Santana takes 10 awards at Grammys

By Andrew Ladd

Daily Arts Writer

While the gaze of the music industry has fallen on teen sensations and boy bands like Christina Aguilera and the Backstreet Boys, the Grammys, held last night at the intimate Staples Center in Los Angeles, have gone retro.

Instead of honoring the new guard of pop music, the Recording Academy took a look back by honoring some of the more established acts. Big winners last night included Santana, TLC and Detroit's own Eminem.

Carlos Santana came away the night's biggest winner, taking home 10 awards - one for each nomination, including the night's biggest honor, Album of the Year for "Supernatural." Santana also picked up awards for Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group, Pop Collaboration with Vocal, Pop Instrumental, Rock Duo/Group with Vocal, Rock Instrumental Performance and Rock Album. Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas won the songwriting award for the Santana hit "Smooth," rounding out the 10 wins.

Perhaps one of the most surprising winners of the night was in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category, which could have very easily been labeled the "Ricky Martin Category for the Year 2000" - that is, until Sting walked away with the statue. He triumphed over Martin, Marc Antony, Lou Bega and Andrea Bocelli to win the award for "Brand New Day," the title track from his newest album, which was also awarded the Grammy for Best Pop Album.

Elton John was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award and introduced by friend Billy Joel. Elton's career spans several generations and genres, as he has received both Grammy and Oscar awards.

Beating out Lauryn Hill, Macy Grey, Brandy and Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston walked away with Best Female R&B Vocal with the song "It's Not Right But It's Okay." The veteran diva's performance, which was one of the night's highlights, featured some impressive choreography by the dozen or so dancers accompanying her on stage.

Will Smith opened the telecast with an energetic, albeit poor, performance. Following was the night's host Rosie O'Donnell, whose opening monologue proved that this talk show host has become a little rusty at stand-up comedy. The monologue's few highlights included a shot at the tiny Staples Center - "We were debating having it either here or at Kinko's" - and fair warning about the most uttered phrase in acceptance speeches - "I saw God backstage. He says 'Thank you.'"

The night also included performance from the Dixie Chicks, Marc Antony, Ibrahim Ferrer and the Buena Vista Social Club, as well as Ricky Martin. Martin's act was disappointingly bland, missing both the energy and punch that made his performance last year the talk of the industry.

Performances by Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and TLC were also disappointing. Most of the performances appeared unenthusiastic and lacked the energy that the evening's award show desperately needed. Even Kid Rock's set, a medley of "Only God Knows Why," "Bawitdaba" and Grand Funk Railroad's "American Band," fell short despite ample energy, perhaps due to the short time length allotted to his performance.

Awards not presented during the three-hour telecast, comprising 88 of the 98 total Grammys, were handed out to older acts as well. The award for Best Female Rock Vocal was given to Sheryl Crow for her cover of Guns 'N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine." Best Hard Rock Performance went to vets Metallica, with "Whiskey in the Jar." Lenny Kravitz took home the Best Male Rock Vocal for "American Woman" and, rounding out the rock categories, Beck won for Best Alternative Music Performance with his album "Mutations," while the Red Hot Chili Peppers won Best Rock Song for their hit, "Scar Tissue."

The only categories to pay respect to new artists were those in the rap genre and, of course, Best New Artist to teen "genie" Christina Aguilera. Honoring Eminem with Best Rap Album, the newcomer also won for Best Solo Rap Performance. The night's only hold-up came when the Roots and their massive crew took the stage upon the announcement that "You Got Me" featuring Erykah Badu had won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Each member gave their thanks during the night's longest acceptance speech.

Due in part to their awards and impressive performances, music's old guard proved last night that the newcomers still have much to learn about bringing the house down. Without the added energy from Elton, Whitney, and Santana this year's Grammys would have been intolerably boring.

AP PHOTO

Pop singer Ricky Martin performs at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards last night in Los Angeles.