 "Photo: photo courtesy popcrunch.com")
The Grammy’s used to be considered a way for music fans and every day folk to determine which artists were the true mavericks of the music industry. They represented authority and wisdom — Yoda of the music world, if you will. However, with the music industry crippling in the death grip of iTunes and the Internet, are the Grammy’s even relevant anymore? With the show’s array of anti-climactic performances and no-surprise wins, it’s obvious that the Grammy’s are following the fat-cat strategy of focusing on sales and favoritism, rather than artistic strength and ability.
The Performances
Lady Gaga: The Grammy’s kicked off with its by far most memorable performance. Gaga showed viewers a glimpse of the Fame Factory to see the creation of “the Fame Monster.” Decked out in a teal sparkle leotard with space-age shoulder pads, she belted out a ballad-intro to her dance hit “Poker Face.” After a short moment of dialogue and theatrics, she was back with a jaw-dropping duet with Sir Elton John for a mash-up of her newest hit “Speechles” and his classic, “Your Song.” The performance was proof that behind the glitter, caked on makeup and awkward movements, she is a modern look at performance art complete with a solid set of pipes.
Beyonce: You can’t mention vocal pipes without mentioning this former-Destiny’s Child, the woman with pipes that could kill. With the bar set incredibly high by Gaga, Mrs. Jay-Z seemed like she could set it even higher as she entered the auditorium with a clan of military men. But this entrance reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and her S&M mini-skirt were the most exciting parts of her performance. Vocals aside, her song arrangement was lackluster with her snoozer-song “If I Were a Boy” and a confusing break into Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” Either Jay-Z is in the dog house or Dave Coulier has tainted another pop star. Either way, she’s still loved for being Beyonce (or Sasha Fierce, depending on the day), and I will give her a countless amount of credit for having an all-female band.
Green Day: With the release of their new Broadway show, the three Cali-punks gave a painfully awkward performance of “21 Guns” with the cast of American Idiot. But I guess if they could do a Spiderman musical they could do one about
Black Eyed Peas: This group is the perfect example of hollow entertainment. With robots marching, they performed “Ima B,” the perfect example of their repetitive rants, and later shifted to “I Gotta Feeling,” which probably got viewers at home fist-pumping like party-goers at the
Pink: Because of her hard exterior, many have ignored the fact that Pink is not only beautiful, but also is incredibly talented. Complete with a four minute Cirque Du Soleil performance, she gave an honest and vulnerable performance of “Glitter in the Air” dressed first in a modest white, hooded grown and eventually stripped down to a glittering leotard to shock viewers as she spun with her fellow performers mid-air.
Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks: The legend and bubblegum pop star performed “Today Was a Fairytale,” which perfectly showcased the nature of Swift’s music. – cute, immature and somewhat shallow. However, what can’t be ignored is the sheer pain in Nicks’ face as she tried to harmonize with Swift minus her beloved auto-tune. Her four-Grammy sweep shows first-hand that sales are a major factor in who is considered a big winner.
Eminem, Lil Wayne and Drake
The Winners
Album of the Year - "Fearless," Taylor Swift
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — "Halo," Beyoncé: The diva walked away with a total of six Grammy’s. With her greatest album to date, it’s a positive statement to make that she is this decade’s prime example of a female legend.
Song of the Year — "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," Songwriters Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash and Christopher Stewart
Best Solo Rock Performance — "Working on a Dream," Bruce Springsteen
Record of the Year — "Use Somebody," Kings of
Best Country Album — "Fearless" Taylor Swift
Best Rock Album — "21st Century Breakdown," Green Day
Best Hard Rock Performance: "War Machine"
Best New Artist — Zack Brown Band: Wait a minute, who? I think that about covers any commentary.
Although the winner’s were redundant and the exciting performance was somewhat hard to come by, a few things made the Grammy’s worth while. The Michael Jackson tribute was extremely touching and Bon Jovi’s performance obviously delivered. However, this year’s Grammy’s is actually making people see that holding a gold-plated gramophone doesn’t make an artist a legend. Maybe Stephen Colbert was right. Maybe it’s only about "celebrating the right of celebrities to congratulate each other.”
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