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Feb 14, 2011 By Mark Redfern Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs beat out such heavyweights as Eminem, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, the last award of the night. It was surprising enough when they were nominated and it didn’t seem likely that they’d triumph over such mainstream competition. The band seemed equally surprised and were backstage when the award was announced, having just played “Month of May.” The award was presented by Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and lead singer Win Butler got on his knees just before approaching the microphone, and his first words were “What the hell?” After accepting the award, the band played “Ready to Start.”

The Black Keys won “Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals” for “Tighten Up,” beating out Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start;” for “Best Alternative Music Album” for Brothers, beating Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Broken Bells, and Vampire Weekend; and for “Best Recording Package.” Muse’s The Resistance won for “Best Rock Album.” Cee-Lo Green’s “Fuck You” won for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance.” The latter was performed by Cee Lo with the help of some Muppets and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Even though both Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons lost “Best New Artist” to Esperanza Spalding, both got to perform at the Grammys. Florence Welch was part of the opening Aretha Franklin tribute and Mumford and Sons performed “The Cave” and then joined The Avett Brothers in backing up Bob Dylan. All-in-all it was a fairly current Grammys with a healthy focus on “good” artists, culminating with Arcade Fire’s win.

Here are some video highlights (via Consequence of Sound):

Arcade Fire:

Mumford and Sons, Avett Brothers, and Bob Dylan:

Aretha Franklin Tribute Featuring Florence Welch:

Janelle Monáe, B.O.B., and Bruno Mars:

Cee-lo Green, Gwyneth Paltrow, and some Muppets:

Muse: