Lady's Night at the Grammys--Antebellum, That Is

Image via WikipediaLady Antebellum, a country band whose hit single "Need You Now" got on the pop charts for some reason, was the big winner at the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.  They won five awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

When you think about what the other nominees were in those categories, such as Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" and Cee-Lo Green's--uh--"The Song Otherwise Known As 'Forget You'", this was the relatively safe choice for the recording academy.  That's right.  A song about getting drunk and calling at one in the morning.  That's the stuff of pop radio.

Other shockers from what has got to be one of the weirdest nights in Grammy history:  Best New Artist went to someone named Esperanza Spalding, a jazz artist.  Is Justin Bieber that overexposed?

Barbra Striesand and her "A Star Is Born" co-star Kris Kristofferson were on hand to announce the Album of the Year, and the Grammy went to . . . "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire, an alternative band from Montreal, who kept their acceptance speech short so they could play their second tune of the night.  Is Lady Gaga that overexposed?

Other highlights (and lowlights) from "Music's Biggest Night":

• A tribute to Aretha Franklin, led by Christina Aguilera and Martina McBride, kicked off the CBS telecast.  Apparently the folks at the recording academy thought they'd better do this before the Queen of Soul, who is not well and sent along taped best wishes, is no longer above ground.  Maybe it's best to keep in mind what Mark Twain once said about reports of his demise.
• Lady Gaga, who scored three Grammys and a "60 Minutes" interview, performed her new single "Born This Way" wearing plastic see-through costumes.  In one of her acceptance speeches, Gaga dedicated the song to Whitney Houston because she said she imagined her performing it.
• Justin Bieber performs with Jaden Smith as the cameras cut to Smith's proud parents.  Surely you've never heard of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith?
• The Old Guard was heard from.  Bob Dylan performed "Maggie's Farm", Barbra Striesand sang the love theme from "A Star Is Born" (aka "Evergreen"), and Mick Jagger performed what sounded like a tribute to Solomon Burke just after the obligatory "In Memoriam" montage.
• Cee-Lo Green performed--uh, what was the name of it again?-- with a band of puppets and Gwyneth Paltrow, wearing what looked like the NBC peacock (bet CBS was amused).  It was "Sesame Street" gone berserk.  

As for these Grammys, well, forget this.  If you can.