Grammys

U2’s opener—Boots on. Raring to go. The Dubliners bring it once again. Always a good time, U2’s “Get on Your Boots” introduces a fresh twist to their signature sound, and Bono’s look is all kinds of “Who’s your Daddy.” Nice!


It was inspiring to see Whitney looking so good fresh out of _________ …and then she opened her mouth. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the culprit of her awkward syntax and delivery, but something just wasn’t quite right. I’m pulling for Whitney, though. And Britney. Whitney and Britney. Now there’s a pop collaboration for you. I’d pay money to see that drama play out. Wonder where Britney was tonight? Did I miss her red carpet appearance? The similarities between these two iconic women is hitting me all of a sudden…

Jennifer Hudson. Touching acceptance speech and then the song. UH! She did it proud, though she was clearly having trouble keeping the tears from taking over. For people who don’t sing, it’s almost easier to sing with laryngitis than to push a tone through suppressed tears. Jennifer was just precious, and an honor, I’m sure, to her present and departed family.


Mmm, speaking of Britney, how ‘bout it, Mister Timberlake? The man is liquid smooth. That voice—I gotta say it, Justin Timberlake was hot all over the Grammys. The best part was he made the Reverend Al Green look and sound like a million bucks, very becoming for a junior in the industry to pay respect to a historically influential music legend like Al Green. It was a proud moment. Al’s still got it, especially when you consider that he was filling in with about 1 hour’s notice for Rihanna. A class act that keeps his cool. Nice to see you again, Reverend.

In other news, it's shaping up like Chris Brown played Ike to Rihanna's Tina (alleged only at this point), and then turned himself in to the police for the assault charge. Both were scheduled to perform and backed out very late in the afternoon, mere hours before showtime. Rihanna reportedly suffered facial bruising, but Chris managed to suffer no injuries. Well, good for him. His mama must be so proud.

Back to the show.

Coldplay. I make no apologies for my firm belief that the addition of a rap from Jay Z in the midst of Coldplay’s medley was an interruption, not an asset. It didn’t flow, and did nothing for neither Chris Martin’s piano solo segment or for Jay Z. This collaboration seemed forced, and I was relieved to see it come to a quick end.

Carrie Underwood. Kicked ass. Featured a shredding female lead guitarist. Double whammy. It was good. Very good. She is the only country artist that performed solo tonight and actually raised the bar. We all know her last name.

The Swift-Cyrus duo hurt my ears and eyes. I believe they should have been seated at the kids table, in the other room. I will, however, admit that Taylor’s SNL performance recently was impressive. Would that she could have gone it alone tonight.


Stevie Wonder is a kind and gracious man.





Katy “Nobody-told-me-there’d-be-choreography” Perry. Bless her heart. I’ve seen looser women in seminary than she was dancing that number tonight. Thank God for her cleavage.

Kenny Chesney was a big yawn, which was weird because he was introduced as an amazing entertainer. He is an amazing entertainer, record-breaking even, but his song choice was a double shot of Nyquil. Disappointing, and the levels were all off—you could barely hear his voice over the music and he kept fading the ends of his phrases by pulling too far from the mike at the end of each line. Kenny Chesney has a beautiful voice. Maybe a Grammy audience will get to hear it sometime.


Natalie Cole looked ten feet tall, no?

I can’t think of a thing I want to say about John Mayer. Oh, he performed as a part of the Bo Diddley tribute. There, that should do it.


MIA scared me. I couldn’t get past the outfit, and felt the urge to shadow her with out-stretched arms to prevent an accidental fall. Thankfully, Kanye stepped in with his reliable smooth stylings. He brought Jay-Z, TI and Lil Wayne with him. Eh, it was alright.











Sir Paul with the luckiest drummer alive Dave Grohl. Not that Dave is not a talent in his own right, but let’s face it—it musta been a dream gig for him. Paul McCartney is a presence, and—as usual—gave a spot-on performance. He doesn’t disappoint, ever, and we are lucky to still have him and have him still making music. I do miss John, though. Half of a whole.











Adele redeemed a pop collaboration with Sugarland. I’ll be downloading Adele tomorrow. What a voice. These soulful British chicks—what gives? It’s like they have a direct link to yesteryear Motown, like nothing’s changed in British pop since Lennon and McCartney were fawning over spinning 45s. Lucky us. More, please.

Welcome, Radiohead. I’ve missed you. The performance was flawless, a real pleasure. I’ll be downloading you tomorrow as well.

JT and TI delivered the goods. I’m really impressed with TI. He showed talent and entertainment tonight, the spark that I felt was missing from Jay-Z and even Kanye compared to his usual delivery. JT has a beautiful voice and the soul of a performer, a crowd-pleasing combination that gets you on your feet. Finally.

The Four Tops tribute was a sing-along free-for-all. Who doesn’t know the words to these songs, and what more fitting tribute to this iconic group of a generation?

Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” took me way back. This guy—is it me, or does he just get better and better with age?

Coldplay had a good night but were denied album of the year. That honor went to Robert Plant and Allison Krauss for Raising Sand, produced by T-Bone Burnette. They performed “Rich Woman” and “Gone Gone Gone!” beautifully earlier in the evening, but I have “best album” doubts. Of course, I love Coldplay, so I’m partial.

I did come away with a great list for downloads for tomorrow to broaden my music collection. Here are a few I’ll be googling later.

Jennifer Hudson
See what Whitney’s working on
Justin Timberlake (last song I have is “Cry Me a River”—ouch!)
Al Green classics
Kid Rock’s Rock ‘n Roll Jesus (I have a weakness for Southern rock)
Radiohead (going to get reacquainted with this old friend of my youth)
Adele—leading to Dido, Joss Stone, and Colbie Caillat (keep forgetting to look for these)
John Coltrane (U2 always reminds me to look for him)
Maybe the Plant/Krauss stuff, once I’m over the Coldplay loss

Off to bed. Night, y’all.