Whole lotta love for Plant and Krauss

THE unlikely pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss that produced the hit album Raising Sand won five Grammys including album of the year.

The former Led Zeppelin frontman, previously best known for his high-decibel shrieking and rock star theatrics, found more docile Nashville melodies with Krauss.

While accepting the Grammy for album of the year, the 37-year-old Krauss — perhaps wanting to remind the audience that Plant’s rock star hadn’t entirely matured — said there’s “never a dull moment” with the 60-year-old singer.

Raising Sand, produced by T Bone Burnett, bested fellow nominees Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, Coldplay and Radiohead. Their Please Read the Letter also won record of the year.

“I’m bewildered,” said Plant. “In the old days we would have called this selling out, but I think it is a good way to spend a Sunday.”

In a performance-stuffed live broadcast on CBS, the subject of age — and intertwining musical realms — was always close at hand. Taylor Swift, 19, and Miley Cyrus, 16, sang a duet of Swift’s Fifteen. The 66-year-old Paul McCartney, with 40-year-old Dave Grohl on drums, sang the Beatles classic about a girl who “was just 17”. Stevie Wonder performed with the Jonas Brothers and even a nine months’ pregnant woman — the rapper MIA — hobbled out on the stage to join the dapperly dressed Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and TI in a “rap summit” performance of TI’s “Swagger Like Us”. Before the night’s end, Plant and Krauss seemed to be in a three-horse race with Lil Wayne and Coldplay — a trio of acts of wildly different sounds. Lil Wayne — who led the field with eight nominations — won three awards, including best rap album for Tha Carter III. His tally came to four Grammys if you count his inclusion on Swagger Like Us which won best rap performance by a duo or group. Coldplay also took home three awards, including best rock album for Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.

“We’ve never had so many Grammys in our life,” said lead singer Chris Martin, perhaps so excited he got confused — they had already won four over the years. “We feel so grateful to be here. I’m going to tear up.”

Radiohead picked up for best alternative music album In Rainbows.

The Grammys this year offered a CBS telecast without a host and — unexpectedly — without several performers. Rihanna and Chris Brown, both nominated for awards and scheduled to perform, were absent after Brown — who is dating Rihanna — was the subject of a police investigation into a domestic violence incident from Sunday. Brown turned himself into police late on Sunday and was released after posting bail. Police booked the 19-year-old R&B singer on suspicion of making a criminal threat.

Among the performances was U2, who kicked things off with their new single Get on Your Boots; Radiohead performing with the University of Southern California marching band; Jay-Z joining Coldplay; and Jennifer Hudson singing a rousing, touching version of You Pulled Me Through that left her teary-eyed.

Hudson’s self-titled disc also won best R&B album. The Grammys also sought to tap into online traffic with official updates on Twitter and Facebook throughout the broadcast.

There were some oddities in the show including when Gwyneth Paltrow introduced not the giant British rock group that her husband, Chris Martin, plays in (Coldplay), but the giant British rock band they have often been compared to (Radiohead).

Other notable winners included Adele for best female pop vocal performance (Chasing Pavements); Duffy for best pop vocal album (Rockferry); and Estelle, who won her gong for the best rap/sung collaboration American Boy, featuring Kanye West. &&

Krauss is the most decorated female artist in Grammy history with 26 awards. Led Zeppelin, which was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2005, was never otherwise honoured by the Recording Academy.