In homeland security terms, the 46th annual Grammy Awards were on red alert Sunday.
With FCC (news - web sites) fines looming since the famed nipple exposure during last week's Super Bowl halftime show, presenters and performers on the CBS telecast kept their clothes on and their speech cautious in what was a tasteful, if somewhat tame show.
OutKast, the eclectic hip-hop duo who topped most critics' top 10 lists last year, won album of the year for their double album, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (Arista). The group also won the award for best rap album and best urban/alternative performance for their hit "Hey Ya!"
The duo -- Andre "Andre 3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton -- performed twice, but separately. Patton participated in an unwieldy tribute to funk music, singing "The Way You Move."
Benjamin ended the night with his single "Hey Ya!," which included the USC Marching Band and dancers dressed as Native Americans who made their entrance through a teepee/spaceship.
Both songs have the distinction of being the No. 1 and No. 2 songs currently topping Billboard's charts. In accepting the award, the duo brought up and thanked Antonio "L.A." Reid, the former CEO of Arista Records who was fired from his position in January.
Chicagoans did not fare well this year. Although several local artists were nominated in an array of categories, awards only went to two -- Buddy Guy for best traditional blues album and Richard Marx, who won song of the year with co-writer Luther Vandross.
Wardrobes and speeches were carefully hedged. That included Christina Aguilera -- known for her skimpy outerwear -- who performed her ballad "Beautiful" in a conservative dark suit and tie.
Even rapper 50 Cent, who ruined the night's good manners when he rushed the stage after losing the best new artist award to goth rockers Evanescence, exited quickly and politely.
Only Justin Timberlake made direct reference to his Super Bowl controversy with duet partner Janet Jackson.
"I know it's been a rough week on everybody," he said, accepting his award for best male pop vocal. "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable and I apologize if you guys were offended." Since Jackson is already on record admitting the wardrobe reveal was planned, he apparently needs to get his story straight.
Jackson and Britney Spears -- both known for their sexually-charged performances -- were conspicuously absent.
Chris Martin, lead singer of the British pop band Coldplay, accepted the band's award for record of the year, saying it was dedicated to Johnny Cash "and to John Kerry (news - web sites), who will hopefully be your president one day."
Of the 105 nominations, only 11 were televised, making room for 15 performances and various other awards and tributes. Unlike last year's telecast, there were no commercial bumpers that scrolled the winners of the other 94 categories, making it impossible to find out who won a majority of the awards.
Two separate tributes were paid to the Beatles, who first appeared on American television 40 years ago this weekend on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Sting, Dave Matthews, Vince Gill and Pharrell Williams of the producing duo the Neptunes re-created the group's minimalist rock sound, performing "She Was Just Seventeen." Failing to reach the high vocal registers and mismatched on harmonies, the group did more damage than justice.
Later, taped greetings from surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were upstaged by Beatles widows Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono, who both gave poignant speeches. Harrison recalled the trip her husband George made to downstate Illinois to visit his sister, a year before the Beatles U.S. invasion in 1964. "They have everything over there, why do they need us?" she said he remembered asking. Ono said the group "made our planet the planet of music."
"Before the Beatles, we experienced music at weddings and bar mitzvahs, street corners, recital halls and 200-seaters. Never Shea Stadium," she said.
Posthumous awards went to June Carter Cash, who won best female country vocal and best traditional folk album, and Warren Zevon, awarded best contemporary folk album and best rock duo or group with vocal. Both artists died last year before the release of their albums. The late George Harrison also won the best pop instrumental performance award. Johnny Cash, who also died last year, won best short form music video for "Hurt."
Zevon participated in his own tribute. A choir of harmony singers including Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Dwight Yoakam and Zevon's two children sang along to Zevon's vocal of his song "Keep Me in Your Heart."
Grammys (news - web sites): Beatles widows give moving speeches
