting another award.
And while audiences responded well to
Jay Z and
Linkin Park’s performance for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration winner, ‘Numb/Encore,’ one of the night’s biggest highlights was the tribute to
Sly and The Family Stone. Beleaguered comic actor
Dave Chappelle did the honors of introducing Sly Stone, after drawing a parallel to his own comeback.
Joss Stone, John Legend and
Van Hunt kicked things off with ‘Family Affair’ backed by an all-star band that included
Nile Rodgers, Aerosmith, Patrice Rushing, Gerald Albright, Robert Randolph and
Randy Jackson (of
'American Idol' fame).
Fantasia, who didn’t win any of the four awards she was nominated for, brought things up a notch as she joined
Devon Lynn for ‘If You Want Me To Stay.’
Maroon 5 and
Ciara contributed their version of ‘Everyday People’ and Black Eyed Peas frontman
will.i.am performed his rendition of ‘Dance To the Music.’ And then came Mister Stone -- the rarely photographed icon came out in grand style donning Christian Dior shades and a bleached blond Mohawk -- clad in a gold lamé get-up for ‘I Want to Take You Higher.’ In high drama fashion Stone left the stage mid-song, never to return.
Kanye West and Jamie Foxx's captivating performance of their hit single ‘Gold Digger’ had the entire audience on its feet. A simulated pep rally, their lively set included a male and female stepping competition, and a marching band. After what was arguably the evening’s best performance, the camera panned to West backstage waiting with bated breath for his name to be called as the winner for ‘Record of the Year.’ Rock group Green Day -- whose album was release in September, 2004 -- snagged the award.
Other highlights: Academy Award nominee Terence Dashon Howard acknowledging opera diva
Jessye Norman’s Lifetime Achievement honor, and then introducing
Herbie Hancock and
Christina Aguilera performing the classic R&B standard ‘A Song For You.’
Queen Latifah acknowledging
Richard Pryor's posthumous Lifetime Achievement honor, and
James Taylor and
Bonnie Raitt presenting the award for Album of the Year, which U2 won. ‘I’ve won this award twice and lost it twice so I know how it feels, Kanye. You're next." lead singer Bono consoled from the stage. He also acknowledged other nominees in the category including
Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey and
Paul McCartney.
Other presenters during the show included
Chris Brown, Carlos Santana, Destiny’s Child, LL Cool J, Fiona Apple, Chuck D and
Common.
Gladys Knight, Dianne Reeves, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Chris Rock, Stevie Wonder, Damian Marley, Burt Bacharach, Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Dupri, Black Eyed Peas, CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin, B.B. King and
all won awards that were not televised.
For the finale, Yolanda Adams (who picked up an award in the Gospel category) joined Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt and blues diva Irma Thomas for ‘Yes We Can Can,’ dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. That was followed by Bruce Springsteen, The Edge (from U2) and soul crooner Sam Moore singing ‘In The Midnight Hour,’ which they dedicated to the late, great Wilson Pickett.
