Backstage And On, At The Grammys
The 48th annual Grammy Awards show delivered a mix of classic rock performances and today's cutting-edge music.
The Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports it also marked the first time a certain superstar took the Grammy stage.
Though Paul McCartney's performance left the audience begging for more, the ex-Beatle was beaten out for best pop album by an "American Idol," Kelly Clarkson, who ended the night with two Grammys, and cried during an emotional acceptance speech, saying, "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."
Backstage later, Kauffman asked Clarkson if she'd ever felt she had to prove herself, since she'd gotten her start from the reality show.
"No," Clarkson quickly replied. "I never felt that. Everybody gets in the industry in some manner or form. Everyone usually knows someone who gets you there. So, it's just that one time that it happens, then that's your chance, and you take it and you run with it, or you take it and you sit on it. And I'm running with it."
U2 grabbed five Grammys, bringing the group's total to 20. Among them: album of the year, best rock album and song of the year.
And they rocked the house with a performance during the show, with a little help from Mary J. Blige.
Also performing was Mariah Carey, who won best new artist in 1990. She solidified her comeback with three more Grammys.
"The first time I performed at the Grammys, I was just really young and nervous, and I just kinda held my breath the whole time," she told Kauffman.
How did Carey sing while holding her breath?
"You hold your breath and you sing and you're, like, nervous and you're tense and you're uptight, and of course we all have those moments," she said.
"This is a tough room," Kauffman interjects. "It's gotta be the toughest room in the music business."
"Yeah," Carey says. "So, it was pretty amazing."
John Legend entertained the audience, and went on to grab three trophies, including best new artist.
"You're out there on the piano," Kauffman says. "Your voice. Your words. You're putting it all out there."
"It's all good," Legend says. "That's what you're supposed to do as artists. You're not supposed to hold anything back.
"I try to write stories that ring true to people, and that people can relate to."
The night included an all-star tribute to Sly and the Family Stone, fronted with a surprise appearance by the man himself, Sly Stone.
"My mother had those records," Blige told Kauffman. "'It's a Family Affair,' 'If You Want Me, Stay'; he's a part of soul music, part of what we heard when we were kids. We love them."
"When (Sly) walked offstage, before the tribute was over," Grammy-winner Will.i.am, of Black Eyed Peas said to Kauffman, "I applaud him for that. That was fresh, because it showed a sign that, 'I'm just a regular person.' "
The biggest surprise, Kauffman says, came when Grammy winners Linkin Park and Jay-Z took the stage for an unprecedented blending of music from today and yesterday, and were suddenly joined by McCartney.
"Doing what we did tonight," a member of Linkin Park says to Kauffman, "was something I don't know if I'll never be able to top. (It's a) once in a lifetime experience that I'll cherish forever, till I go to the grave."
Still, Kauffman says, most of the stars weren't thinking of yesterday, they were looking forward to the after-show festivities.
"What are you doing to celebrate?" she asks Carey.
"I'm going to party," she says. "As the song says, 'I came to have a party.' "
Another big winner was Kanye West, who took home three Grammys.
Kauffman says West was expected to sweep several major categories, but his huge hit, "Gold Digger" lost to Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
Kauffman's favorite moment of the night?
McCartney singing "Helter Skelter!"
"I had to get up and dance," she tells The Early Show's Dave Price, who was also covering the Grammys, "despite the blisters from heels (I was wearing)."