The EMI Post Grammy Party at the W Hollywood Hotel.
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At the Grammy Awards Gold Carpet post party at Boulevard3.
At the Maxwell Grammy Party at SkyBar in West Hollywood, California.
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At the Universal Motown Republic Group Grammy Nominee 2010 Cocktail Party held at W Los Angeles.
Katy Winn / AP Photo
The EMI Post Grammy Party at the W Hollywood Hotel.
Dan Steinberg / AP Photo
The EMI Post Grammy Party at the W Hollywood Hotel.
The EMI Post Grammy Party at the W Hollywood Hotel.
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Where's Kanye when you need him? Taylor Swift took home the night's biggest award, for Album of the Year, beating out Beyonce and Lady Gaga, among others. She also snagged the award for Best Country Album. When she stepped onstage earlier in the evening, she told the audience she was, "standing here accepting an impossible dream right now." During her performance, Swift made another dream come true when she said, "It is a fairytale and an honor to share a stage with Stevie Nicks." The Fleetwood Mac singer then joined her onstage and the two sang her '70s classic "Rhiannon" as well as Swift's recent hit "You Belong With Me."
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The Grammys opened with a generation-spanning collaboration between Lady Gaga and Elton John, with remixed versions of both artists' songs. The musicians sat at two pianos, each wearing bedazzled eyewear. After Gaga appeared in an emerald crystallized bodysuit singing a slowed version of "Poker Face," a ringmaster announced: "Everyone's going goo goo for Gaga." Soon thereafter, she reappeared at a piano across from Sir Elton John, who had makeup smeared on his face. The two outrageous singers did a mash-up of her "Speechless" and his "Your Song" as monster arms reached up from the pianos.
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We may have lost Michael Jackson, but at the Grammys, audiences got the next-best-thing: a moving 3-D performance of his famous "Earth Song." Smokey Robinson, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Celine Dion all took the stage to pay homage to the King of Pop. When portraits of Jackson appeared on screens at the close of the performance, the crowd gave the group a standing ovation. After the performance, Lionel Richie welcomed Jackson’s children, Paris and Prince Jackson, to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf. Dressed in matching outfits inspired by their father, Prince thanked the fans, who were "always there for him," while Paris closed with, "We love you, Daddy."
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Beyoncé picked up Best Song of the Year for "Single Ladies"—but she wasn’t there to accept it. Instead, she was backstage, prepping for her big performance. When she finally came onstage, Beyoncé rushed through the aisles with her SWAT team of dancers in an industrial metallic mini singing a slow version of her single, "If I Were A Boy." She then jumped surprisingly to a cover of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" before closing out the standing ovation-worthy performance of her original song.
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Taking a break from the up-beat performances, Grammy audiences paused to remember the victims of the Haitian earthquake. Wyclef Jean, a native of the destroyed island nation, spoke to the crowd in Creole before he introduced Andrea Bocelli, Mary J. Blige, and David Foster who sang a powerful rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
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Rock band Kings of Leon, which took home the award for Record of the Year for “Use Somebody,” all looked dapper in sleek Burberry suits.
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Stephen Colbert's opening act featured a special guest: his teenage daughter, Madeleine. Colbert incorporated customary swipes at the year's performers, mentioning that of all of the duets and combination performances, "You know what combination I'd love to see? Adam Lambert and some self-restraint on stage together. Hey, it's the Grammys, anything could happen." After he took the stage, he asked his daughter, who was seated in the audience, if she felt he looked "cool" up on stage. She shook her head. Then he pulled out an iPad. "Do I look cool now?" he asked. "No," Madeleine mouthed. Finally, when Colbert won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album of the year, he asked one final time: "Am I cool now?" Finally, she nodded.
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All hail! Lady Gaga’s dress was so massive she could barely get out of her car when it pulled up at the Staples Center. She entered through a side door—and didn’t even stop to talk to press. “It was like the queen had arrived,” The Daily Beast’s Jacob Bernstein wrote from the event. Gaga’s Armani Privé dress orbited around her like a solar system—cut high in the front and spreading into a train in the back—and she held a scepter-like star in one hand. She’s rumored to be changing into five different Armani Privé dresses tonight. “Is it Armani or is it Casa Armani?” Kathy Griffin asked The Daily Beast. “Because I love it but it might be a dining room table.”
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Newly engaged duo Katy Perry and Russell Brand were in fine form on the red carpet Sunday night: Perry wore a mesh, skin-colored Zac Posen dress, adorned with metal discs. “If there are any magnets or things, I will be pulled off,” she laughed, explaining that their recent trip to India inspired her style for the evening. And about their upcoming wedding, Brand—who showed off his chest hair in an open suit—told Ryan Seacrest: “You’re the high priest of celebrity culture…You could marry us.”
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Miley Cyrus wore a grey silk mini-dress by Hervé Léger – but looked very much herself in jewels by Lorraine Schwartz and messy hair. When asked about a bauble she recently wore on her ring-finger, Cyrus explained: “I’m not engaged. I bought it myself…If I do get a promise ring, it better be real.”
Chris Pizzello / AP Photo
Rihanna was a vision in white in Elie Saab with structural hips, chiffon appliqué, and feathers around the bodice’s high neck. “Gotta look cute,” she said as she posed for E! with her accompanying earrings and bracelet by Neil Lane and Diamond in the Rough rings. The two-time 21-year-old nominee took home the award for best rap song along with Jay-Z, Kanye West, and producers of “Run This Town.”
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Taylor Swift looked all grown up in a glittering blue off-the-shoulder dress by Kaufman Franco. When asked about whether she’d be nervous about accepting an award during the show, Swift laughed, “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?"
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Set to perform "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with Andrea Bocelli for a tribute to Haiti, Mary J. Blige brought some brightness in a fuchsia Gucci cut-out dress. But even the R&B queen could not get over the Haus of Gaga. "Oh my God. Look at Lady Gaga!” Blige screamed. "She’s so courageous."
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With a checkered shirt under a three-piece suit and gigantic aviator glasses, Usher, with Mya, paid his respects to Michael Jackson, whom he called "a pop icon, the king of the stage." He could not, however, name his favorite MJ moment, instead commenting on the late star's role as a "quadruple threat—he could do anything," and thanked him for teaching us that we must "take care of our planet."
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Ciara wore a black lace dress by Givenchy – with knotted shoulders and large jewels on the lapel, which she matched with Cartier jewels. Of course you have to cover up your “mmmm and your ah ah,” she said of her revealing look.
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Sheryl Crow wore a simple brown halter dress by Bottega Veneta, and accessorized with Lorraine Schwartz jewels. "I live a pretty quiet life," she said. "I get away with a lot."
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Nicole Kidman supported husband Keith Urban at the show, wearing a black bejeweled halter dress by Prada and Fred Leighton diamonds.
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Pink stunned on the red carpet in a strapless ombre gown that went from silver to grey to black. She wore a Judith Leiber clutch and over $2.5 million-worth of Neil Lane diamond jewelry. "I'm going to be wet, and it’s going to be really fun," Pink said before the performance. And she didn’t disappoint: Pink stripped into a mesh body suit and ribbon for her performance – in which she was suspended over the stage in cloth, and dunked in water. She tweeted afterwards: "I had so much fun tonight- this year has been a home coming for me, so thanks everybody. Seriously. I got a standing O. Happy tonight."
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Nominated for two Grammys, including best new artist, Keri Hilson shined in a mermaid Dolce & Gabbana gown. Guiliana dePandi’s awkward questioning seemed to doubt Hilson’s place in the music world, as she pressed her to identify how many people she knew at the event, and who she hadn’t seen yet. Hilson calmly replied that she had yet to see “a lot” of her celebrity friends.
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Jennifer Hudson, who is participating in the Michael Jackson tribute at the performance, hit the red carpet in an architectural black Victoria Beckham dress and straight bangs.
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Kathy Griffin hit the red carpet in a glittering dress which she said was from “the Carolina Herrera sample sale -- which is deep in the gay mafia” and Fendi shoes. Griffin, whose Christmas Cheer: Suck It is nominated for Best Comedy Album, said: “I’m not just in the Shmammy’s, which are the noontime Grammys, but I get to be in the Real Live Lady Gaga, Jonas Brothers Grammys.” E!’s Giuliana dePandi asked her who, if she wins, will she tell to “suck it?” Griffin replied, “Anyone who has ever fired me, which would include the E! channel, of course.”
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American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert glittered in his bejeweled black suit jacket and bow tied around his neck. He paired the look with his signature spiky hair and eye makeup.
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Straight from the Jersey Shore, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino stood by castmate Nicole “Snooki" Polizzi, who strutted down the red carpet in a banded purple Guess by Marciano dress. "I really like it because it shows my cleavage," she said of her garment choice. "And I always wear black, so why not do purple? It still makes me look tan, and I'm gonna look bangin', pretty much."
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When Glee star Lea Michele appeared on the red carpet, she seemed all ready to go—except she couldn’t remember what she was wearing. When Ryan Seacrest asked about her short black dress, Michele froze: “What designer am I wearing today?” she shouted to her publicist who was standing by with her Blackberry. The answer? Romona Keveza. “I had an insane wardrobe malfunction today,” Michele explained, describing the white dress she almost left home in. “You could see through the entire thing,” she told Seacrest. “Wait!” he said, “We would have rather had that.”
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Thank God the Grammy Awards producers didn’t forget about the funniest performer of the year: "General" Larry Platt performed Idol favorite “Pants on the Ground” during E!’s pre-show holding, appropriately, a handful of leather belts.
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Heidi Klum went short in a metallic, skin-colored dress. “I never wear pants,” the supermodel joked about taking charge when it comes to Valentine’s Day plans.
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The Black Eyed Peas had already won three Grammys in the pre-show before they even hit the red carpet. Fergie stunned in a blue Pucci dress, a Kwiat cuff, Jessica Robinson ring and earrings, Le Silla shoes, and a Judith Leiber clutch.
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Carrie Underwood looked a world away from her country roots in a sleek asymmetrical white gown by Edition by George Chakra with silver leather straps. "This is all new for him, we'll take some pictures together and ease him into my world," Underwood said of her fiancé, Mike Fisher.
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