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Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs' Wins Best Album in Grammy Upset

Arcade FireAP

Almost immediately after Arcade Fire single-handedly reminded Grammy viewers why rock 'n' roll still matters with a bombastic BMX and strobe-assisted rendition of 'Month of May' -- a performance that left nobody, despite the song's sarcastic lyrics, "standing with their arms folded tight" -- their latest longplayer, 'The Suburbs,' was announced as the night's shocking best album winner.

Emerging from backstage en masse, the sprawling Canadian group looking as gobsmacked as the audience when Barbra Streisand stuttered her way through their album title. "What the hell?" exclaimed band leader Win Butler, echoing pretty much everyone's thoughts.

Though Arcade Fire have become the biggest indie band in the world over the past year, and 'The Suburbs' debuted atop the Canadian, American and British charts, they were still underdogs compared to category competitors like Eminem's 'Recovery,' Lady Gaga's 'The Fame Monster' and Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now.'

"I'd like to say merci, thank you, to Montreal for taking us in, giving us a home, a place to be in a band," added Butler, who moved to la belle ville from Texas with his brother Will before meeting wife/bandmate Régine Chassagne and starting Arcade Fire. "We're gonna go play another song, because we like music. So thank you, we're so happy. Bye, everyone leave to this song!"

And then in what may be a first for the Grammy awards, Arcade Fire spontaneously returned to their instruments and, with nobody stopping them, blasted out a literally triumphant version of 'Ready to Start,' a song that had lost to Black Keys earlier in the night.

As the audience got to their feet for this unscheduled performance, and the cameras kept rolling, Arcade Fire managed another first -- making viewers happy that the 2011 Grammy awards ran long.

Arcade Fire Perform 'Ready to Start' at the Grammys

Grammys 2011 Grammy Red Carpet

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jj

u rock my day to work on my ipod every morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 14 2011 at 5:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jj

you guys rock my day to work on my ipod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 14 2011 at 5:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply