While awards ceremonies have generally struggled with decreasing audiences over the past several years, this year’s annual Grammy Awards registered a 10% increase in viewership, despite a more disjointed telecast than usual.

Album sales may have dropped over the years, but the interest in music is still high, if the Grammy Awards audiences can be considered relevant. 

According to early figures from Nielsen Media Research, Sunday’s 51st annual Grammy Awards telecast which was broadcast live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was watched by more than 19 million people, which marks a healthy 10 percent rise from last year when the viewership was probably the lowest ever, and higher than it's been for three of the past four years. Among young viewers ages 18 to 34, ratings were up 23 percent.

The Grammys telecast from the previous year drew around 17 million viewers, which means off 12 percent from the year before, and down 42 percent from the all-time high of 30 million in 1993. However, this year’s ceremony was only the sixth most-watched of the last 10 Grammys.

Explaining the higher ratings, a statement released by CBS executive vice president in charge of special programming Jack Sussman, said it was probably because the broadcast included “something for every generation, and importantly, it was supported by a marketing campaign for every platform.”

The show was advertised everywhere from a Katie Couric prime-time special earlier in the week, to a marketing push on social-networking websites like Facebook and Twitter.

Despite the higher ratings, the show failed to impress the critics who rated the event as average. According to Brian McCollum, pop music critic for the Detroit Free Press, this year’s ceremony was probably “one of the most sizzle-free Grammy events in recent memory, marked by tepid live performances, unmemorable acceptance speeches and low-key presenters with dud jokes.”

The night was packed with more than 30 live performers from tantalizing young pop stars like the Jonas Brothers, who played alongside Stevie Wonder, and Katy Perry to industry warhorses Paul McCartney and Neil Diamond, along with wild cards M.I.A. and Radiohead.