Last night (February 13), viewers who were patient enough to watch the 53rd Grammy Awards all the way to the end, were pleasantly surprised to see Montreal-based indie band Arcade Fire win the most prestigious award of the evening – album of the year for The Suburbs – over competitors Eminem, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum.
Frontman Win Butler was a little shocked and initially sank to his knees on the stage. He collected the award from Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson
"What the hell?" he said, dumbfounded, as he thanked his home province of Quebec and fans. "We’re going to go play another song, because we like music," he added, as the collective rushed back to their places. Speaking French, Butler’s wife Régine Chassange quickly thanked the city of Montreal. Butler placed the golden gramophone award on an amplifier before ripping into Ready to Start.
In Canada, and possibly around the world, most people expected Justin Beiber to win best new artist, or perhaps even Drake. When Esperanza Spalding, a little known American jazz performer, was announced – most of the television audience was likely asking, “Who?”
Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now won both awards for record of the year and song of the year. Eminem took home the Grammy for rap album of the year for Recovery while Muse’s The Resistance took home the honours for best rock album.
Best female pop vocal performance went to Lady Gaga for Bad Romance, and for the men, the award went to Bruno Mars for Just the Way You Are.