While it won't do much to combat the perception that the Grammys are hopelessly out of touch, this year's list of winners is actually a pretty good representation of the public's tastes. Of course, any year the Grammy's top honor doesn't go to a Steely Dan reunion album or a jazz tribute to Joni Mitchell is a step in the right direction for the infamously aloof award show.
The good this year: An inspired alternative album Grammy for Phoenix, an indisputable R&B performance Grammy for Maxwell and just the right amount of recognition for Lady Gaga and Jay-Z.
The bad: Well, there wasn't much to complain about, really. Beyoncé's significance seems to have been overstated, and it's hard to imagine a world where Jay-Z's "Run This Town" is the bigger rap/sung collaboration than his Alicia Keyes "Empire State of Mind" duet, but it's not worth nitpicking over too much, especially when you imagine the alternate reality where Black Eye Peas completely dominated the honors.
The list of winners is below:
Album Of The Year: Fearless Taylor Swift
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Halo” Beyoncé
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Run This Town” Jay-Z feat. Rihanna
Best Rock Album: 21st Century Breakdown Green Day
Record Of The Year: “Use Somebody” Kings Of Leon
Best Country Album: Fearless Taylor Swift
Song Of The Year: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” Beyoncé
Best Dance Recording: “Poker Face” Lady Gaga
Best Electronic/Dance Album:The Fame Lady Gaga
Best Alternative Music Album:Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Phoenix
Best Contemporary R&B Album:I Am… Sasha Fierce Beyoncé
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” Beyoncé
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “I Gotta Feeling” The Black Eyed Peas
Best Rock Song: “Use Somebody” Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
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Best Pop Vocal Album:The E.N.D. The Black Eyed Peas
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Pretty Wings” Maxwell
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Blame It” Jamie Foxx & T-Pain
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “At Last” Beyoncé
Best Rock Instrumental Performance: “A Day in the Life” Jeff Beck
Best Urban/Alternative Performance: “Pearls” India.Arie and Dobet Gnahore
Best R&B Song: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
Best Rap Solo Performance: “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)” Jay-Z
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Crack a Bottle” Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent
Best Rap Song: “Run This Town” Jeff Bhasker, Shawn Carter, Robyn Fenty, Kanye West & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Athanasios Alatas, songwriter) (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)
Best Rap Album:Relapse Eminem
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Make It Mine” Jason Mraz
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: “Lucky” Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat
Best Female Country Vocal Performance: “White Horse” Taylor Swift
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: “Sweet Thing” Keith Urban
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden Michael Bublé
Best Solo Rock Performance: “Working on a Dream” Bruce Springsteen
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Use Somebody” Kings of Leon
Best Hard Rock Performance: “War Machine” AC/DC
Best Metal Performance: “Dissident Aggressor” Judas Priest
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “I Run to You” Lady Antebellum
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: “I Told You So” Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis
Best Country Song: “White Horse” Liz Rose and Taylor Swift, songwriters
Best Americana Album:Electric Dirt Levon Helm
Best Contemporary Blues Album:Already Free The Derek Trucks Band
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media:Slumdog Millionaire Various Artists, A.R. Rahman, producer
Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire) Gulzar, A.R. Rahman & Tanvi Shah, songwriters (A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash)
Best Recording Package: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Stefan Sagmeister, art director
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972) Gary Burden, Jenice Heo and Neil Young, art directors
Best Short Form Music Video: “Boom Boom Pow” The Black Eyed Peas
Best Long Form Music Video: “The Beatles Love – All Together Now”
