The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the
Staples Center in
Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies were televised in the US on
CBS; however, as has become the custom, most of the awards were handed out during a pre-telecast portion of the show held at the
Los Angeles Convention Center and broadcast on
XM Satellite Radio. Two nights prior to the show
Aretha Franklin was honored as the
MusiCares Person of the Year.
The year's big winner was
Amy Winehouse: the 24-year-old singer had recently entered a
drug rehabilitation program and did not come to Los Angeles. American officials initially refused her a work visa; they reversed the decision, but by then it was too late for her to make the trip from the UK.[1] She became the fifth female solo artist to get five awards in one night, alongside
Lauryn Hill,
Norah Jones,
Alicia Keys,
Beyoncé and later,
Alison Krauss,
Adele and
Billie Eilish.
The golden anniversary of the Grammys and NARAS was noted in references and performances throughout this year's ceremony.
Alicia Keys was the evening's opening musician, singing and playing piano alongside archived video and audio of
Frank Sinatra. Other collaborative performances linking contemporary and past musicians included Beyoncé with
Tina Turner,
Rihanna with
The Time, classical pianist
Lang Lang with jazz pianist
Herbie Hancock and inaugural Grammy winner
Keely Smith with
Kid Rock. Special recognition of the musical contributions of
The Beatles also featured. The
Foo Fighters won Best Rock Album and performed their nominated song "
The Pretender" in a highly collaborative performance that involved a social media selection of classical musicians (the "My Grammy Moment"
YouTube contest was won by violinist
Ann Marie Calhoun).[2]
Mark Ronson &
Salaamremi, producers;
Tom Elmhirst, Mark Ronson, Matt Paul,
Dom Morley, Vaughan Merrick, Gabriel Roth, Derek Pacuk, Gary Noble & Franklin Socorro, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer
Steven Epstein, producer (Scott Frankel, composer; Michael Korie, lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast with Christine Ebersole, Mary Louise Wilson & Others)
The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround mix engineers; The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround mastering engineers; The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround producers (
The Flaming Lips)
Paul O'Dette &
Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Howard Crook, Ellen Hargis, Laura Pudwell & Harry Van Der Kamp; Renate Wolter–Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chorus; Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the
Staples Center in
Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies were televised in the US on
CBS; however, as has become the custom, most of the awards were handed out during a pre-telecast portion of the show held at the
Los Angeles Convention Center and broadcast on
XM Satellite Radio. Two nights prior to the show
Aretha Franklin was honored as the
MusiCares Person of the Year.
The year's big winner was
Amy Winehouse: the 24-year-old singer had recently entered a
drug rehabilitation program and did not come to Los Angeles. American officials initially refused her a work visa; they reversed the decision, but by then it was too late for her to make the trip from the UK.[1] She became the fifth female solo artist to get five awards in one night, alongside
Lauryn Hill,
Norah Jones,
Alicia Keys,
Beyoncé and later,
Alison Krauss,
Adele and
Billie Eilish.
The golden anniversary of the Grammys and NARAS was noted in references and performances throughout this year's ceremony.
Alicia Keys was the evening's opening musician, singing and playing piano alongside archived video and audio of
Frank Sinatra. Other collaborative performances linking contemporary and past musicians included Beyoncé with
Tina Turner,
Rihanna with
The Time, classical pianist
Lang Lang with jazz pianist
Herbie Hancock and inaugural Grammy winner
Keely Smith with
Kid Rock. Special recognition of the musical contributions of
The Beatles also featured. The
Foo Fighters won Best Rock Album and performed their nominated song "
The Pretender" in a highly collaborative performance that involved a social media selection of classical musicians (the "My Grammy Moment"
YouTube contest was won by violinist
Ann Marie Calhoun).[2]
Mark Ronson &
Salaamremi, producers;
Tom Elmhirst, Mark Ronson, Matt Paul,
Dom Morley, Vaughan Merrick, Gabriel Roth, Derek Pacuk, Gary Noble & Franklin Socorro, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer
Steven Epstein, producer (Scott Frankel, composer; Michael Korie, lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast with Christine Ebersole, Mary Louise Wilson & Others)
The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround mix engineers; The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround mastering engineers; The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround producers (
The Flaming Lips)
Paul O'Dette &
Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Howard Crook, Ellen Hargis, Laura Pudwell & Harry Van Der Kamp; Renate Wolter–Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chorus; Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)