The Good, The Bad, and maybe the Ugly at this Year's Grammys

Grammy Hits and Misses

The Hits:
Rihanna’s non stop performances of “Umbrella” and “Don’t Stop the Music” were incredible; my dad wasn’t interested, but just about everyone else that I know was. She confidently confirmed that she is on top of the music scene right now.

The tribute to the Beatles was great; it’s too bad Sir Paul McCartney couldn’t be there. Love really is all we need and the Beatles proved that a long time ago when they were just four young men from Liverpool.

Kanye West defined grace on Grammy night; his hard hitting passion driven performance of “Stronger” with French group Daft Punk proved there was no more deserving winner for “Rap Album of the Year”. His performance of “Mama” which was a tribute to his mom, Donda was touching, and brought tears to my eyes. Kanye, for once, was at his most unpredictable. Watch his performance on you tube and see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL3AfWAnXV0

Fergie and John Legend surprised me, and proved that they are both consistently emerging talents full of versatility. I had no idea Fergie could sing like that, I knew Legend could play like that, and together they were a duo to be reckoned with. I cannot wait til they “duet” for real. “Finally” was a beautiful contribution to the night---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iSfMsUZwmc

Seeing past Grammy winners made me happy: Alicia Keys, Prince, Jimmy Jam, Cyndi Lauper, Cher, Tina Turner, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr, Juanes, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, John Fogerty, Usher, and Quincy Jones.

I heard a lot of critics say that they felt Tina Turner upstaged Beyonce at the Grammy Awards; I couldn’t disagree more. Beyonce held her own and was full of soul, her dancing was on point, and her voice was better than I have ever heard it. Ms. Turner came out of retirement to prove that she still is “simply the best” and she proved it. Both ladies were equally entertaining.

Alicia Keys’ performance of “No One” proved why she is a Grammy darling, enough said.

Rihanna’s acceptance speech was endearing and Jay Z was funny, who knew.

Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban’s show stopping tribute to the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti would have made the man proud. “The Prayer” brought the crowd to its feet and tears to my eyes as well as to all of those in the audience at the Staples Center and TV Land.

Herbie Hancock winning the album of the year was a total surprise; I think he was more surprised than any of us.

The Misses:

Carrie Underwood’s odd rendition of “Before He Cheats” reminded some critics of some bad Duran Duran, and listening to the performance again, I couldn’t agree more.

The Foo Fighters and “My Grammy Moment” was a ginormous disaster; the performance was a mess, yet the group did win “Rock Album of the Year” later on in the show. Maybe Daughtry would have been a better choice for both the performance and the award. Imagine “Home” with Ann Marie Calhoun playing the violin.

Kid Rock forgetting the words to his song while on stage; at least he sounded good though.

The Grammy’s made a mistake by not announcing the winner for “Song Written for a Movie” on their telecast. The winner was “Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls” and Jennifer Hudson should have been there to perform.

I love Brad Paisley, but couldn’t he have picked another song to sing for Grammy night; his song about ticks made me itchy.

Amy Winehouse deserved every single one of her five, count them, five Grammy’s but her performances of “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab” were shaky at best. Let’s hope that she is getting the help she needs. Maybe now, Britney Spears will be on board too.