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Posted on: Thursday, February 28, 2002

Alicia Keys, U2 big winners at Grammys

More Grammys coverage

By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
AP Music Writer

Soul singer Alicia Keys walked away with five Grammys yesterday.

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Alicia Keys, whose classically influenced soul debut was one of last year's biggest albums, and the bluegrass soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" each won five Grammys yesterday.

The Irish rock band U2, whose inspirational music struck a new chord after Sept. 11, took four awards and denied Keys the chance to set a record for most Grammys ever by a female artist.

Keys' song "Fallin"' won song of the year, and she was named best new artist. She also won three awards in rhythm 'n' blues categories, tying Lauryn Hill's 1999 record of five awards.

"I'd like to dedicate this to just thinking outside the box and not being afraid of who you are no matter what you do," the 21-year-old Keys said after picking up one of her trophies.

U2's record of the year award for "Walk On" marked the second straight year they won that top category. Last year, it was for "Beautiful Day."

"The songs do change their meaning. Music changes shape to fit the predicament it finds itself," U2's lead singer Bono said. "This year the predicament was a very different America We've always loved coming here. But this year I've rediscovered my love of America, the great idea as opposed to the great country."

The "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack won album of the year. The album of country roots music and bluegrass was shunned by country music radio and beat out U2 and Bob Dylan for the top album award.

"We are filled with gratitude not only that you have chosen to honor this work in this way, but also because we were afforded the chance to make it in the first place," said producer T Bone Burnett. "And, for the great joy that making it was."

Another artist who had a chance to break Hill's record was India.Arie. The alternative soul artist whose debut was "Acoustic Soul" was nominated for seven awards but won none.

Host Jon Stewart poked fun at the show's increased security, pretending to set off a metal detector while walking on stage, and poignantly reminded the audience of how the world had changed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Two large guards stripped him and left the comedian in his boxer shorts.

"Remember when security was tight because Eminem was going to sing with Elton John?" Stewart joked. "Those were the days, right?"

The folk country act Alison Krauss and Union Station won two awards, for best country performance by a group and best bluegrass album for "New Favorite."

Besides best album, "O Brother" won best compilation disc and garnered Ralph Stanley, who sung "O Death," best male country vocal, his first Grammy win. It also won the Soggy Bottom Boys the award for best country collaboration with vocals.

Stanley's win came two days after he celebrated his 75th birthday.

"I think this is the best birthday I've ever had," said Stanley.

Traditional country also trumped more commercialized fare in the majority of the country field; "Timeless," a tribute disc to Hank Williams featuring Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and others, won best country album; Dolly Parton won best female country vocal for "Shine," off her bluegrass disc "Little Sparrow"; and "The Lucky One," by Krauss and Union Station, won best country song.

Other winners were Eve and Gwen Stefani, who won the inaugural best rap/sung collaboration for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"; Sade, who won best pop vocal album for "Lovers Rock"; and best-selling rock group Linkin Park, which won best hard rock performance for "Crawling."

Canadian newcomer Nelly Furtado bested veterans like Sade and Janet Jackson with a win in the pop female vocal category.

"Cool! Highly unexpected," said a buoyant Furtado.

The hoopla of the ceremony was a temporary relief from the industry's headaches. Music sales for 2001 were down 5 percent, the first decline in more than a decade. Recording companies blame the slump mainly on free downloading from the Internet.

"No question the most insidious virus in the midst of this illegal downloading of music is piracy on the net," said Recording Academy President Michael Greene. "It goes by many names and its apologists offer a myriad of excuses. This illegal file sharing and ripping of music is pervasive, out of control, and it's oh, so criminal."

At the same time, some musicians are trying to win more rights for artists in relation to record companies. On Tuesday night, the Eagles, Joel, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt and others gave four concerts around the Los Angeles area to raise funds and awareness for that cause.

The Eagles' Don Henley, a nominee, alluded to the fight when he presented the award for best rock performance, which went to Train for "Drops of Jupiter."

"Somehow I don't feel like the most popular guy in the room," he quipped.