Grammys 2013: Mavis Staples and real feeling in Levon Helm tribute

1/17

Album of the year -- Babel WINNER
Rock performance -- “I Will Wait” -- Mumford & Sons
Rock song -- “I Will Wait”: Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall & Marcus Mumford, Songwriters
Americana album -- “Babel”
Song written for visual media -- “Learn Me Right (from “Brave”)”: Songwriters (Birdy & Mumford & Sons)
Long form music video -- “Big Easy Express”: Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros & Old Crow Medicine Show | Emmett Malloy, video director; Bryan Ling, Mike Luba & Tim Lynch, video producers
(John Shearer / Invision / Associated Press)

2/17

Record of the year -- “Somebody That I Used To Know” -- Gotye featuring Kimbra WINNER
Pop duo/group performance -- “Somebody That I Used To Know” featuring KimbraWINNER
Alternative music album -- “Making Mirrors” WINNER (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

3/17

Album of the year -- “Some Nights”
Record of the year -- “We Are Young” featuring Janelle Monae
New artist WINNER
Song of the year -- “We Are Young”: Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters
Pop duo/group performance -- “We Are Young” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

4/17

Best Rap Song -- “... in Paris”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- “No Church In The Wild featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream” WINNER (pictured)
Rap performance -- “... in Paris”
Rap/sung collaboration -- Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
Rap song -- “N****s in Paris” -- Shawn Carter, Mike Dean, Chauncey Hollis & Kanye West, songwriters (W.A. Donaldson, songwriter) WINNER (Kevork Djansezian / AFP / Getty Images)

5/17

Record of the year -- “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Song of the year -- “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Pop solo performance -- “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Pop vocal album -- “Stronger” WINNER (John Shearer / Invision /Associated Press)

6/17

Album of the year -- “Channel Orange”
Record of the year -- “Thinkin Bout You”
New artist
Urban contemporary album -- “Channel Orange” WINNER (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

7/17

The Black Keys have a new album, “Turn Blue,” coming out May 13. (Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images)

8/17

Improvised jazz solo -- “Hot House”: Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists WINNER
“Alice in Wonderland” -- Chick Corea, soloist
Jazz instrumental album -- “Further Explorations”: Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez & Paul Motian
“Hot House”: Chick Corea & Gary Burton
Instrumental composition -- “Mozart Goes Dancing”: Chick Corea, composer WINNER (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

9/17

Song of the Year -- “Adorn”
R&B performance -- “Adorn’
R&B song -- “Adorn” WINNER
Best Urban Contemporary album -- “Kaleidoscope Dream” (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

10/17

Pop solo performance -- “Where Have You Been”
Rap/sung collaboration -- “Talk That Talk” featuring Jay-Z
Short form music video -- “We Found Love” featuring Calvin Harris WINNER (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

11/17

Pop solo performance -- “Set Fire to the Rain [Live]” WINNER (John Shearer / Invision / Associated Press)

12/17

Record of the year -- “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Country duo/group performance -- “Safe & Sound”
Song written for visual media -- “Safe & Sound (from “The Hunger Games”)” WINNER (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

13/17

Album of the year -- “Blunderbuss”
Rock album of the year -- “Blunderbuss”
Rock song -- “Freedom at 21” (Barry Brecheisen / Invision / Associated Press)

14/17

Song of the year -- “Call Me Maybe”: Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters
Pop solo performance -- “Call Me Maybe” (Sean Kilpatrick / Associated Press)

15/17

Pop solo performance -- “Wide Awake” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

16/17

New artist
Country album -- “Hunter Hayes”
Country solo performance -- “Wanted” (Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

17/17

New artist
Rock performance -- “Hold On” (Jack Plunkett / Associated Press)

By August Brown

Feb. 11, 2013 9 AM PT

This year’s Grammys were all about pushing authenticity, and how often that’s just another kind of performance.

But from the audience, two moments underlined the difference between sincerity as a kind of fashion statement, and when it’s the real thing.

Just before the Denver folk-revival trio the Lumineers went on to play their chart-busting but cloying single “Ho Hey,” a production assistant felt a bit nervous about the crowd’s potential response. “OK, everyone,” he said. “I trust you because you’re in the music business, so let’s practice this one first. I want you all to sing the chorus,” and prepped the audience in the refrain of “Ho Hey” while the telecast was on commercial.

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They only got a few bars in before killing the rehearsal and rushing back to stage prep, however, and no one got the chance to join in. Perhaps that was for the best, as the planned-on singalong never really materialized during the show – save for an enthusiastic Taylor Swift up front. It was a planned communion that never happened

However, a few songs later, when the legend roundtable of Elton John, T. Bone Burnett and Mavis Staples joined relative newbies Mumford & Sons, Alabama Shakes and Zac Brown in tribute to Levon Helm, Staples had a more unplanned bout of emoting. After the group absolutely burnt down a moving take on “The Weight,” Staples kept going with throaty yelps, well after the band had finished playing. She was a veteran of Civil Rights-era soul, and earned the right to do as she pleased on any Grammys stage.

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But as she unwound a few unmediated howls of feeling, she caught herself and laughed, closing out the tune with a hearty flourish. She didn’t need a stage PA to rile up the crowd – she did it with raw feeling. That’s real communion for you.

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