Live blogging the 2009 Grammy Awards

7:18 pm
Breaking news for tonight's show - Rihanna and Chris Brown have canceled their performance after being involved in an incident last night on the streets of LA. The Rev. Al Green will step into their spot.

Also, regarding the evening's most anticipated performance, it's official - Radiohead are playing "15 Step" with the USC marching band.

7:42 pm
Most of tonight's awards have already been given out, during the pre-telecast ceremony. Radiohead have won Best Alternative Album. Coldplay won for Pop Group performance for "Viva La Vida." Rick Rubin won Producer of the Year again. Kings of Leon won in a mild upset for Rock Group, for "Sex on Fire."

7:49 pm
Kathy Griffin doesn't get her Grammy - George Carlin wins for Best Comedy Album. Never bet against the dead guy at the Grammys.



8:00 pm
U2 is opening the show. Why do the Grammys always have to beat us over the head with U2? This band has absolutely no business being here. They dominate the Grammys every year, and they're going to do so again next year. But they have no nominations this year, so they should relinquish the spotlight to someone else for once.

And by the way, I'm not feeling their new song. It's stupid.



8:04 pm
Whitney comes out to present the first award and receives a standing ovation. I must say, she is looking absolutely spectacular. She gives Best R&B Album to Jennifer Hudson. Yay, it's a feel-good story! It's an emotional acceptance speech - "I would like to thank my family, in Heaven and those who are here with me today."



8:12 pm
Al Green is playing "Let's Stay Together" with Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men, and Keith Urban. It's a weird mishmosh of people, but the song is classic.



8:23 pm
Chris Martin is at a piano playing "Lost!" solo, and is soon joined by Jay-Z. Jay is performing later tonight, though, which brings out one of my pet peeves - I hate when an artist performs twice at an award show. Jay quickly departs and the band moves into "Viva La Vida." As much as I'd like to deny it, that's a terrific little ditty. They get a standing ovation, which makes 5 standing Os in the first 25 minutes of the show.

8:27 pm
Carrie Underwood is singing "I Don't Even Know His Last Name," her boring retread of "Before He Cheats." Give up the tough girl act, Carrie. You can't pull it off.

8:33 pm
Leann Rimes and Sheryl Crow present a country Grammy to Sugarland. Thank goodness Rascal Flatts didn't win - those gasbags aren't Grammy-worthy.

8:42 pm
Song of the year is "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. No big surprise. I love their colorful attire.



8:43 pm
Next up is Kid Rock, who tries to singlehandedly repair Israeli-Palestinian relations, singing about "feeling guilty about being white" while the flags of different nations appear on screen behind him.

8:55 pm
Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift perform together during one of the slow acoustic segments. I give Miley credit for at least trying to show she can sing. You would never see Britney do such a thing. Next up is the award for Pop Collaboration, which goes to Plant & Krauss.

9:02 pm
Jennifer Hudson might be my new favorite pop singer, for real. That girl knows how to belt, without going overboard like Whitney. Best performance of the evening so far.

9:10 pm
The Jonas Brothers are here. I had a hunch they'd perform with someone more credible than themselves, and they've brought along Stevie Wonder. They team up for "Burnin' Up" and "Superstition." Not bad at all.



9:14 pm
Blink-182 have reunited! I'm really psyched about this. Their last album was a major, mature step forward. Travis Barker's arm is still in a sling from his accident. They present Best Rock Album to Coldplay. "As you may have noticed, we're not the heaviest of rock bands," says Martin, almost apologizing for winning the award.

9:23 pm
Katy Perry is lowered to the stage in a giant banana. There's all sorts of giant fruit on stage. Her dress is even covered with fruit. This is one we could be looking back on years from now and laughing at.



9:26 pm
Kanye West and Estelle are doing "American Boy." Kanye's rocking a mini-fro and a silver sparkly '80s style suit - nice! The mini-fro could be the new striped sunglasses. Kanye presents Best New Artist to Adele.



9:40 pm
It's Record of the Year, and it goes to the juggernaut of Plant & Krauss.

9:48 pm
Nine-months pregnant MIA is performing on the Grammy stage, I love it! Jay-Z, Kanye, T.I. and Lil Wayne come out wearing tuxedos for "Swagga Like Us," which is shown in black & white until the very end. Brilliant.



9:56 pm
Paul McCartney is playing "I Saw Her Standing There." I'm so over the Beatles at the Grammys. I love the Fab Four, but there's no need to have a Beatles performance every single year at this ceremony.

10:03 pm
Male Pop Performance goes to John Mayer. Even McCartney can't beat Mayer at the Grammys! I called this one, which means so far I'm 10-for-21 with my predictions. I've never finished below 50%, so things are looking dicey. But on the brighter side, I just discovered that Weezer won earlier tonight for Best Music Video for "Pork and Beans." Weezer have a Grammy! How cool is that?

10:18 pm
It's time for Radiohead! I dare say this is the most-anticipated Grammy performance since Elton & Eminem in 2001, and the band doesn't disappoint. "15 Step" is the best track from their overrated In Rainbows album, and the USC marching band is a nice touch.

I wish Radiohead had played the Grammys in previous years. I've always had this vision in my head of the band freaking everybody out by playing "Everything in Its Right Place" at the 2002 Grammys. Now that would've been something special.



10:28 pm
T.I. and Justin Timberlake play their new single. Didn't I just read in Blender that T.I. is supposed to be locked up soon?

10:38 pm
Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx, Smokey Robinson are singing with a surviving member of the Four Tops. I'm losing interest. Let's get this show over with now.

10:47 pm
Neil Diamond - now we're talking! Thankfully, Neil's recent acclaimed records with Rick Rubin have re-established his buzz factor, so it's no longer uncool to love Neil. His "Sweet Caroline" is one of the most fun moments of the evening.



10:52 pm
They just did the annual montage of musicians who passed away. I wasn't paying attention closely, but I'm pretty sure they neglected to include Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Leroi Moore. If so, that would be an unforgivable oversight.

11:03 pm
WEEZY! Lil Wayne brings out Allen Toussaint (who I enjoy) and Robin Thicke (who I despise) for a tribute to New Orleans. Not as cool as "A Milli" would've been, but good nonetheless. Wayne then wins Best Rap Album as expected.

11:18 pm
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss perform "Rich Woman" and "Gone Gone Gone." Flawless. Green Day present Album of the Year to Plant & Krauss, and everybody goes home.



Whew! This win means I finished 12-for-23 with my predictions, so I topped 50% for the 9th straight year. Krauss' 5 wins tonight give her 29 Grammys in her career, just 3 shy of the all-time record held by conductor Sir Georg Solti. Better watch your back, Sir Georg!