Two days before he took home three Grammys, including Producer of the Year, Mark Ronson nailed what makes the awards show so boring. “They don’t serve booze in the Staples Center,” he explained from a couch in L.A.’s Roosevelt Hotel, sipping vodka. “At those awards things in Europe, they encourage you to get tanked.” Exactly! But at least the stars have those Grammy parties to get lubed up. Ronson threw a bash of his own, featuring hot protégés like Washington, D.C., rapper Wale and Brooklyn’s Santogold. While Ronson shook up the world last year with his throwback Motown sound, 2008 will see him parlay his love for the Band and Traffic, beginning with an album by Australian soul singer Daniel Merriweather. He also told us he was taking a page from Justin Timberlake’s book: being a nice boy and taking his mom to the Grammys. “I could get caught in a hotel room with Gary Coleman, four hookers and an ounce of blow,” he said, “but since I brought my mom . . . ” Touché! (more…)

I covered the Grammys the only honest way I could think of: I didn’t watch. Nobody did. It was the third-lowest-rated Grammy broadcast ever, despite the touching fact that people still want to care about the Grammys, with the ratio of live bloggers to actual viewers finally reaching 1:1. I thought about watching but got distracted by an emotionally needy half-empty bag of Utz Kettle Classic Smokin’ Sweet that required immediate attention. Instead, I watched YouTube clips of those sad-gasmic total-humiliation moments to see what my friends were having crying jags about. As a result, I enjoyed it more than any Grammys ever. Thanks, Grammys! Hence I feel fully qualified to evaluate the biggest winners and losers.

Alicia Keys: She got stuck with the necro-duet with Sinatra, getting grotesquely excited (”Yeah, Frank. . . . Tell ‘em!”) since the Academy was out of merely old people for her to sing with. (more…)

Despite a couple of highlights – Amy Winehouse’s genuine emotion after winning Record of the Year, Kanye West’s heartfelt tribute to his mother, Brad Paisley’s shred-tastic version of “Ticks” – last night’s Grammy broadcast is looking like a debacle thanks to three and a half laborious, scattershot hours of creepy collaborations with dead people, overlong trombone jams and unnecessary raps from Will.i.am. But there is hope. Here’s a five point plan to save a time-honored institution. (more…)

For your viewing pleasure, three-plus hours of so-so Grammy action condensed into five stellar thirty-second clips (plus a bonus video of Winehouse’s charming, bewildered acceptance speech).

Click here for photos from the Grammy Awards and here for shots from the big afterparties.

Amy Winehouse gives her “Blake incarcerated” a shout during “You Know I’m No Good”:

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Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby feted MusiCares Person of the Year Aretha Franklin over Grammy weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The vibe was stuffy, and not because of the high-powered guests:. Ms. Franklin always insists on the room being air-conditioning-free, so her 2,500-plus guests had to literally sweat it out. But you can’t argue with the Queen of Soul, who grooved along to performances by the Blues Brothers, Robin Thicke, Fantasia and Lil Mama in her seat and especially rocked out to Patti Austin’s “Say a Little Prayer for You,” during which Austin ad-libbed, “Not too many white people here tonight!”

Franklin — decked out in a floor-length white fur coat — told us on the red carpet that it was “absolutely wonderful … I’m thrilled” to be honored by MusiCares and that the Grammys “mean everything. Every artist wants one and should have one.” (She got her first Grammy forty years ago.) (more…)

The red carpet at the Grammy Awards this year was a bit like a bad acid trip: 500 feet of crimson carpet, a group of scary-looking Sgt. Pepper’s dancers with freaky makeup, an Amy Winehouse lookalike working for the TV Guide Channel and bleachers packed with crazed fans singing every song by the artists that came their way. Rock Daily spied Yoko Ono going in for a photo op with Beyoncé (but at the last second Solange jumped in to pose with her big sister instead), and Paramore singer Hayley Williams, who was the happiest girl on the carpet. “It’s an honor. I’m nervous. I’m worried I’m gonna trip because I don’t wear heels,” she said. Williams noted that she didn’t toss a few back to loosen up. “I don’t drink, but that’s okay. When we started touring, I wanted to be cool so I drank when we were overseas, but it doesn’t appeal to me.”

Click here for photos from the Grammy Awards and here for shots from the big afterparties.

Maynard James Keenan of Tool was pretty damn sure that his band wouldn’t be coming home with the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. “Nope. Foo Fighters will get it,” he said. “I hear they are performing with an orchestra. That’s gonna be amazing. I came for the fiftieth [anniversary of the Grammys],” he added. “This is my first time here.” (more…)

For a while there, it seemed like the story of this year’s Grammy Awards was going to be all about Amy Winehouse’s via-satellite sweep. The embattled singer, who due to visa and rehab issues was forced to stay in London for the show, had already taken home all five of the awards for which she had received nominations, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for “Rehab.” But when it came down to Album of the Year, Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters (a collection of jazz versions of Joni Mitchell songs) won the night’s big prize, besting Winehouse and sentimental favorite Kanye West. Other notable winners at last night’s big event were West (four wins, including Best Rap Album), Bruce Springsteen (three wins), Foo Fighters (Best Rock Album) and Alicia Keys. Finally, Barack Obama matched rival Hillary Clinton in Grammy wins, taking home the prize for Best Spoken Word Album for his reading of his book The Audacity of Hope (Clinton won the same award in 1996 for her reading of It Takes a Village). Stay tuned to Rock Daily all day for the rest of the news from the Grammy parties and behind the scenes, and be sure to re-live last night’s magic via our live blog. Keep reading for a list of winners.

Click here for photos from the Grammy Awards and here for shots from the big afterparties. (more…)

The 50th annual Grammy ceremony failed to provide many stellar moments, but the weekend was a wild ride. With a few exceptions — Kanye West’s touching dedication to his mother, the Foo Fighters, Tina Turner, Cirque Du Soleil’s Love-in — the best moments happened behind the scenes.

Click here for photos from the Grammy Awards and here for shots from the big afterparties.

When we heard that Rod Stewart was at Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party, the Smoking Section had to say hey: for our money, he epitomizes what it means to be a rock star. “I want to make a blues record,” he told us. “You know, Muddy Waters, the old stuff, and I want it to be backed by the Black Keys.” What do you think about that idea, he asked us — and we responded that the collaboration had the potential to be amazing. “Do you think that they know who I am?” he asked. (more…)

8:00 PM: It’s Grammys’ 50th Birthday and the 2008 Rock Daily Grammys Live Blog is underway with a gentle reminder that things were easier for the record biz in 1958 (Alicia Keys is performing “with” Frank Sinatra). Seriously, does anyone actually think duets with dead stars are a good idea?

(Click here for photos from this year’s Grammy Awards.)

8:05 PM: Carrie Underwood is wearing vinyl. Last year’s Best New Artist winner performs “Before He Cheats” with a kind of Blue Man Group-esque ensemble beating on trash cans and attempting some Christina Aguilera-like vocal runs. Sorry kid, playing in the garbage doesn’t exactly make you dirrty.

8:09 PM: Prince presents Best Female R&B Vocal Performance to Alicia Keys for “No One,” making her the first winner of the night to thank God. Now that Prince is no longer required onstage, he can go back to filing lawsuits against his fans.

8:17 PM: Jimmy Jam brings out the original members of the Time (with a keytar). Rihanna joins them and starts singing — what else — “Umbrella,” then “Don’t Stop the Music.” There’s a perfect moment for Michael Jackson to come out here, but … he doesn’t. (more…)

The 2008 Grammy Awards are underway, and Rock Daily already has this year’s most memorable images from the red carpet and the performances. Check out the comprehensive Grammy photo gallery here.

Before the show even kicked off, a whole bunch of big names won brand new decorations for their mantles. Kanye West took home three awards (including the prize for Best Rap Solo Performance), while Amy Winehouse won Best Pop Vocal for Back to Black. Other winners included Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, Justin Timberlake and the White Stripes. Check out the list after the jump. Be sure to check out the rest of tonight’s Grammy news and views over at Rock Daily’s live blog. (more…)

To get yourself ready for this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, check out Rolling Stone’s massive gallery of classic Grammy moments, from Debbie Harry chilling with George Burns to Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” wings. Click here for the full slate of photos, and be sure to stay tuned to Rock Daily for all your Grammy-related needs.

[Photo: Retna]

Amy Winehouse will perform during this year’s Grammy ceremony despite being denied a visa. Thanks to the wonders of technology, Winehouse, who is currently encamped in a U.K. rehab center, will perform live in a London studio the night of the awards show, with her performance being beamed to Los Angeles and around the world via satellite. “I’m raring to go and really excited to be performing at my first Grammy Awards,” Winehouse tells Usmagazine.com. “I’m really sorry I can’t be there but I appreciate that I’m being given a second chance via satellite.” Also performing at the Grammys (though not yet officially confirmed) is Kanye West, who was seen rehearsing for the ceremony yesterday afternoon. West, nominated for eight awards, will reportedly perform a medley of tracks including “Hey Mama” as a tribute to his mother Donda.
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Rolling Stone got together a panel of artists to get their predictions on who among Kanye West, Amy Winehouse and the rest of the nominees should win the big awards in ten categories. Click here to see what Adam Levine, Mark Ronson, KT Tunstall and others have to say about this Sunday’s contenders, as well as our predictions on who should win the biggest prizes.

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The Grammy performance roster continues to add talent, as John Fogerty will perform with rock legends Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis in the “Cornerstones of Rock” portion of the ceremony. Fergie will take the stage alongside John Legend, while Josh Groban will duet with Andrea Bocelli. On the presenter front, box office queen Miley Cyrus, Ludacris, Chris Brown and Lyle Lovett will take turns reading the teleprompter. And those week-old rumors of Michael Jackson appearing at the awards show may be true, but Jacko reportedly vows he won’t take part in a planned Thriller anniversary performance with Kanye West, Fergie and Akon because he didn’t have enough time to rehearse. The Grammys are set to air, writers’ strike-free, this Sunday, February 10th.

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[Photo: Getty]