Mumford & Sons win big as Grammys go younger
Gotye and Kimbra also honoured as awards ceremony ushers in new generation of artists who are less reliant on traditional music sales
The Grammy Awards gave their top honour to British roots music band Mumford & Sons for their album Babel on a night that distributed honours to an array of younger acts including New York indie rock trio Fun., Australian electronic pop artist Gotye, rapper-R&B singer Frank Ocean and rock group the Black Keys.
"We figured we weren't going to win because the Black Keys have been sweeping up all day - and deservedly so," Mumford & Sons front man Marcus Mumford said after he and his band members strode to the stage at Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Sunday to collect the award from last year's winner, R&B-soul singer Adele.
We figured we weren't going to win because the Black Keys have been sweeping up all day - and deservedly so
Pop culture historians may look back at 2013, however, as more than the year that the Grammy Awards ushered a new generation of performers into the upper echelon of music industry accolades.
It may also be seen as the year the music business establishment gave up its long, unsuccessful fight against new forms of music dissemination by embracing songs and videos that consumers soaked up not by purchasing them but by way of YouTube and other internet outlets.
Somebody That I Used to Know, the wildly popular collaboration between Gotye and New Zealand pop singer Kimbra, took the top award presented for a single recording upon being named record of the year, which recognises performance and record production.
Somebody was not only one of the biggest-selling singles of last year, but also has notched nearly 400 million views on YouTube, powerfully demonstrating the increasingly vital role of the "broadcast yourself" video internet phenomenon.
"I'm really at a loss for what to say after receiving an award from the man standing behind us with a cane," said Gotye, born Wally de Backer, referring to pop star Prince, who announced the category winner.