|
Front Page
Sections |
38th Annual Grammy Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hot newcomers Alanis Morissette and Hootie & the
Blowfish were rewarded for major debut successes with multiple Grammys last
night, as the recording academy moved to embrace the cutting edge in music.Morissette's jealousy anthem "You Oughta Know" won best rock song and female rock vocal performance. Her "Jagged Little Pill" earned the rock album trophy. With 1995's best-selling album 'Cracked Rear View,' Hootie won best new artist and pop group vocal performance for "Let Her Cry." "You Oughta Know," with graphic sexual references, was performed word-for-word by Morissette on the Grammy stage but CBS-TV bleeped out the most flagrant four-letter word. Seal won the top songwriting award, song of the year, for his sensuous "Kiss From a Rose," popularized in the film "Batman Forever." It also was the best male pop vocal performance. Vince Gill, the trio TLC and Stevie Wonder also captured two Grammys apiece, Frank Sinatra scored his first victory in decades and Nirvana was saluted for its last effort before the death of leader Kurt Cobain. A surprised Annie Lennox said she was honored to win a Grammy for the best female pop vocal performance in a year of so many strong performances by women artists. Coolio won best rap solo for "Gangsta's Paradise." In perhaps the most meaningful acceptance speech, he addressed black and Hispanic students who have been engaged in brawls on a Los Angeles high school campus. Morissette and pop diva Mariah Carey were the leading nominees entering the 38th annual Grammys with six bids apiece. The competition between Morissette's album of raw, angry songs and Carey's romantic "Daydream" was the edgy kind of clash Grammy officials hoped would make the contest more relevant. Most of the awards in the 88 categories were presented in a program before the CBS telecast with Ellen DeGeneres as host. DeGeneres had her own edge, opening with off-color banter about a song title. "This is not your father's Grammys," she noted later in the telecast. Sinatra captured his first competitive Grammy in 29 years. His "Duets II" was named best traditional pop vocal performance. "It was a dream," said producer Phil Ramone, who picked up the Grammy for Sinatra. Recording industry mentor Babyface, who worked with artists ranging from TLC to Vanessa Williams and Madonna, was honored as producer of the year. Country's hot new star Shania Twain topped a competitive field to capture best country album for "The Woman in Me." Vince Gill's "Go Rest High on That Mountain," written about his late brother Bob, was the heartfelt winner of best country song. "It's the first thing I've ever done that was really personal," Gill said. In a posthumous honor to Cobain, the Seattle grunge band's leader, Nirvana won best alternative performance for "MTV Unplugged in New York." In the increasingly important rap category, trophies went to Naughty by Nature for best album "Poverty's Paradise," and to Method Man featuring Mary J. Blige for group performance for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By." In the rhythm and blues competition, TLC won group vocal performance for "Creep" and best album for "Crazysexycool." Stevie Wonder's "For Your Love" claimed best male vocal performance and best song. Anita Baker banked the female vocal performance trophy with "I Apologize." There was diversity in the rock category. Tom Petty's "You Don't Know How it Feels" won male vocal performance, Blues Traveler's "Run-Around" took group vocal performance and the Allman Brothers' "Jessica" was the instrumental performance winner. The metal performance Grammy went to Nine Inch Nails' "Happiness in Slavery." Pearl Jam's "Spin the Black Circle" was the best hard-rock performance. Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder was blase in accepting his band's award. "I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything. That's how I feel," he said. "My dad would have liked it. But my dad died before I got to know him. ... Thanks, I guess." Michael and Janet Jackson shared the short form music video honor for "Scream." This year's competition was marked by the first change in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' nominating process in 38 years, a move to counter complaints that winners did not reflect the most vital elements of contemporary music. In each of the top four categories -- record, album and song of the year, and best new artist -- 20 entries with the most votes from the general membership were submitted to a confidential 25-member panel picked by the Academy. The panel reviewed entries and selected nominees by secret ballot. Recordings released between Oct. 1, 1994, and Sept. 30, 1995, were eligible.
Letters to the editor should be sent to daily.letters@umich.edu Comments about this site should be addressed to online.daily@umich.edu |