Plant & Krauss, Lil Wayne, Coldplay win big at 2009 Grammys

Coldplay took best rock album for "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.”

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Lil Wayne and Coldplay were the big winners at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on a night of all-star performances, big surprises and some pre-ceremony drama. Plant & Krauss grabbed five Grammys, including the night's biggest award, Album of the Year for "Raising Sand."
"In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday," Plant said while accepting the show's final honour. The Led Zeppelin frontman and bluegrass singer also won Record of the Year for "Please Read the Letter" and Best Pop Collaboration for "Rich Woman," both tracks from the Best Contemporary Folk/Americana-winning album "Raising Sand." Coldplay scooped up three awards, including Best Rock Album and Song of the Year for "Viva La Vida." During their Song acceptance speech, the band half-joked, "Thank you and sorry to Paul McCartney for blatantly recycling the Sgt. Pepper outfits."
The man with the most nominations, Lil Wayne, took home four awards, most notably (and predictably) Best Rap Album for "Tha Carter III," but also Best Rap Song for "Lollipop," Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli" and his verse on "Swagga Like Us" scored him Best Rap Performance By A Group. Radiohead took home the prize for Best Alternative Album for "In Rainbows," which also won for Best Deluxe Packaging.
Aside from blink-182's announcement that they are indeed reuniting, the show's performances were the night's biggest stories, and there were plenty of them. U2 kicked off the show with their new "Get On Your Boots," which strangely segued into Whitney Houston's introduction for Best R&B Album (won by Jennifer Hudson). After Chris Brown and Rihanna dropped out of the show, the next performers were their emergency fill-ins: Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban. Coldplay's Chris Martin performed "Lost!" with a cameo by Jay-Z before the rest of the band joined in for "Viva La Vida." Other performers included Carrie Underwood, who rocked out "Last Name," Jennifer Hudson, Kid Rock -- who broke out a medley of "Amen" and "All Summer Long" (dedicated to Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell) -- Katy Perry, who emerged from a banana with "I Kissed A Girl" and Kenny Chesney.
The night was stocked with A-list collaborations, and none was bigger than Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl taking on the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus sang the former's "Fifteen," the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder teamed for "Burnin' Up" and "Superstition," Kanye West and Estelle dueted on "American Boy" and Justin Timberlake and T.I. hit the stage for "Dead and Gone."
T.I. also took part in the night's huge rap showcase as Tip, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and M.I.A. performed an extended "Swagga Like Us." The legacy of the Four Tops was honoured as Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, Smokey Robinson and original member Duke Fakir sang a medley of the quartet's hits, including "Reach Out I'll Be There" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)." Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood then had the Staples Center jaws dropping with their rousing performance of "15 Step" with a huge assist from the USC Marching Band.
Wrapping up the all-star night of performances was MusiCares Person of the Year Neil Diamond as he strolled deep into the audience for "Sweet Caroline," while John Mayer, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Keith Urban paid tribute to Bo Diddley. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss rounded out the performances with "Rich Woman" and "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On.)”

Source: Rolling Stone