Grammy nod to freshers and the dearly departed

Outkast, the intricate, sprightly brand of rap, on Sunday saw their album Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below become the first pure hip-hop project to win best album honours at the Grammys. OutKast’s buoyant, fresh music — defined by the playful hit Hey Ya! which members Andre 3000 and Big Boi performed on stage at Staples Center.

The most trophies on Sunday — five — went to R&B star Beyonce. Her quintuple victory, matching the most awards by a female artist on any Grammy night, gave her a share of Grammy history. But unlike the other three performers similarly honoured (Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill), she did not win in any major category, and most of her awards were handed out at a pre-broadcast ceremony.

Ailing Luther Vandross took four prizes. The award for Record of the Year went to Clocks by Coldplay, that has now won Grammys for three consecutive years . One of the biggest names of the night was an artist who did not attend. Christina Aguilera said she didn’t want to provide an encore of that thing ‘‘Janet had done’’. CBS said Jackson declined to attend. Justin Timberlake, who got the best male pop singer award, performed twice. Timberlake was dressed in a conservative suit and attended with his mother. There was a taped segment on the final recordings of Warren Zevon, the iconoclastic singer-songwriter who succumbed to lung cancer. —(LAT-WP)