OutKast Scores a Hip-Hop First

OutKast, the Atlanta duo who have won over both nightclubs and critics with their intricate, sprightly brand of rap, on Sunday saw their album “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” become the first pure hip-hop project to win best album honors at the Grammys.

The OutKast duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi crafts buoyant, fresh music -- defined by the playful hit “Hey Ya!,” which was performed at Staples Center in front of a giant metallic tepee -- that stood in sharp contrast to some somber moments at the 46th annual Grammy Awards. Among them was a taped appearance by the ailing Luther Vandross, who took four prizes.

It was clear from the video that Vandross, wearing sunglasses and struggling to sing a few bars, was still dealing with the aftereffects of a stroke he suffered in April. His awards were for music from the album “Dance With My Father,” including the trophy in the marquee category of song of the year for the title track, co-written by Richard Marx.

The most trophies Sunday -- five -- went to slinky R&B; star Beyonce, who rose to fame in the group Destiny’s Child and has since added major solo success and a film career to her resume. 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 honored (Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill), she did not win in any major category, and most of her awards were handed out during a pre-broadcast ceremony.

Beyonce’s wins included contemporary R&B; album and the award for duo or group R&B; vocal, the latter shared with Vandross for “The Closer I Get to You.” She had also been nominated for record of the year, one of the top four major categories

Record of the year is given to the one track the voters in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences deem the year’s best recording overall, while song of the year is for songwriting. The award for record of the year Sunday went to “Clocks” by Coldplay, the British band that has now won Grammys in three consecutive years and has become a staple of alternative rock radio despite a style (earnest lyrics and melodic sophistication) that often contrasts with the other hit-makers of the day.

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, who often speaks out politically, used his acceptance speech to endorse Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator.

“We’d like to dedicate this to Johnny Cash and John Kerry, who hopefully will be your president one day,” he said.

One of the biggest names of the night Sunday was an artist who did not attend and whose name was uttered only once during the televised show on CBS. Christina Aguilera, tugging at the top of her dress, didn’t have to explain the reference when she said she didn’t want to provide an encore of that thing “Janet had done.”

Janet Jackson had been scheduled at one point to participate in a Grammy tribute to Vandross, but that was before the previous Sunday’s Super Bowl, when one of her breasts was briefly exposed during the halftime show. That bizarre pop-culture moment, she eventually said, was a planned stunt and one for which she took full responsibility. Network officials revealed Sunday night that in the week since the Super Bowl, Jackson’s invitation to the show had been revoked, then reconsidered and offered again with the condition that she apologize on air. In the end, CBS said, Jackson declined.

Jackson’s partner in the halftime show was former ‘N Sync member Justin Timberlake, who performed twice Sunday night. Like Beyonce, he emerged in 2003 from group-portrait fame to full-fledged solo stardom. He had bared Jackson’s breast at the Super Bowl with a yank at her costume but, by his account, believed she would have an undergarment on -- leading to his oft-quoted description of the moment as a “wardrobe malfunction.”

Timberlake, dressed in a conservative suit and attending the Grammy show with his mother, accepted the CBS call for an apology, which he made while accepting the award for best male pop performance. He also won in the category of pop vocal album for “Justified,” one of the year’s bestselling discs.

The five-minute delay the network instituted for the Grammys (as opposed to the seven-second buffer used in the past) did not appear to be used to edit the East Coast broadcast of the show. The event was delayed three hours for prime-time airing on the West Coast.

The tawdry spectacle of the Super Bowl incident may have been the major topic of discussion before the show, but the program as aired became a more serious affair with the Vandross subplot and a number of honors and tributes to late musicians.

There was a taped segment on the final recordings of Warren Zevon, the iconoclastic singer-songwriter who succumbed to lung cancer in September and spent much of his last year working on the album “The Wind.” Jordan Zevon, the late singer’s son, accepted the Grammy for rock performance by a duo or group on behalf of his father and Bruce Springsteen for their performance of “Disorder in the House.” “The Wind” featured a number of Zevon’s friends and peers, and some of them -- including Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderon and Emmylou Harris -- performed the forlorn “Keep Me in Your Heart” on the broadcast.

Zevon was given a rare President’s Award by the Recording Academy shortly before his death, and on Sunday night that same honor was given to the Beatles on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the band’s American television debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono, the widows, respectively, of George Harrison and John Lennon, appeared at Staples Center to accept the award on behalf of their husbands. Harrison, paraphrasing from the Beatles song “The End,” said: “And in the end the love you take is really equal to the love you make.” Ono, voice cracking, credited the Beatles as the force that “made our planet the planet of music.”

The other two Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, were chipper in their messages, which were recorded in separate London studios and shown on overhead screens during the broadcast. McCartney, strumming a guitar he had once played on Sullivan’s show, yelped a few lines of “Yesterday.”

There were other accolades for music greats who died in 2003. Before the telecast, Johnny Cash won for short-form music video for “Hurt.” Later, his wife, June Carter Cash, won for female country vocal for “Keep on the Sunny Side” and traditional folk album for the disc “Wildwood Flower.” Their son, John Carter Cash, accepted the country award.

Former Beatle Harrison’s “Marwa Blues” was honored for best pop instrumental performance, and the late Celia Cruz’s “Regalo del Alma” won for best salsa/merengue disc.

One of the more lighthearted moments of the night was provided by 50 Cent, a performer usually known for more ominous behavior. The rapper with the violent persona as well as the bestselling album of 2003 was nominated for best new artist and expected by many to win. Evanescence, the hard rock band from Arkansas, instead won, but 50 Cent marched to the stage and, grinning, loped behind the winners before returning to his seat.

Recordings released between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2003, were eligible for Grammys. The awards are voted on by the Recording Academy’s 13,000 members, including musicians, producers, record executives, managers and others.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Top winners

Album of the Year: “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” OutKast

Record of the Year: “Clocks,” Coldplay

Song of the Year: “Dance With My Father,” Richard Marx and Luther Vandross

Best New Artist: Evanescence