The 52nd GRAMMY Awards officially came to a close after John Legend and Carlos Santana handed young Taylor Swift her the Album Of The Year GRAMMY. And what an incredible night it was. I was backstage covering the show and mingling with artists in and around the press area. Lots of fun and I got some great scoop from winners and presenters.
Multiple GRAMMY winner Taylor Swift was overjoyed with her success. While on her way out to catch a plane for Australia, she told a group of reporters that this was a dream come true for her. She was not just going to celebrate it on the plane, but for the rest of her live. "This is one of the moments in your life that you keep telling your grand kids about over and over again when you're 80 years old," she smiled.
Gaga told me backstage that she was happy about winning "Best Dance Recording" and "Best Dance/Electronica Album." She was planning on celebrating her wins, "You know how us New York girls are," she laughed. Her main songwriting pal RedOne was all smiles backstage. I asked him to keep on cranking out more great melodies. "You know I will," he smiled.
I was in absolute awe watching Pink's spectacular "Glitter In The Air" performance. This woman is fearless and so incredibly talented. This was my favorite performance of the night. Hands-down.
The GRAMMYs worked with Michael Jacksons' estate on the official Michael Jackson GRAMMY tribute that featured Celine Dion, Usher, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood. An unexpected and diverse group of performers who did a marvelous job honoring the King of Pop in a 3D experience that worked out very well. GRAMMY chief Neil Portnow explained backstage that having Michael's two children on stage was a wish from Michael Jackson's estate.
Kings of Leon were well-deserved winners who walked away with three GRAMMYs including Record of The Year. The three brothers and a cousin had been celebrating in a skybox together with their family, "Our mom is getting trashed right now, quiped drummer Nathan Followills backstage.
Beyonce blew the crowd away with her show-stopping performance that included dozens of dancers. The singer made GRAMMY history by picking up 6 GRAMMYs (including Song of the Year), which is more than any other female has ever received on a single night.
Colbie Callait won two GRAMMYs, including one with Jason Mraz for "Lucky" (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals). After she was a presenter together with Mick Fleetwood at the pre-televised show, she told me she loved working with Common recently and is looking forward to doing a little more hip hop.
Imogen Heap made a splash on the GRAMMY Red Carpet after winning a GRAMMY for Best Engineered Album, Non Classical (that is a prize which fits her well). Immi was dressed in a Twitter dress with an LED scroll that included tweets from fans. She was wearing a wireless modem as a handbag. She explained that she conceived her dress when she was looking around in her London studio and saw all the wires on the floor and LED across the soundboard. "It seemed a fun thing to do," she smiled. Indeed.
Soul man Maxwell was incredibly humble and gracious backstage after winning two GRAMMYs (his first!). After more than 8 years out of the spotlight he made a comeback of a lifetime. "It just took me 8 years to get to the place to be uncomfortable, to get anxious to make music. When you are in your comfort zone, it is a lot harder to make music and do new things. I needed that time away."
On a personal note, I'd like to thank everyone at The Recording Academy for giving me so much access to cover the event for the second time around. I'm truly honored to be part of the GRAMMYs and I can't thank you enough for everything you made possible. I would also like to thank all of YOU for following me on Twitter and Facebook and sending me your questions and comments. We were a great virtual team and we should do it again! (Pink photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)