Santa Monica, CA (Top40 Charts/ Recording Academy) The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 13 showcased an eclectic mix of musical performances and special segments that once again gave CBS and GRAMMY Sunday increased ratings with 26.7 million viewers (up from 25.8 million last year), and delivered the largest audience in more than a decade, as well as winning the night for the entire week. The 16 show-stopping, signature GRAMMY Moments showcased legends and newcomers throughout the three-and-a-half hour show. Music's Biggest Night was up in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and adults 25-54 from last year (the best demos since 2004).
GRAMMY Week events - including the annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala, GRAMMY Career Day, Special Merit Awards Ceremony, Nominees Reception, Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's Pre-GRAMMY Gala, Social Media Rock Stars Summit and more - highlighted education, philanthropy, advocacy, diverse artists and musical genres, and set records with increased guests and media attendance. Aggressive social networking and marketing and a user-friendly redesign helped increase traffic to GRAMMY.com, and the "GRAMMY Effect" the week following the show and resulted in significantly increased album sales and digital song downloads for performers and GRAMMY-winning artists. Additionally, The Recording Academy furthered its efforts to present a greener GRAMMY Awards by once again reducing the environmental impact of the telecast and associated GRAMMY Week events.
"From our extraordinary GRAMMY nominees and recipients to the unique, special and historic performances, everyone can agree that one basic premise was clearly evident: the 53rd GRAMMY Awards was about the music. This is precisely what the GRAMMY Awards and The Recording Academy represent - excellence in recorded music," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "We are exceptionally proud to continue to offer unparalleled events throughout GRAMMY Week, which spotlight the best in music as well as highlight education, preservation and human services. It's also gratifying to see consumers and fans continue to engage with the GRAMMYs through our social networking sites and GRAMMY.com, demonstrating the power of Music's Biggest Night."
GRAMMY Awards Performers And Presenters
Building on the stunning opening tribute to Aretha Franklin featuring Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Florence Welch, many other great GRAMMY Moments followed on this year's telecast including Arcade Fire; Eminem with Dr. Dre, Skylar Grey and Adam Levine; Lady Antebellum; Lady Gaga; Miranda Lambert; Muse; Katy Perry; Barbra Streisand; Cee Lo Green with Gwyneth Paltrow and the Jim Henson Company Puppets; Mick Jagger with Raphael Saadiq; Esperanza Spalding in a special segment with members of the GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles and GRAMMY Camp; Justin Bieber and Usher with Jaden Smith; B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae; and Drake and Rihanna. Presenters included Marc Anthony, Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown, Miley Cyrus, Jamie Foxx, Selena Gomez, Neil Patrick Harris, Jewel, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, John Legend, LL COOL J, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Clay Matthews, John Mayer, Nicki Minaj, Matthew Morrison, Paramore, Pauley Perrette, Seth Rogen, Ryan Seacrest, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Donnie Wahlberg and will.i.am.
GRAMMY Nominees Album And The "GRAMMY Effect"
The 2011 GRAMMY Nominees Album made its debut at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart (tying series highest debut) and continued its success after the telecast by remaining in the Top 10. This year, The Recording Academy and Jive Records teamed up to release the 17th edition of the best-selling series, which highlighted artists and songs nominated for the current GRAMMY year. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the CD benefits MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation. Additionally, post-GRAMMY telecast, numerous artists enjoyed the "GRAMMY Effect," seeing significant sales increases, including Esperanza Spalding (up 476 percent), Arcade Fire (238 percent), Lady Antebellum (205 percent), Mumford & Sons (169 percent), Cee Lo Green (96 percent), Eminem (60 percent), and Bruno Mars (55 percent) among others. Increases on the Digital Songs charts included Mumford & Sons' "The Cave" (205 percent), Cee Lo Green's "F@#$ You/Forget You" (178 percent), Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" (77 percent), and Justin Bieber featuring Jaden Smith's "Never Say Never" (67 percent), among others. The Academy was once again able to offer a number of this year's once-in-a-lifetime performances as video downloads on iTunes.
TBWAChiatDay Marketing Campaign
The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards marketing campaign MusicIsLifeIsMusic - which featured print, outdoor, digital, TV, an interactive microsite (www.musicislifeismusic.com), and the MusicMapper app available on iPhone and Android devices - celebrated the songs that have significance in one's life and the places connected to those songs. Utilizing social networking and geolocation, music fans were able to map out their musical journeys and share them with others. The fully integrated campaign highlighted music fans' unprecedented impact in the current digital age. MusicIsLifeIsMusic told the stories of both nominees and music fans, and not only allowed users the opportunity to map their own respective musical journeys, they explored other MusicMapper tags through an augmented reality view that provided an innovative, real-life glimpse at how "music is life is music." By using a mobile device camera, users can see others' tags, Flickr photos, and Foursquare check-ins associated with the space they enter. Additionally, fans had the ability to unlock exclusive GRAMMY content based on their physical location as determined by SimpleGeo. Via a QR Code Reader on all print material and outdoor advertisements, users accessed eight full-length GRAMMY performances from past shows. The microsite and iPhone and Android apps continue to live on beyond the telecast.
GRAMMY Live
For the second consecutive year, music fans worldwide had the unprecedented opportunity to experience and participate in the color and excitement leading up to GRAMMY Sunday through GRAMMY Live - a real-time, innovative, three-day online broadcast of the VIP events leading up to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The GRAMMY Live stream of the road to Music's Biggest Night began on Friday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. PT and ran through Sunday, Feb. 13, and received 20 million views collectively between GRAMMY.com and YouTube.com/thegrammys over the three days and featured video, photos, blogs, tweets and retweets, as well as official news reports and personalized updates from GRAMMY Live hosts actor/comedian Ben Gleib, TV/Web personality Shira Lazar, and veteran broadcast music journalist John Norris. Exclusive behind-the-scenes GRAMMY cams gave the audience an insider's view into some of the hottest GRAMMY Week events, including the Social Media Rock Stars Summit; MusiCares Person of the Year tribute; Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception; Pre-GRAMMY Gala featuring the 2011 GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons; and all the action on GRAMMY Sunday, including red-carpet arrivals, the Pre-Telecast Ceremony, and the official GRAMMY Celebration after-party. Additional behind-the-scenes footage offered viewers a "dual-screen" experience, complementing the GRAMMY telecast with red-carpet coverage, backstage interviews, exclusive photo sessions with winners (with renowned photographer Danny Clinch), press room sessions, and past GRAMMY moments.
GRAMMY Pre-Telecast
The GRAMMY Pre-Telecast - during which awards for a majority of the 108 categories were presented - took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center prior to the telecast and enjoyed its largest attendance to date. Once again the ceremony was streamed live on GRAMMY.com and the stream was available for 30 days following the event. The Pre-Telecast live stream was viewed by more than 460,000 visitors, a 130 percent increase over last year. The ceremony was co-hosted by Bobby McFerrin and Esperanza Spalding and featured live performances by ChocQuibTown, Buddy Guy, Cyndi Lauper, Maria Muldaur, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, Kirk Whalum, and Betty Wright. GRAMMY Awards were presented by Laurie Anderson, Sara Bareilles, BT, Kathy Griffin, and Wayne Wallace. Overall, GRAMMYs in 46 out of 108 categories this year were awarded to independent artists and/or music released on an independent label.
GRAMMY Week Events
Official GRAMMY Week events presented a diversity of celebrations leading up to Music's Biggest Night. For the fourth year, The Producers & Engineers Wing presented an event that paid tribute to those "behind the glass," honoring legendary producer and 12-time GRAMMY winner T Bone Burnett. Titled Shaken, Rattled & Rolled, the event was held at the Village recording studio in Los Angeles and celebrated the P&E Wing's 10th Anniversary. With record-breaking attendance numbers, the Special Merit Awards Ceremony, held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton, the Ramones, and George Beverly Shea; Al Bell, Wilma Cozart Fine and Bruce Lundvall received the Trustees Award; and Roger Linn and Waves Audio, Ltd. were Technical GRAMMY Award honorees.
Pre-GRAMMY Gala And GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons
The Recording Academy once again partnered with Clive Davis to present the exclusive, star-studded Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Entertainment entrepreneur David Geffen was honored with the President's Merit Award for his indelible contributions to the music industry. The event featured performances by Mary J. Blige, Cee Lo Green, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, R. Kelly, Janelle Monae, Matthew Morrison, Mumford & Sons, and Dionne Warwick. Attendees included Warren Beatty, The Black Eyed Peas, Jackson Browne, Cher, Diddy, Foo Fighters, David Foster, Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan, Adam Lambert, Ray LaMontagne, Barry Manilow, Bruno Mars, John Mayer, Martina McBride, Katy Perry, Usher, and Neil Young, among many others.
GRAMMY Celebration
The party continued immediately following the live GRAMMY telecast at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the largest-ever guest attendance at this year's 2011 GRAMMY Celebration, The Academy's official after-party. Live performances included Keri Hilson, the Roots, DJ Wayne, and members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles. Chef extraordinaire Wolfgang Puck once again treated guests to gourmet dishes and sweet delights throughout the three-and-a- half-hour party. Produced by Along Came Mary Productions, the exclusive invitation-only soiree took guests back to the '70s with a journey through a Night at Studio 54 and was one of the night's most sought-after parties.
GRAMMYs Get Greener
In an ongoing effort to reduce the environmental impact of the GRAMMY Awards, The Academy continued its greening initiative and found additional ways to utilize alternative energy resources to power the telecast and promote recycling and waste reduction. For the fourth consecutive year, the GRAMMY telecast was produced with renewable energy, which was purchased by The Recording Academy. Additionally, The Academy collaborated with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to balance the energy consumption over the course of the seven-day period of setup and tear down by investing in existing clean energy projects. The Academy continued its partnership with Waste Management to recycle waste from the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Other greening achievements included: a red-carpet made from 100 percent recycled materials (which were used at the 51st and 52nd GRAMMY Awards); for the second year in a row, all incoming GRAMMY ticket requests were processed electronically; recycled content paper was used for nearly all paper products (including 100 percent recycled content tickets, with 30 percent post-consumer content, and program books printed on recycled paper with 10 percent post-consumer content); recycling bins for aluminum, glass and plastic containers provided at both STAPLES Center and LACC, in addition to a number of other GRAMMY Week events; most set pieces and furniture were either rentals or stored for reuse; unused food from staff box lunches and the GRAMMY Celebration after-party were donated to local food banks; the Wolfgang Puck after-party menu incorporated locally grown and organic options.
For the first time this year, The Academy teamed up with 100% Cork and ReCORK to recycle corks from wine bottles used at the GRAMMY Celebration. More than 1,000 corks were diverted from landfills and repurposed for various industrial, household and fashion goods. Also a first-year collaboration, The Academy teamed with the ridesharing company Ride Amigos. This allowed guests attending the 53rd GRAMMY Awards to connect with each other online and organize carpools to STAPLES Center.
The GRAMMY Foundation
This year's GRAMMY Foundation GRAMMY Week events took guests and GRAMMY nominees through unique educational and cultural experiences. For the second year, the GRAMMY Foundation presented GRAMMY In The Schools Live!, which featured student alumni from GRAMMY Camp and GRAMMY Signature Schools, with a special guest performance by Sara Bareilles. The Jazz Ensembles also performed at Spaghettini Italian Grill & Lounge with special guest artist Esperanza Spalding; the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute; and the GRAMMY Celebration after-party. Legendary Capitol Studios & Mastering was again provided by the EMI Music Group for the Ensembles to record a album that will join the lineup of previous Ensembles recordings available for purchase at online music outlets such as iTunes and Amazon.
GRAMMY Career Day hosted 750 Los Angeles area students at the USC campus where high school students were given insights into music business careers from artists including GRAMMY-winning producer Warryn Campbell; GRAMMY-winning songwriting team Angela Hunte and Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic; artist JoiStarr; songwriter/producer Claude Kelly; rapper Lecrae; GRAMMY-winning engineer Manny Marroquin; artists Mohombi and Kelly Price; multi-platinum producer RedOne; singer/songwriter Eric Roberson; and recording artist Jordin Sparks. Participating industry professionals included "Glee" music producer Adam Anders; Recording Academy Chair Emeritus, GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares Board member and five-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Jam; "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" musical director Rickey Minor; Chair of the GRAMMY Foundation Board and chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola North America Bea Perez; and MusiCares Board member and Head of Urban Music for EMI Music Publishing Jon Platt among others. A special highlight of GRAMMY Career Day was Best Buy's presentation of a check for $1.24 million to the GRAMMY Foundation in support of music education activities.
The Foundation's 13th Annual Music Preservation Project, Word Revolution: A Celebration Of The Evolution Of Hip-Hop, featured live musical performances and historical footage from preservation archives. Kevin Frazier of "Entertainment Tonight" and "Insider" was the evening's host and performers included Marsha Ambrosius; GRAMMY winners Arrested Development and Chrisette Michele; Beat Freaks from "America's Best Dance Crew"; DJ Beverly Bond; Brave New Voices, Everlast, DJ Jazzy Jeff; Kid Capri; Lil Mama; MC Lyte; Musiq Soulchild, Naughty By Nature; Phife from A Tribe Called Quest; DJ Skee; Paul Wall; and Young Chris, among others.
The annual Entertainment Law Initiative & Scholarship Presentation featured seven-time GRAMMY-winner and GRAMMY Foundation Board member will.i.am as keynote speaker. The luncheon also honored John T. Frankenheimer, distinguished entertainment attorney, partner and co-chairman of Loeb & Loeb LLP, and chair of the firm's music industry practice group, as the recipient of the 2011 Service Award.
MusiCares Person Of The Year
Eight-time GRAMMY winner, Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and GRAMMY Legend Award recipient Barbra Streisand was honored as the 2011 MusiCares Person of the Year with a tribute that raised a record breaking $4.75 million to support MusiCares' programs and services for music people in need. The 21st anniversary of the gala was attended by a record audience of more than 2,400 guests. It included a special reception, silent auction, dinner, award presentation, and a star-studded tribute concert that featured performances by multi-GRAMMY-winning artists Jeff Beck, Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock, Faith Hill, Diana Krall, LeAnn Rimes, Seal, BeBe Winans, and Stevie Wonder; GRAMMY nominee Leona Lewis; GRAMMY-winner Barry Manilow; artist Kristin Chenoweth; artists and members of the "Glee" cast including Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Darren Criss; and artist Nikki Yanofsky. Streisand closed the evening with her own special performance. Fran Drescher, Bill Maher, and multi-GRAMMY-winning artists Prince and will.i.am were presenters at the tribute.
In celebration of the GRAMMY Awards, GRAMMY Charity Online Auctions offered approximately to 100 exclusive items including once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences, memorabilia from world-renowned celebrities, and official GRAMMY merchandise signed by participating stars backstage during telecast rehearsals and show day. All proceeds benefited MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation.
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards - the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music - The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization's social networks on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thegrammys), Twitter (www.twitter.com/thegrammys), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/thegrammys).
