Grammy roundup: Herbie Hancock, Amy Winehouse, more

This year’s Grammy Awards sustained a few surprises and managed to get by without a WGA throwdown. Here are the liner notes:

Alicia Keys opened the show with a post-partum Ol' Blue Eyes. John Mayer managed to escape cruise mayhem in time to pair up with Keys for duet number two. Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban performed a moving tribute to Pavarotti, which was preceded by a video montage highlighting the careers of the deceased tenor, Lucky Dube, Mstislav Rostropovich, Don Ho, Dan Fogelberg, Porter Wagoner, Beverly Sills, Carlos Valdez, Ike Turner, Oscar Peterson and Robert Goulet. Feist brought her acoustic for an understated version of “1, 2, 3, 4.” Fergie paired up with John Legend, Rhianna paired up with the Time and even the circus came to town. Kanye West sent a shout-out to his late mother and Amy Winehouse sent a shoutout to her incarcerated husband.

The biggest news from the night was Herbie Hancock's win for album of the year for River: the Joni Letters, which also received the award for best contemporary jazz album. Hancock seemed genuinely surprised by the win. Winehouse won five awards: song of the year, record of the year, best new artist, best pop vocal album and best female pop vocal performance. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won best pop collaboration with vocals for “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On).”

Unfortunately, everyone’s favorite cinematic troubadour duo, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, did not see any awards for their nominations, but the fact that Once made the ballot seems to be victory enough.

HBO sensation Flight of the Conchords snagged best comedy album for The Distant Future. Duncan Sheik, along with lyricist Steven Sater, earned the Grammy for best musical show album for Spring Awakening, the play based on the 1891 script by Frank Wedekind. Especially worth mentioning is Zachary Nipper, the art director for Bright Eyes' Cassadaga who won for best recording package.

Other noteworthy award recipients include the White Stripes for best alternative album for Icky Thump and best rock duo, and Bruce Springsteen, who won best rock song and best solo rock performance for “Radio Nowhere” from his album Magic.

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