Last night, the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards aired live. Performances were in high gear this year with some hitting the mark more than others. The night kicked off with a tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The tribute was carried out by Christina Aguilera, Martina McBride, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, and Yolanda Adams.
The women did not hold back, and the crowd was not disappointed. There were plenty other performances to be excited about throughout the evening as well.
Bruno Mars, B.o.B., and Janelle Monae showed the best of what young, new artists had to offer. Justin Bieber, Jaden Smith, and Usher showed sweet moves along with their performance. Muse showed the crowd what alternative music was all about with their rendition of ‘Uprising.’
Cee Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow gave everyone something to talk about with their addition the Muppets and Green’s outrageous costumes. Katy Perry gave the audience a first time look at her wedding footage. Mick Jagger, in spite of his age, had everyone in the crowd and at home dancing and singing along.
Drake and Rihanna showed off their chemistry. The top performance of the night had to be that of Eminem, Rihanna, Dr. Dre, Skylar Grey, and Adam Levine. They all took the stage by storm and showed everyone what they were all about with the show-stopping ‘Need A Doctor.’
Unfortunately the show had to have winners and losers, and that included the performances as well. Miranda Lambert bored the crowd and took away from the excitement of the show. Mumford & Sons and Avett Brothers could not measure up to the performances before, possibly due to the addition of Bob Dylan. As for the Norah Jones, John Mayer, and Keith Urban collaboration, and the performance by Arcade Fire, they were, to be nice, less than impressive.
Finally, although it pains me to say it, I expected more from Lady Gaga. The performance felt tamed and lacked any wow factor. I think Madonna did it better with ‘Express Yourself’ 20 years ago, 1989.