Arrests, Reunions, and Magic: A Brief Overview of the 2009 Grammy Awards

The 2009 Grammy Awards Show was packed full of gossip, glamour, and great musical performances.  As I watched the red carpet pre-show on E! TV, I was shocked to discover the breaking news that singer Chris Brown had been arrested the night before on charges of battery of a female victim and would not be attending the Grammy's.  Then a few minutes later, I was even more shocked to find out that singer Rihanna, Brown's girlfriend, would not be able to attend the awards show either.  Rumors spread like wildfire, and it is still not confirmed if Rihanna was, in fact, the victim.  Either way, Brown's image has been ruined.  However, just recently Brown released his first statement concerning the incident.  Here is a link to read more about Brown's recent statement from Rolling Stone.

The Grammy's were definitely off to an interesting start with both superstars Rihanna and Chris Brown not attending and in turn, not performing as they were scheduled to do.  Putting all drama aside, there were some great moments during this year's Grammy's.  Blink 182, a 90's rock band, announced their reunion, which made me ecstatic!  The trio was recently featured in Rolling Stone with a look at their past in photos.  Check out the slide show; there are some really awesome pictures from when the band first started. 

There were three big winners at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.  The duo of Robert Plant, former singer for the great Led Zeppelin and Allison Krause, a bluegrass singer, walked away with five Grammy's, including the highly honored Album of the Year for Raising Sand.  The duo also performed at the awards show.  Another big winner with four awards, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song, was Lil Wayne.  He also had the most nominations this year.  The final big winners were Coldplay with three awards, including Song of the Year for "Viva La Vida."  

There were some okay performances that night (i.e. Taylor Swift & Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers & Stevie Wonder) and then there were some amazing performances.  I picked my top three performances of the evening, which I deemed epic and unforgettable.  

1. Jennifer Hudson performing "You Pulled Me Through." Click here to see the performance.
2. T.I., Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z and M.I.A.'s compilation of "Swagga Like Us." 
3. Radiohead's performance with the USC Marching Band of "15 Step." Click here to see the performance.