Grammys shared among many on music’s big night

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Indie pop band fun. won two big prizes at the Grammys as the music industry’s top honors were shared out Sunday, on a night which united veteran artists with the latest generation of hitmakers.

The New York group won Song of the Year for “We Are Young” as well as best new artist at the 55th Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center amid tight security as Los Angeles police hunt a former cop wanted for multiple murders.

British rockers Mumford & Sons took Album of the Year with “Babel,” while Australian-Belgian singer Gotye won Record of the Year for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” featuring Kimbra.

The night saw several pairings of younger and older generations: Sting singing with reggae legend Bob Marley’s children; Elton John with Ed Sheeran; and Prince handing a prize to Gotye.

Taylor Swift opened the show in white hot pants and a spangly top hat, with a circus-themed performance of her hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

Jennifer Lopez provided the first fashion moment of the telecast, coming out to present the first award with Pitbull dressed with a toned bare leg and shoulder on full display in an asymmetrical black Anthony Vaccarello ensemble.

“As you can see, I read the memo!” she joked when she came on stage, referring to a leaked letter from broadcasters CBS before the show, warning performers not to show too much flesh.

British songstress Adele ― who scored a clean sweep with six Grammys last year ― won the first prize handed out at the show Sunday, for best solo performance for a live rendition of her hit “Set Fire to the Rain.”

“My good luck charm, J-Lo,” she said as she accepted the award from Lopez.

“This is amazing. I wanted to come and be part of the night. I loved it last year, obviously,” she added.

Other highlights of the three-and-a-half hour show included a rousing tribute to Marley, featuring Sting, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Ziggy, Stephen and Damian Marley.

They segued from Hawaiian-born Mars’ hit “Locked out of Heaven” into ex-Police frontman Sting’s reggae-rhythmed “Walking on the Moon,” before breaking into Marley’s classic “Could You Be Loved?”

Heartthrob Justin Timberlake also brought the house down with a couple of songs from his new album “The 20/20 Experience,” starting with “Suit and Tie” ― in which he was suitably attired.

As the telecast went briefly black and white, he was joined by Jay-Z to sing “Pusher Lover Girl.”

In a two-hour pre-telecast show, the Black Keys won best rock album, Keys singer Dan Auerbach won best rock song, Drake took best rap album, while Paul McCartney won for best traditional pop vocal album for “Kisses on the Bottom.”

Beyonce won best traditional R&B performance for “Love on Top,” Beach Boy Brian Wilson was honored for best historical album and late Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar won best world music album for “The Living Room Sessions Part 1.”

In the Grammy show’s traditional In Memoriam segment, John, Mumford & Sons and others paid tribute to Levon Helm, the late drummer and singer with The Band.

Organizers hope to avoid drama which the Grammys seem to attract ― last year with the death of Whitney Houston on the eve of the show; and a few years before with the infamous Chris Brown-Rihanna domestic assault.

There was minor drama on the eve of the Grammys, but nothing like Houston’s shock death last year: Brown wrecked his Porsche in Beverly Hills on Saturday, and blamed paparazzi for the crash.

The LA Police Department (LAPD), as well as helping provide security for the Grammys, have been involved in a massive manhunt for an ex-cop accused of killing three people and threatening to kill more officers.

Thankfully there were no incidents to disrupt Sunday evening’s show, which went off smoothly.