LOS ANGELES — Linkin Park bassist Phoenix might never top the birthday he had Wednesday. Not only did he get a Grammy, he got to perform with the most famous bass player of all time.
"I was trying to figure out what it felt like, and it was like in seventh grade asking a girl to a dance. You know, when you're excited and you're super-nervous about it and you feel uncomfortable in your own skin," Phoenix recalled backstage of Linkin Park's onstage collaboration with former Beatle Paul McCartney.
"You have a seventh-grade crush on Paul McCartney?" singer Chester Bennington interrupted, ruining the moment.
"I actually just turned 13," Phoenix jokingly replied. "I'm waiting for them to play 'Lady in Red.' "
Now that would be a mash-up. Until then, though, Linkin Park are thrilled with how their "Numb/Encore" with Jay-Z meshed with McCartney's "Yesterday" during the big show (see "Jay-Z And Linkin Park Set To Mash Up Grammy Stage").
"The Grammys asked us to perform with Jay-Z since we were nominated for the mash-up, but since we already played together on some really high-profile stages with our MTV special and with Live 8, we wanted to do something really special that showcased the power of the mash-up," explained guitarist Brad Delson, who orchestrated the performance. "So we had this idea to do something with Paul, and when I went to Mike [Shinoda]'s house and we were listening to some of the older Beatles songs to see what would work best, 'Yesterday' really popped its head up."
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"It was a natural decision," the singer said. "My record can wait. A good record should still sound good two years from now."
Shinoda, meanwhile, will balance recording with Linkin Park and promoting his Fort Minor album (see "Linkin Park MC Gets Director With Flair For Video With Flares"). He's touring off and on through the spring and just shot a video for the third single, "Where'd You Go."
"A lot of people write about being on the road and I wanted to write a song about that from a different perspective, from the perspective of the people who get left behind," Shinoda said of the track. "And I have a really great guest on that song, her name is Holly Brooke, she is a new artist signed to our label [Machine Shop], but she doesn't sound anything like our label. She's a singer/songwriter like Joni Mitchell, Dido, Sarah McLachlan, and she just added her flavor to it. We are really excited about the song and the video."
For more on Fort Minor, check out the feature "Fort Minor: A Guided Tour."
For more on Rick Rubin, check out the feature "What's Up With That Bearded Guy In The '99 Problems' Video."
The show's over, but there's still plenty of Grammy goodness right here on MTVNews.com. Check out photos of the hottest green-carpet and onstage moments, find out what went down at the celeb-packed parties, and share your thoughts on the performers, winners and losers. Plus watch videos of all the nominees on MTV.com and check out exclusive video footage from the big night on Overdrive.
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