Tonight at 8PM EST is the 54th Annual Grammy's award show and I'll be live-blogging the telecast to give my fifteen cents on the winners, the losers, the performers, and everything else in between. This year's show has a dark cloud over it, as R&B legend Whitney Houston passed away the night before. There will be a tribute dedicated to her led by Jennifer Hudson and other artists that haven't been announced yet. This will be the second tribute of the night, as the Grammy's will also pay their respects to the late Etta James, who passed in January.
Earlier today, Skrillex won three Grammy's, and he is also up for Best New Artist along with Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, and J. Cole. I'm sure most of us will be rooting for Bon Iver to come away with the award, but it'll be close with living Anime doll Minaj in the mix. I also think The Band Perry is the darkhorse for this award. Other than that, expect Adele to win a billion Grammy's tonight (she's basically a lock for Record, Album, and Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance), and the Foo Fighters' sweeping the rock categories (Update: so far they've won 4 Grammy's).
The AP.net users will probably be most interested in the Best Alternative Music Album category, as Death Cab For Cutie, Bon Iver, Foster The People, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead will be vying for that award. If Bon Iver fails to capture a win in Best Song, Best Record, or Best New Artist, I fully expect this category to go to him as a consolation prize. Not bad for a guy from Eau Claire, Wisconsin (Update: Bon Iver has won Best Alternative Music Album).
And finally let's preview tonight's performers. I'm very much looking forward to Foo Fighters bringing down the house and seeing how Rihanna and Coldplay share the stage for a performance of "Princess of China." Paul McCartney will be performing, while Jason Aldean will be with Kelly Clarkson in either a duet or a hot wings eating contest, I can't remember which. Bruno Mars will bore us to death, Nicki Minaj will make weird faces at the camera while she attempts to rap, and the white knights of AP.net will gush over Taylor Swift. Lastly, our WTF performance of the night goes to the reunited Beach Boys collaborating with Foster The People and Maroon 5. It's pretty insulting to think that a timeless band like the Beach Boys sharing the stage with flavor-of-the-week Foster the People and the most-likely-will-be-shirtless Adam Levine. This is my early vote for worst performance of the night.
Anyways, I hope you stick around and join me in my running commentary of mocking/praising tonight's Grammy's. There may be some cameos from other staff members as well, so it should be a good time.
Back in December, The Recording Academy announced that it would be honoring Steve Jobs with a Special Merit Grammy Award. The Trustees Award for Jobs was made in recognition of his contributions to the field of music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store.
The Grammy ceremony for the Special Merit Awards was held yesterday, and Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue was on hand to accept the award.
On behalf of Steve's wife, Laurene, his children, and everyone at Apple, I'd like to thank you for honoring Steve with the Trustees Grammy Award. Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend. I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last fifteen years.
Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him. He told us that music shaped his life...it made him who he was. Everyone that knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.
Steve was focused on bringing music to everyone in innovative ways. We talked about it every single day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked "Why is Apple making a music player?" His answer was simple: "We love music, and it's always good to do something you love."
His family and I know that this Grammy would have been very special to him, so I thank you for honoring him today.
The Recording Academy has also published a brief tribute to Jobs by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a 16-time Grammy winner and personal friend of Jobs.
Jobs' Grammy marks the second time he and Apple have been honored by The Recording Academy. Apple itself won a Technical Grammy Award in 2002.