- Title: USA: Stars dazzle at Grammy red carpet
- Date: 2nd February 2010
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 31, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICKY MARTIN, SAYING: "I just did exactly what I did after the tsunami, I went to Thailand five or six days after the tsunami because I needed to find out what I needed to do. I created a beautiful alliance with Habitat for Humanity, and we're going to start building homes as soon as possible."
- Embargoed: 17th February 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA4G0PFQQRO5KDYCQVJRQ8NGB6U
- Story Text: The most coveted night for the music industry kicked off with a star-studded red carpet Sunday (January 31), as the top performers in several genres gathered to usher in the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Causing the biggest buzz on the red carpet were the three ladies who are going head to head with each other for the top awards of the evening: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift. The three will vie for record, album and song of the year.
Also causing a stir on the red carpet were celebrity guests like Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban, up against Taylor Swift for best country album, Singers Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Katy Perry, and Miley Cyrus, Oscar winning actress Jennifer Hudson, Hip Hop Artists Usher, Common, Akon, and Wyclef Jean. Plenty of rock bands showed their solidarity, like the Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, the Black Eyed Peas, up for a handful of awards, along with the Kings of Leon, who are nominated for record of the year.
For many, the Grammys represents a night off from the high pressure game that is the music industry, when all can come together and praise the work of their contemporaries.
"I think it's really great for everyone to, you have, in life there's so many people telling you what you're doing wrong, and the negative things, and this is the night that's all about positivity, and I think that's important," said Miley Cyrus.
"I'm just excited to be here, you know, each year it gets more and more exciting, and the nerves are gradually fading away, I'm just excited to be here, and I can't wait to see who goes home with all the Grammys this year," said Jennifer Hudson.
Guitarist Carlos Santana is presenting during the ceremony, and has won nine Grammys himself, so he knows how meaningful taking home the miniature gramophone statuette.
"It's very validating to recognize that so many people's hearts are open to new music, so it's a supreme validation," he said.
Jason Mraz is up for an award in the best male pop performance category, for his song "Make it Mine," and is grateful that his talents were acknowledged by the recording academy.
"It's great, you know, for that, I feel that you're getting acknowledged as a singer, but I also wrote the song, it's a tremendous acknowledgment, because when you write, you're just making it up, you know, you don't really know what's going to become of it, whether someone's going to like it, and certainly, whether it's going to get you to this hallway here, so it's a big night," said Mraz.
The meaning of the event was not lost among the frivolity of it for Kinds of Leon member Jared Followill.
"It's awesome, I think it's the most important award that you can win as a musician, and I really like trophies, I don't care if it's a golf trophy, I just really like having a trophy to show people," said Followill.
The wild fashions associated with the Grammy Awards were in full display, with Lady Gaga, Imogen Heap, and George Clinton bringing their personal style to the red carpet.
"Rock and Roll is certainly the most theatrical music out there, so it should be theatrical, I mean, I admire the people, I admire the Lady Gagas and the Adam Lamberts, for flair, this music needs flair," said classic rock musician Alice Cooper.
The evening will feature tributes to the late entertainer Michael Jackson, and will feature performances dedicated to the nation of Haiti, which was devastated by an earthquake January 12. Some stars on the red carpet said that Haiti was their top priority for the evening.
"I'm here to talk about Haiti, because we just did an album, Sly Stone and myself, and all these people, all the stars, we dedicated the whole album to the Haitian thing, and after that, I'm just going to have a good time, until I get hoarse," said an already hoarse George Clinton.
Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin recently returned from Haiti, where he had worked with Habitat for Humanity on rebuilding the ravaged nation.
"I just did exactly what I did after the tsunami, I went to Thailand five or six days after the tsunami because I needed to find out what I needed to do. I created a beautiful alliance with Habitat for Humanity, and we're going to start building homes as soon as possible," said Martin.
The 52nd Grammy Awards will be handed out in a telecast starting at 0100 GMT on Monday (February 01). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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