The Associated Press
Alicia Keys won five Grammys: best new artist, song of the year, best female R&B vocal performance, best R&B song for "Fallin' " and best R&B album for "Songs In A Minor."

The Associated Press
Bono accepts one of four Grammys U2 won; the group had a leading eight nominations.

The Associated Press
Nelly Furtado accepts her Grammy for best pop vocal performance.

Keys grabs 5 Grammys

U2, Nelly Furtado, 'O Brother' soundtrack garner awards

NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Thursday, February 28, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- Alicia Keys, a 21-year-old soul traditionalist whose single "Fallin' " dominated radio last summer, tied a Grammy record for a female artist with five awards Wednesday.

She shared the spotlight with a collection of Depression-era bluegrass music and a veteran Irish rock group whose music struck a new chord after Sept. 11.

Keys was named best new artist and "Fallin' " won song and rhythm 'n' blues song and female R&B vocal performance. Her debut disc, "Songs in A Minor" was judged best R&B album.

Her Grammy sweep tied Lauryn Hill's 1999 record for most Grammys by a female artist.

The traditional country soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," a surprise best seller despite being shunned by country radio, won album of the year -- a category Keys was not nominated in.

"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 winning for best rhythm 'n' blues album.

U2, which opened the Grammy telecast with a stirring rendition of "Walk On," ended the show by winning record of the year for it. The band, who had a leading eight nominations, won four awards altogether. The band won best pop performance by duo or group for their wistful song, "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of."

"Being Irish, if you get eight nominations and got no awards they wouldn't let you back in the country," lead singer Bono joked. "So this is a public safety issue."

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."

"O Brother" won best compilation disc and garnered 75-year-old 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.

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.

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.

U2 won album of the year for 1987's "The Joshua Tree" and was vying for that award again Wednesday. Their disc, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" competed against In- dia.Arie's "Acoustic Soul," OutKast's "Stankonia," Bob Dylan's "Love & Theft" and "O Brother Where Art Thou."

Though Keys' top-selling debut was shut out of the album of the year category, she did have a chance to take home the night's other top honor: record of the year.

Her No. 1 hit "Fallin' " was up against India.Arie's "Video," OutKast's "Ms. Jackson," Train's "Drops of Jupiter" and U2's "Walk On."

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.

At the same time, some musicians are trying to win more rights for artists in relation to record companies; in particular, they're trying to repeal a California law that lets labels bind performer to contracts longer than seven years. 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 Olympian Copyright 2002

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