LOS ANGELES — The parade of wins for Adele at the 54th annual Grammy Awards has begun, but Skrillex is absolutely reeling from his, even if it stops at these first three.
Skrillex — real name Sonny Moore — kept popping back up on the stage with utter excitement during the 2012 awards pre-telecast show, which featured the handing-out of the genre categories not covered by main telecast. The electronica artist/DJ picked up Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Dance Recording for “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” and its title track, respectively, on top of Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for the song “Cinema” (in conjunction with Benny Benassi).
The first time up, Moore thanked the EDM communtiy (spurring many adults to Google the term “EDM”).
“All the boats rise at the water,” he said, referring to electronic music. He described making his album in illegal warehouse space in L.A., smiling as his straight black hair bounded away from the shaved side of his head, black glasses matching the rest of his all-black-everything of his outfit.
The Foo Fighters were smiling a lot too and — at four awards — it was just getting funny.
“I asked my wife if it was OK to use my garage,” frontman Dave Grohl said, referring to the domestic comforts in recording “Wasting Light.” That set earned Best Rock Album. “This album was the most fun we’ve ever had making record.”
“Foo Fighters: Back And Forth” earned Best Long-Form Music Video, “White Limo” for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance and “Walk” for Best Rock Song.
The Foos mostly rocked t-shirts and tennies under some formal wear, but they certainly didn’t dare to skip this afternoon outing. Grohl remembered when Vince Gill warned that one should always “come to the pre-tel. And I completely agree.”
Not everybody agrees — or are simply very busy with their forthcoming show performance. Adele is being welcomed back to the stage after months recovering from throat surgery. She earned Best Pop Vocal Album for “21” and Best Short Form Music Video for “Rolling in the Deep,” the track that is almost guaranteed to score her additional honors.
Kanye West won just as many awards as Skrillex — three, for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album– during the pre-tel, but he nor his “All of the Lights” or “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” collaborators were present to pick up.
Two country crossover artists nabbed two impressive awards a piece: Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars. Swift reacted with her usual delighted surprise as “Mean” led recently de-gendered categories, Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.
“There’s nothing like writing a song… for someone who makes your life miserable and then winning a Grammy for it,” the 22-year-old songwriter said of the anti-bullying track, culled from her album “Speak Now.”
Joy Williams of country-folk duo Civil Wars was on hand to show off her newly confirmed baby bump. “we really are a DIY band,” she said.
John Paul Williams, her songwriting and performing partner thanked his family for their patience with their DIY-ness. “We’re gone all the time, we’re in a van or a bus. My wife and four kids never see me,” he gushed, devoting his win to them.