Lady Gaga is the talk of the red carpet, Stephen Colbert’s coolness factor rises at Grammys

Lady Gaga’s fashion sense captivates Grammy show

LOS ANGELES — She came in third in the diva Grammy race behind Beyonce and Taylor Swift, but if there had been a trophy for most courageous fashion statement, Lady Gaga would have taken it hands down.

Trading in her “Poker Face” for a spiky, silver headdress and matching, shimmering gown, Gaga was the talk of the red carpet at Sunday’s 52nd annual Grammy Awards. She also took home two Grammys, although Beyonce won six and Taylor Swift captured four, including album of the year.

GAGA’S GETUP: Before Sunday’s Grammy show had even begun, just about everyone on the red carpet was keeping an eye out and speculating on what outlandish outfit Lady Gaga might show up in this time.

“I’m going to go with lettuce,” said best new artist nominee Keri Hilson, who wore a body-hugging Dolce and Gabbana gown.

Rappers Redfoo and Sky Blu of LMFAO predicted Gaga would wear “a fish tank, with live fish and a snorkel.”

Alice Cooper’s guess?

“I think she’ll be wearing a Lionel train set on her head tonight, with the full smoke and everything like that. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I’ll be disappointed if she isn’t.”

Ringo Starr predicted an all-blue “Avatar” look.

“Anyway, who knows,” he added. “I want to be surprised.”

It’s a safe bet he was.

There was so much to Gaga’s shiny, silvery, three-dimensional number that she needed an escort to get her in and out of her seat in the audience.

At one point, though, she briefly changed out of her gown, putting on a green, fairy-winged bodysuit with matching sparkle booties when she performed the show’s opening number and dueted with Elton John.

GRAMMY RENAISSANCE MAN: He can tell jokes, keep the Grammy Awards show moving along, even handle a newfangled IPad.

But Stephen Colbert’s coolness factor with his daughter didn’t really rise until he won a Grammy Sunday, for best comedy album.

Throughout his opening monologue, Colbert, this year’s Grammy show host, asked his daughter Madeline whether he was cool. She kept shaking her head no.

Then, after he won, she nodded yes, her eyes wet with tears.

Colbert’s win came for the album “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All.”

“This is a Christmas album, so obviously I should thank Jesus Christ for having such a great birthday,” he said in accepting the award.

During the show, Colbert also played with an IPad, the new Apple toy that isn’t even on the market yet. His ability to get hold of one, he said, raised his coolness factor beyond that of even Jay-Z.

Backstage, he acknowledged it was on loan from Apple and he had to give it back after the show.

STANDING UP FOR HAITI: Wyclef Jean noted that he wore a Haitian flag on his back when he first appeared at the Grammy Awards with the Fugees back in 1996.

He was back in support of his native country again Sunday, this time asking for continued help as Haiti tries to recover from January’s deadly earthquake. He and numerous others arrived at the Grammys with tiny red crosses on their clothes in support of the effort.

“The Haitian people are strong, we are African people,” said Jean, who spoke in both English and his country’s native Creole. “We thank all of America for your support.”

Jean came on stage to introduce a duet by Mary J. Blige and Andre Bocelli on “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and to urge fans to buy the performance on iTunes to support Haitian relief.

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PINK IN THE SKY: The announcer wasn’t kidding when he warned the audience at the Staples Center, “Clear the aisles, folks. Please clear the aisles. We’ve got a lot of stunts going on in this next performance.”

The next thing people in the Grammy show audience saw was Pink and her golden backup acrobats soaring precariously overhead.

As she dangled from the ceiling, microphone in hand, Pink twirled around and around in an elegant, airy dance while singing “Glitter in the Air,” never missing a beat.

“I would say that no one else has an excuse to lip-synch,” she quipped afterward.

A gymnast for eight years, Pink said she has performed the daring, dangling routine 160 times during her most recent tour and wanted to show it off at the Grammys.

“I did the trapeze on the MTV awards and I wanted to do something a little more sophisticated,” she told reporters afterward.

AND NOW BACK TO WORK: For many Grammy guests, the musical celebration didn’t end with Sunday’s awards.

Jason Mraz, Akon, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Toni Braxton, Lady Gaga and others were set to begin work Monday on a new take on the charity song “We Are the World.”

Quincy Jones announced last week that he is redoing the 1985 hit to benefit earthquake recovery in Haiti.

Producer RedOne said being asked to participate was “the biggest honor a musician can ever do.”

“Having Quincy, our father of music … and Lionel Richie asking me to contribute and help, I said of course, because this is not about me,” he said. “It’s about Haiti.”

AP Entertainment writers Anthony McCartney and David Bauder contributed to this report.