The word around town is that you don’t have to tune into the Grammys because it has been so boring, predictable and staged for the past couple of years, with no true representation of music i
The word around town is that you don’t have to tune into the Grammys because it has been so boring, predictable and staged for the past couple of years, with no true representation of music in the broader sense of the word. Will the same be said for this year’s 56th Annual Grammy awards show?
Let’s briefly assess.
How it all began
Beyoncé opened the 56th Annual Grammy Awards show, looking very burlesque, performing the track Drunk in Love from her self-titled 2013 album, which is closing in on the million dollar mark in sales in the US alone.
The performance was sexy, seductive and hot. She was joined on stage by her hubby Jay-Z, who took home three Grammys for the night. For some unexplained reason however many times these two perform together, we never get bored.
The 56th Grammys was hosted by rapper and actor LL Cool J, who still looks untouched by the ageing process, wearing a well-tailored dark purple velvet suit and was the epitome of a gracious host. He made no attempts to ruffle anyone’s feathers throughout the night.
The awards kicked off with the pop rap act Macklemore and Ryan Lewis copping the best artist award. The camera panned over the crowd, waiting for them to make their way up to the stage one couldn’t help but notice, that legendary soul singer Smokey Robinson has not aged one bit, and as in love as we may be with the French electronic musical duo Daft Punk, they need to lay to rest sitting through shows for hours with those helmets on.
Live performances overkill
The 17-year-old female sensation Lorde, performed her hit song Royals from her debut album Pure Heroine, winning Song of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. She was perfect, simple, and totally real about her music, unlike the heavy stage production that Katy Perry gave us.
Pop singer Kate is always entertaining, but I am starting to feel like she would be more suited, to a Broadway production, her entire performance reminded me of the Broadway musical Witch due to its artificiality.
Daft Punk took away a stack of awards including The Album of The Year, Best Pop/Duo Group Performance, Best Dance/Electronica Album, Best Engineered Album and Record of The Year, along with their collaborators Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams. This was followed by a performance from the band Chicago accompanied by Robin Thicke, perfectly marinating the sounds of the past with the present.
Country singer Keith Urban performed with Grammy nominee Gary Clarke Junior and Gary did indeed make his guitar sing like a lead vocalist, the comparisons he has been getting to Jimi Hendrix are justly deserved.
The night seemed to be flowing quite nicely as singer songwriter John Legend’s beautiful rendition of his hit song of All of Me added to the flow of things. I have come to expect nothing less than perfection wrapped up in a heartfelt rendition from the nine-time Grammy award winner when he performs live.
Icons of music
The Best Rock Song went to Sir Paul McCartney, a no brainer really. His performance of Nirvana’s Cut Me Some Slack was a huge success and instantly brought the song back to the top of playlists throughout the world. Accompanied by fellow Beatle member Ringo Starr on drums, Paul reminded us that he has not lost it, and is still a force to be reckoned with in this music industry.
Taylor Swift performed well although predictably, though if it isn’t broke don’t fix it, but speaking of repeat performances, I love me some Pink, but how many times is she going to do the trapeze circus act?
Jay-Z won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, for his song Holy Grail featuring Grammy nominee Justin Timberlake, while Best Pop Vocal Album went to Bruno Mars who is an amazing vocal performer. However I’m starting to feel like they are slighting Justin Timberlake in the process.
It was good to see the legendary Beatle member Ringo Starr do his thing on stage with vigour and excitement throughout his live performance at the Grammys, and that energy continued into Daft Punk’s performance accompanied by Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and the oh so amazing Steve Wonder, it was a performance well worth waiting for.
Overlooked talent
Grammy nominees rapper Kendrick Lamar and the Rock band Imagine Dragons, who won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance, in my humble opinion held by far one of the best performances of the night, the crowd’s reaction spoke to the excellence they created together on stage, with everyone on their feet throughout the entire set.
The Best Country Album went to Kacey Musgraves, who will now be Taylor Swift’s competition. Record of the Year went to Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodger for the track Get Lucky.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis closed out the show, accompanied by pop icon Madonna. They were the backdrop to marriage ceremonies taking place at the Grammys, conducted by rapper and actress Queen Latifah.
The 56th Grammys Award show was fun, but not an overly memorable night. Though, even with a debatable predictability, the Grammy Awards remain hard to miss.
What did you think of the Grammys? Have your say in the comments section below.
Image: Kirk Stauffer / Wikimedia Commons
