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Ray Charles Dominates Grammys, Viewers Tuned Out 


02-14-05
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(antiMUSIC) Ray Charles swept the Grammy Awards this year winning eight awards including Record. His posthumously released duets album, "Genius Loves Company" took top honors as the Album of the Year and the Record of the Year award went to "Here We Go Again," Charles' duet with Norah Jones. 

This brings Charles total Grammy count to 20. His previous big win was in 1960 when he took home the best vocal performance award for "Georgia on My Mind". 

"Genius Loves Company" is Charles most successful album to date, having sold over 2 millions copies since its release shortly after his death last year. Charles is likely to be a big winner this year at the Academy Awards where the bio-pic about his life, "Ray" is a favorite for Oscar glory. 

During the Grammy ceremony actor Jamie Foxx, who portrayed Charles in "Ray" took to the stage for a duet of "Georgia On My Mind" and "If I Ain't Got You" with Alicia Keys as a tribute to the late singer. 

The Grammy Awards was a star-studded affair this year with U2, Usher, James Brown, Velvet Revolver and more but the star power didn't translate to ratings. This year's telecast dropped 28 percent from last year's, with an estimated 18.8 million viewers; the lowest ratings for the telecast since 1995. 

Other big winners this year include U2 who took Rock Song, Rock Performance (duo or group) and short form video honors for "Vertigo," Green Day who won the rock album of the year for "American Idiot", Maroon 5 who were named Best New Artist, John Mayer who took Song of the Year for "Daughters," Motorhead who won the Metal Performance Grammy for their cover of Metallica's "Whiplash," and Velvet Revolver who earned the Best Hard Rock performance for "Slither". 

Here is a selected list of winners: 

Album of the Year: "Genius Loves Company," Ray Charles and various artists 
Record of the Year: "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles and Norah Jones 
Song of the Year: "Daughters," John Mayer 
Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: "Vertigo," U2 
Country Album: "Van Lear Rose," Loretta Lynn 
Rap Album: "The College Dropout," Kanye West 
R&B Album: "The Diary of Alicia Keys," Alicia Keys 
New Artist: Maroon 5 
Rock Album: "American Idiot," Green Day 
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "Heaven," Los Lonely Boys
Short Form Music Video: "Vertigo," U2 
Long Form Music Video: "Concert for George," Various Artists
Contemporary R&B Album: "Confessions," Usher 
Rap Solo Performance: "99 Problems," Jay-Z 
Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Let's Get It Started," The Black Eyed Peas 
Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Yeah!" Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris 
Rap Song: "Jesus Walks," Miri Ben Ari, C. Smith and Kanye West (Kanye West) 
Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Sunrise," Norah Jones 
Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Daughters," John Mayer 
Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles and Norah Jones 
Pop Instrumental Performance: "11th Commandment," Ben Harper 
Pop Instrumental Album: "Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar," Various Artists 
Pop Vocal Album: "Genius Loves Company," Ray Charles and Various Artists 
Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Stardust ... The Great American Songbook Volume III," Rod Stewart 
Dance Recording: "Toxic," Britney Spears 
Electronic/Dance Album: "Kish Kash," Basement Jaxx 
Alternative Music Album: "A Ghost Is Born," Wilco 
Solo Rock Vocal Performance: "Code of Silence," Bruce Springsteen 
Hard Rock Performance: "Slither," Velvet Revolver 
Metal Performance: "Whiplash," Motorhead 
Rock Instrumental Performance: "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," Brian Wilson 
Rock Song: "Vertigo," Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen (U2).
 

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