MUSIC NEWS: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016
GRAMMYS-CANADA
It was a night of career firsts for Canadian artists at the Grammy Awards. Justin Bieber and the Weeknd walked away as winners during the pre-telecast ceremony. Bieber scored the best dance recording honour as part of a collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo on the song ``Where Are U Now.'' The Weeknd, a-k-a Abel Tesfaye, nabbed two trophies -- one for best urban contemporary album for ``Beauty Behind the Madness'' and another for best R-and-B performance for ``Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)'' from the original soundtrack for the film ``Fifty Shades Of Grey.'' Toronto hip-hop star Drake lost all five awards he was nominated for.
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KENDRICK LAMAR WINS FIVE GRAMMYS
Kendrick Lamar was the night's biggest winner at the Grammys. He takes home five _ though none in the biggest categories. He also provided one of the more poignant moments of the show _ when he took the stage to perform ``Alright.'' He came on the stage looking as if he had been beaten, chains around his hands and blackened eyes. The audience looked on in awe. Lamar had promised that his Grammy performance would be controversial _ and it's sure to have people talking well beyond the next few days.
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TAYLOR SWIFT - GRAMMYS
Taylor Swift is dedicating her album of the year Grammy to women who feel they are picked on or discouraged by others. And though she didn't mention him by name, it seemed her remarks at least were a subtle reference to Kanye West _ who disses her in a new song on his album. Swift told young women ``there will be people along the way that will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.'' Her advice to them: ``just focus on the work and don't let those people sidetrack you.'' West boasted in his new song that he made Swift famous after bum-rushing the stage during the 2009 VMAs and snatching her microphone out of her hand. On the night, Swift takes home three awards, including pop vocal album and music video for ``Bad Blood.''
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BRUNO MARS, MARK RONSON WINS RECORD OF THE YEAR
It was the song it seemed everyone knew, sang _ and, for the most part liked. And now ``Uptown Funk'' has the official Grammy stamp of approval to go along with all that. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars won two awards for the song _ including one of the night's biggest prizes, record of the year. As he accepted the award, Ronson gave a shout-out to Prince, James Brown and George Clinton for being leaders in funk. Mars says the win is dedicated to music fans everywhere.
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TRIBUTES TO LATE ARTISTS HIGHLIGHT GRAMMYS
It could have made for a sombre affair. But the tributes to the big-name musicians who have died in the past year turned out to be more of a celebration of their lives than a downer. There were separate tributes to David Bowie, Maurice White, Glenn Frey, B.B. King and Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister. Lady Gaga transformed herself into a Bowie lookalike and sound alike as she did a medley of his hits, including ``Space Oddity,'' ''Changes,`` ''Fame,`` and ''Let's Dance.`` Bonnie Raitt pitched in on a performance to honour B.B. King. And Stevie Wonder teamed up with Pentatonix for a tribute to Maurice White, who founded Earth Wind and Fire. The group also received a special honour during the show _ and spoke of their love and appreciation for White's work.
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RIHANNA, LAURYN HILL BOTH MISS GRAMMYS
Both Rihanna and Lauryn Hill ended up missing their performances at the Grammys. But they didn't take the stage for different reasons. Rihanna was sick _ very sick. She had been suffering from respiratory problems and tried to tough it out. But after she rehearsed, Grammy chief Neil Portnow told reporters that her doctor told her she risked damaging her vocal cords if she tried to perform. For Lauryn Hill, the problem was the clock, not her throat. Portnow says Hill had been asked to perform with The Weeknd and had been at the day's rehearsal _ but never made it back to the Staples Center in time for the performance. Despite that, Portnow said The Weeknd ``killed it.''
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ALABAMA SHAKES - TRIPLE GRAMMY WINNERS
A huge night for Alabama Shakes. The group captured three Grammys last night _ their first ever. Another first-time winner who was also a multiple winner was Ed Sheeran. He won song of the year for ``Thinking Out Loud'' _ and also scored a win for best pop solo performance. He says he wrote the song with Amy Wadge on a couch in his house.
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LADY GAGA DOES DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE
Sure looks like the Grammy people got it absolutely right when it asked Lady Gaga to do the tribute to the late David Bowie. Much as she wowed the audience at the Oscars last year, she mesmerized the people packed into the Staples Center last night. She deftly plowed through 10 of Bowie's hits -- and even transformed herself to resemble Bowie with her all-white costume and bright red wig. Lady Gaga had already been tabbed to perform at the Grammys this year. But after Bowie's death, producers said they felt they had to get her to handle the Bowie tribute -- and she did it masterfully.
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TAYLOR SWIFT EMPOWERS YOUNG WOMEN
Kanye West may know how to start a feud with Taylor Swift. But Swift sure knows how to end one. Without mentioning the rapper by name, Swift delivered a telling verbal blow to West's latest diss, in which the rapper claims on his new album that he made Swift famous -- and that he thinks he has a shot at sleeping with her. In accepting her Grammy for album of the year, Swift didn't mention West by name -- but warned women that there will always be someone who tries to take credit for their success -- or put them down. Swift says to be successful, you have to tune out the negative people and focus on your work.
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CAST OF ``ALEXANDER HAMILTON'' ROCKS GRAMMYS
It's been the Broadway hit people have been dying to see -- and if you caught the Grammys last night, it was easy to see why ``Alexander Hamilton'' is such a hot ticket. The Recording Academy made room for the musical on the show -- the first time in six years that it shared a stage with a New York-based stage production. The crowd at the Staples Center and in New York enjoyed the performance and minutes later, the Hamilton cast was back on stage, accepting the Grammy for best musical theatre album.
Playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda did his acceptance speech in rhyme.
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GRAMMY MISHAPS
There were a lot of big stories that came out of this year's Grammys. But there were also a series of issues that took some of the focus from what took place during the show. Rihanna was supposed to perform _ but didn't because of doctor's orders.
Grammy chief Neil Portnow said Rihanna has throat problems and has been taking antibiotics. But after rehearsals, her doctor ended up shutting her down, ordering her to bed.
Then, there was Lauryn Hill. She was invited to perform with Canada's The Weeknd _ but she never made it. Portnow says she was at rehearsals _ but never made it back to the Staples Center for the show, which went on without her.
And, there was the Adele deal. Viewers at home heard what sounded like a chord from a badly-tuned guitar, followed by silence. Turns out that a microphone mounted inside the piano was jostled loose in a set change and fell onto the steel strings of the instrument.
Adele appeared to be distracted for a bit, but gathered herself and finished her performance of ``All I Ask.''
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(The Associated Press)