Ah the GRAMMYs, for one night to have all that talent in one room. I have to say, I did like LL Cool J hosting the awards show, he brought a nice touch to them and did a nice job paying respect to Whitney Houston (as did everyone else). But as much as I love seeing the performances, I have to ask, what happened to all the awards? I feel like there were maybe 10 awards presented on TV and every time someone was introduced it was like “with two new GRAMMYs tonight….,” okay but what did they win for? Want the full list, click here.
Also I have to say I was not a fan of so many musicians getting multiple performances at the awards. I get it, they crossover to different genres but there are plenty of musicians who made an impact in the last year of music who could have also had the grand stage to perform.
Enough rant, on to the performances.
- Bruce Springsteen – “We Take Care of Our Own” – loved the string section, and The Boss looked super calmed, relaxed and what a great way to start off the GRAMMYs. I really do love this song, it sounds like the gold old. Springsteen. Loved seeing Paul McCartney and Chris Martin singing along too.
- Touching tribute to start the GRAMMYs by LL Cool J
- Bruno Mars – Huge fan of his music and his appearance on the big stage confirmed it once again, he’s an electric personality and helping to bring back a style of music that has been missing from the mainstream attention. You couldn’t not be tapping your foot or clapping your hands during this performance.
- Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt – “Sunday Kind of Love” I could have listened to that for days, amazing voices.
- Chris Brown – The stage setup reminded me of Qbert, he keeps pushing to overtake Usher.
- Man, Kanye wins a GRAMMY and not present, go figure! Well we got once less random rant
- Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson – If country is your thing…..
- Foo Fighters – As expected, a rocking performance.
- Coldplay and Rihanna – I thought Rihanna did a great job and I loved the way the Staples Center looked during “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.” I use to only like the remixed versions of that song and now I just love the original.
- Maroon5, Foster The People, Beach Boys – Who doesn’t love the Beach Boys? But I don’t know if it was just me but I was underwhelmed with this performance. I guess I was just expecting more and to be blown away. Plus all I kept thinking when I look at Mark Foster was commercial jingles.
- Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Joe Walsh – One word, Beautiful.
- The Civil Wars – So proud they got to perform at the GRAMMYs just wish they gave them more air time. At least two GRAMMY wins substantiates why they deserve this.
- Taylor Swift – Great job. My favorite thing about Taylor Swift is she gets so amazed at the crowd reception of her performances. Crazy to think we have basically watched her grow up through these award shows. I can’t wait for ten years from now and what she’s singing about.
- Katy Perry – um no
- Adele – She makes it look so easy and effortless. I love the confidence she showed on that stage and if you weren’t a believer before, you sure must be now. And wow what a reception from the crowd.
- Derek Trucks sighting!
- Glen Campbell, The Band Perry and Blake Shelton – who doesn’t like Rhinestone Cowboy! As a non knowing Country music person, I wonder if The Band Perry are going to be the next big thing.
- Nicki Minaj – next please
- David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne + Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 – I was really disappointed in how this appeared on TV, personally I think it was not as big, flashy and what it could have been on the biggest stage to date for EDM.
- Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood – just another day at the office for the legend.
- Jennifer Hudson – For real? That was incredible.
- Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl– how can you not love seeing these legends just jamming to close out the awards.
Do You Hear The Music? 
Thank you for recognizing that Katy Perry is a hack.