Bloomberg: Lady Antebellum Wins Five Grammys, Arcade Fire Receives Album of the Year
February 14, 2011
By Andy Fixmer
The Nashville trio Lady Antebellum won five Grammys and Arcade Fire took home album of the year honors at the music industry’s biggest awards show.
Jay-Z and Lady Gaga each won three awards at the Recording Academy ceremony, telecast yesterday from Los Angeles by CBS Corp. The Grammys drew 26.7 million viewers, a 3.1 percent gain from last year and the most since 2001, CBS said today, citing Nielsen Co. data.
Lady Antebellum, formed in 2006, swept several country categories including best album for “Need You Now,” and snagged song of the year and record of the year for the title track on a night of surprises. Best new artist Esperanza Spalding and Arcade Fire each beat better-known competition.
“It was a good night for Nashville,” said Ted Cohen, a former top digital executive at EMI Music whose Tag Strategic advises companies on digital strategy. “Artistry was rewarded in many categories over celebrity.”
Winning best song and best album was a “huge” accomplishment for Lady Antebellum, Cohen said.
“It does feel like we’ve arrived,” said band member Charles Kelley backstage. “We’re probably never going to have another night like this in our career.”
Nominees and performers at the Grammys had an immediate spike in album sales on Apple Inc.’s iTunes the day after the show. Nine of the top-10 selling albums, including three from Justin Bieber, are from Grammy artists. Sales of the Black Eyed Peas jumped 25 percent after the group’s Super Bowl performance on Feb. 6, Nielsen SoundScan said last week.
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Posted by Ted • Monday, February 14, 2011 .