2011 GRAMMY AWARDS....WHAT A NIGHT!!

     This Sunday was the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In my previous post, I discussed who would be performing at what is coined "Music's Biggest Night". I must say I was well-pleased with the performances.....All of them. Okay, so lets get to it!

     Kicking off the night was a stirring tribute to the legendary Aretha Franklin. Partaking in this tribute was gospel-great Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Martina McBride, and Florence of Florence and The Machine. I'm not surprised by the first three, but Martina and Florence took me by surprise. Following her tragic Superbowl performance last week, Christina bounced back with this one, out-singing all of her peers. including Jennifer Hudson!! Not to be ingored however, was Florence. She really showed off her pipes in this performance!! It was an excellent way to open the show.

     There werent many awards given out that evening. Instead they decided to give us a full blown concert...And what a concert it was!
     The next performance (and the one we were all waiting for) was GAGA!!! Judging from her previous performances which included breaking glass and blood and goth, I must admit I was a little disappointed with Lady G's performance. She seemed off with the choreography and the singing was only OK. To put it in so many words, I've seen better!

     Following this debacle was yet another. Miranda Lambert took the stage to perform some song. Now, dont get me wrong, I dont hate country music, but that performance was just B-O-R-I-N-G!! I really dont even remember it. They could have swapped her out for Adele who's currently #1 in 17 COUNTRIES!!! Now thats a performance I would have liked to see!!

     Lenny Kravitz took the stage to introduce Muse who really livened things up with with their hard-rocking song "Uprising". They are starting to become one of my favorites, along with a few other names

     Up next was one of the highlights of the night. Nominees Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae, and B.O.B. all took the stage for a collaborative performance. This was most definitely one of the most entertaining performances of the night. Bruno and B.O.B. kicked off the set with an acoustic version of "Nothing on You" with Janelle singing beautiful background vocals. After that Bruno took the stage and gave a bluesy rendition of "Grenade" which was a crowd pleaser. And the came Janelle. Singing her hit song "Cold War" she took the crowd by storm dancing and sliding across the stage. She even did a stage dive. (Now when's the last time you've seen that at the Grammy's). Definitely one of the best performances of the night!

     Up next was everyones favorite haircut...Thats right, the Bieb!!! Justin Bieber took the stage, much to the delight of all teenage girls across America. He started off with a tribute to Usher (weird) Then proceeded to perform "Baby" and "Never Say Never". He was soon joined onstage by Jaden Smith as they both "fought off ninjas" in a tribute to Smiths latest movie "Karate Kid". And just when you thought it was over "Daddy's Home". Usher took the stage to perform his massive hit "OMG" before being joined onstage by his son Beiber. That outfit he had on reminded me of Bobby Brown circa 1990 (He is practically wearing the same thing in his "Every Little Step I Take" video) Also, another great performance!

     The next performance was that of newcomers Mumford & Sons, who performed their hit "The Cave" before being joined onstage by the Avett Brothers (not familiar) and also the legendary Bob Dylan. Mumfords performance was GREAT, the other two, not so much. But it was entertaining, considering this being my first time witnessing Bob Dylan on stage.

What I didnt understand was that completely lackluster "tribute" to Teddy Pendergrass  done by Lady Antebellum. They sung exactly ONE LINE of his song before going into "Need You Now", which they won an award for afterward. The performance was good. I love the song, but it was kind of low-energy...but then again, what can you expect from Country music (I'm just saying, not stepping on any toes)

Up next was yet another highlight of the night. The eccentric Cee-Lo Green took the stage by storm performing his smash hit "F*** You". Not only was the song good, but he performed it in a space-age-George-Clinton-meets-Big-Bird outfit that was a feast (or a sore) to the eyes. He was joined on stage by muppet like puppets that looked like throwback Fraggle Rock characters. It was incredible!! Somehow, the theme of that song and the theme of that performance seemed to fit just right. And if that wasnt enough for you, joining him on stage was the lovely Gwenyth Paltrow. Now THAT was something I didnt expect at all....excellent performance

Cee-Lo was followed by Katy Perry who performed "Teenage Dream" and "Firework". Great performance...nothing really spectacular. She arrived on stage from a swing and her extra long dress served as a screen for the projector. Thats about it.

     Perry was followed by Rihanna and Eminem...and then Rihanna and Drake. Its not often that an artist gets to perform twice on the Grammys. Rihanna is definitely hot stuff right now.....but those performances....Umm. Now dont get me wrong, she had Drake to help her out for a minute but when its just her....its a sight to see, not a sound to hear.

I was a bit disappointed with The Rolling Stones frontman's performance. This is supposedly Mick Jagger's first ever Grammy performance (That is a hard fact to swallow, I still find it hard to believe) I was expecting to get some "satisfaction" out of this performance, yet somehow I found myself yawning! I dont think its Mick getting older, I think it was the material he was singing. Solomon Burke is a soul singer, so if you're gonna do a tribute, the performer should be a soul singer, right? Not the case here. I love the Stones and I love Mick Jagger....but I did not like this performance....at all.

This just about sums up the highlights of "music's biggest night". I can honestly see why Sunday had the highest ratings in 11 years. All in all, it was an amazing show! To see full performances click here

SUPERBOWL 45: THE PERFORMANCES

Okay, so by now we should all know that Green Bay won the 45th Annual SuperBowl. I kind of had a feeling they would. I still say "black & yellow" all day!! But I'm not here to talk sports.

Besides the fact that last night was one good game, the entertainment part of it was.....ehh...it was okay....Just that...okay. For starters lets talk about Christina Aguilera

This has been a trying couple months for Christina Aguilera. Her last album "Bionic" failed to reach the level of success that her previous albums have done, and her breakout role in last years Burlesque did little to garner much hype and the movie turned out to be a major FLOP. I really feel bad for Christina. I had really high hopes for her....and I still do, but she seems to keep making one bad move after another. Last night was definitely another bad move. The pop diva was slated to sing the "ever so cliche'" National Anthem at the opening of the Super Bowl. All seemed to be going well until she got to the second verse...the line reads "For the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming". What Christina sang sounded nothing like that. I think the only word she got right out of that line was "watched". To see the full performance, click here. What really tripped me out was right after she flubbed the line and the two players for Green Bay looked at each other like "Huh?? That aint what it says" right before they realized they were on the big screen! LOL!! I thought that was hilarious!


The night's highlight (or lowlight, for some) was the once-great-but-watered-down-because-of-Nipplegate Halftime Show. I've witnessed this show go downhill ever since someone decided to show a little "nip nip". It was once a great spectacle to see; like Michael Jackson in 1993 & Tina Turner's highly energetic 2000 performance, and also the great N*SYNC/Britney/Mary J. Blidge/Aerosmith/Nelly mash-up of 2002. However, after the disaster of 2004 the Halftime Show turned into something you actually get up and get refreshments to, not actually watch! This year the NFL decided to liven it up once again with the Black Eye Peas. The all-star group performed a string of hits from their vault. They're performance was a good one, but seemed to lack a certain rawness about it. (Like when did the BEP start doing choreography?) Even when Fergie tried to cut loose with Slash on Gun's n Roses classic hit "Sweet Child O' Mine", it just seemed too rehearsed. All in all, it was cool, I guess.

What really took me by surprise was Usher's surprise performance of "OMG". Now THAT was a performance! He should have just performed the whole thing!....Wait, nevermind, I take that back.
After his all too brief performance, the Black Eye Peas resumed the stage to deliver a few more hits. Am I the only one who noticed they didn't do "My Humps"? I guess it was too "risque" for censors. For the full Halftime Show, click here


 I can tell that the Halftime Show is slowly starting to regain its glory. Even though this show was more or less lackluster, it was still the best Halftime Show they've had in years....and that says a lot!