All that glitters isn’t gold

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 New York City punks, right?