by Joyce V Harrison

Created on: February 01, 2010

Let’s start with Lady Gaga’s Red Carpet dress. The artist known for her over-the-top wardrobe definitely didn’t disappoint.

She was only one of three leading ladies honored as the year’s stars of music stars at the 52nd annual Grammy awards (www.grammy.com). Mega pop artist Beyonce led Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga with ten nominations and took home six, a record win for a female. Taylor Swift ended up with four and Lady Gaga with two in the dance category. The Black Eyed Peas took home three.

Highlights

Overall, the awards were as big on show as they were on sound. Pink sang suspended on a trampoline, legions of costumed dancers backed up acts like Beyonce and the Black Eyed Peas and Michael Jackson’s tribute included a film clip in 3-D.

“Poker Face” opened the three-and-a-half-hour telecast with Elton John joining Lady Gaga in a piano and vocal duet. Among the one-time pairings:  rappers Lil Wayne, Eminem and Drake, white-haired Leon Russell together with the Zac Brown Band and Taylor Swift with Stevie Nicks.

Major Awards

Song of the Year went to Beyonce and her cowriters for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It). Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for “Fearless.” “Use Somebody” garnered three awards including Record of the Year for the rock band Kings of Leon. And the Zac Brown Band was voted Best New Artist. It was quite a coup for Music City since Swift, Brown and the Kings all come out of Nashville.  While Swift thanked her record label for letting her write all the songs on her album, she didn’t give a nod in her televised acceptance to her cowriters.

Tributes

For the Michael Jackson tribute, a cast of Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Usher and Carrie Underwood performed the King of Pop’s “Earth Song” to a segment from the video, “This Is It.” A surprise came at the end when his children, Prince and Paris, took the stage to accept the award for their dad.

Wyclef Jean made a continued plea to help Haiti, bringing on Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli for an emotional duet of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

The Recording Academy also paid tribute to the late great Les Paul. Jeff Beck played one of his best-known hits, “How High the Moon.”

In a ceremony that took place prior to the show, Neil Young was named MusiCares Person of the Year for his charitable work as well as his career achievements.

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