We interrupt your regularly scheduled Daijams' Full Concert Tuesday to bring you...an even longer concert, interspersed with awards to some of America's (er, the music industry's) favorite artists! Let's recap the most-watched Grammy Awards since Michael Jackson's eight-category sweep in 1984.
In the 54th annual showcase of America's taste in music, there was much to be joyful about. As I mentioned yesterday, and as you've no doubt seen all over the Internets, the soul-wrenching British contralto Adele made a clean sweep, winning every category in which she was nominated for a total of six golden, wood-mounted gramophone statuettes, tying Beyoncé's record for the most wins by a female performer in one year. I just adore her photo shoot backstage, and look at how it compares to 2009's two (measly) wins:
GIRL YOU LOOK STUNNING! Left 2009; right 2012.
My roommates and I sat down to watch the Grammys about an hour and a half late on Sunday night, but thanks to the magic of DVR, it meant we got to skip previews and commercials and get right to the good stuff. We cuddled up and settled in for a dose of Americana. We weren't waiting long, as 62-year-old vintage American rocker Bruce Springsteen opened the evening with a performance of "We Take Care of Our Own." I'll be honest, most of Springsteen's songs sound much the same to me, and I feared a descent into boredom with yet another generic display of patriotism. But damn, who doesn't love the Boss? He's such a great musician, not to mention the fact that the guy is still standing on speakers, windmilling his guitar like a rock star. The 21-time Grammy winner deserved the room's standing ovation.
After host LL Cool J presented a somber Whitney Houston tribute, the Grammys continued with a healthy dose of exuberance, which was a relief -- we would honor both Whitney and the winners by celebrating the joy that music brings to our lives. "This night is bigger than any one of us," Mr. Cool J reminded us. "This night is about something truly universal and healing. This night is about music." Kind of cheesy, but totally on point, and it was the host's finest moment of the night.
We were off to the races with Bruno Mars' performance of "Runaway Baby" off 2010's Doo-Wops and Hooligans. The 26-year-old rocked the house with his soulful voice, gold Dolce & Gabbana jacket and matching bow tie, and tight, low-impact choreography. My roommates and I agreed he was definitely singing live, as had the Boss, making the evening 2/2 thus far. Mars even got playful: "Tonight we celebrate music! Tonight we celebrate the beautiful Whitney Houston! So get off your rich asses and have some fun!" The rest, you might say, was James Brown.
Next Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt toned it down with yet another mention of Whitney Houston, followed by a tribute to the late Etta James with her song "Sunday Kind of Love." My God, I love Bonnie Raitt. Her voice is like velvet. Alicia sounded good too, but what was with the gold chest plate? Was she heading into battle after the show?
The first statuette of the night was awarded to Adele for "Best Solo Pop Performance." It was to be her first of many, and my roommates and I cheered heartily from the couch. The show continued to appease the young, pop generation with a performance by Chris Brown, who began his set by singing live -- a nice surprise! -- but reverted to lip-syncing as his dancing revved up. His modern Lego-like pyramid set was illuminated with dance lights and videos, and his high-energy performance of "Turn Up the Music" and "Beautiful People" was entertaining, but I almost felt guilty for liking it. This is the same guy who beat up Rihanna a few years ago, and Grammy watchers haven't forgotten, especially in the wake of Whitney-Rihanna relationship woe comparisons. Despite that, later in the evening he won his first Grammy, Best R&B Album for "F.A.M.E."
The Best Rap Performance went to Jay-Z and Kanye West for "Otis," off their Watch the Throne collaboration, and then Reba brought us the first taste of country, introducing a cute but slightly awkward duet of Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's radio hit "Don't You Wanna Stay." One of my roommates pointed out that Kelly used the same bedazzled microphone to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, reminding us that the original American Idol has had a busy month -- and she looks great to boot.
Oh hey. I'm gonna look slightly over your shoulder. You should probably do the same.
The Foo Fighters performed for the first of two or three times throughout the night, I dunno, I lost count. I know we love Dave Grohl because he was in Nirvana and he's an incredible musician and he writes great music and records it in his garage and is just so damn good. But I feel like their five Grammys this year could have been righteously divvied up by the year's other deserving and Grammy-unrecognized rock artists, like the long-beloved Decemberists or six-time nominated British folk group Mumford and Sons. But America loves the Foo Fighters, and as they demonstrated in their performance of the award-winning "Walk," Grohl can definitely still growl, so I can't whine too much about their taking home awards in five of their six categories this year. In fact they almost doubled their lifetime Grammy total, as they had 19 previous nominations and only six wins.
My goodness, I love fast-forwarding through commercials. The DVR rushed us to the next performance, which began with Rihanna singing "We Found Love" and rolling on the ground. (Are you watching, Chris Brown?) The beat picked up and the 23-year-old singer rose to her feet, revealing an ensemble that was clearly inspired by Whitney Houston: bleached blond, volumized hair and a black outfit with a bare midrift.
Damn, Rihanna is hot.
She slowed down to sing an awkward duet of "Princess of Paris" with Chris Martin, but then he rejoined Coldplay and put his gorgeous voice on display with their hit "Paradise." I'm still smacking my head for skipping their Lollapalooza set in 2009; they've achieved consistent success thanks to good songwriting and impressive live performance chops, and Sunday's display was no exception.
The string of presenters continued with two New York Giants, fresh off their Super Bowl win, bounding on stage along with NCIS cast member Pauley Perrette to award Best Rock Performance to -- surprise, surprise -- the Foo Fighters, for their rock chart-topping "Walk." At that point I got up to switch my laundry, returning to see Ryan Seacrest introduce a trio of performances by the smooth Maroon 5, the nervous-looking Foster the People, and the never-say-die Beach Boys themselves. Adam Levine's voice was designed for the high harmonies of "Surfer Girl," but FtP frontman Mark Foster looked positively frightened during "Wouldn't it Be Nice," his eyes fixed somewhere beyond the heads of the front row of arm-waving fans. (By the way, whose niece do you have to be to get into that concert?) And of course the Beach Boys were adorable, busting out the "Good Vibrations" in promotion of a new album to celebrate their 50th anniversary. After they were done, to my great amusem*nt, my roommate burst into rapturous applause.
Me: "You just clapped in our living room."
Elizabeth: "I couldn't help myself. It was like a Beach Boys reflex."
Obviously, the voodoo magic is alive and kicking.
Listen to me, Grasshopper, and they'll love you forever, even after you lose those fantastic abs.
The night of performances continued with surprisingly few interruptions for awards, with Sir Paul McCartney singing a slow bluesy ballad written for his wife titled "Blue Valentine." He looked austere sitting on a stool and wearing a white jacket, accompanied by Joe Walsh on guitar and Diana Krall on piano, the picture of cool. I think Lennon would be proud of his fellow Beatle.
I still got it!
As we continued to revolve through musical styles (at least the kinds that sell lots of records and therefore get telecast), the Best Country Song winner Taylor Swift performed her two-time Grammy-winning song "Mean," supposedly written about Joe Jonas. She got her sweet revenge, singing atop a ramshackle wood set that was certainly meant to portray authentic country music. I was more impressed with her opening act, the Best Folk Album-winning duo the Civil Wars, who played a one-minute, nicely stylized duet of "Barton Hollow," showcasing their harmonic Southern flair. And thanks to the exposure of the second-highest rated Grammys ever, their album sales have skyrocketed since Sunday night.
You want...what for a set? Okay, Taylor.
We continued with -- aww, Neal Patrick Harris! What are you doing here? You're at every awards show! I just love you. And he awarded Adele with her second statue of the night as she won "Song of the Year" for "Rolling in the Deep." After she and her Grammy-winning produer, Paul Epworth, cleared the stage, a Katy Perry-tastrophe followed. She opened with her hit "E.T.," and everything was going fine until -- oh sh*t, the lights cut out! Someone cut power to the Staples Center!! What are they going to -- oh nevermind, it's part of the performance. Perry was actually hiding in a box over the stage, which was why the camera wouldn't show a close-up of her lookalike dancing to "E.T." She strutted out to debut her new single, "Part of Me," in a futuristic, geometric metallic outfit that I'm guessing left little room for pockets. The press is gleefully reporting about how the singer altered the lyrics into a direct hit against ex Russel Brand: "You can keep the diamond ring/it don't mean nothing anyway." Air it out, girl; we're happy to watch.
This video isn't great (it's a challenge to find videos the Grammys haven't pulled down for copyright infringement), but you get the gist. The "Part of Me" single was released the next day.
Lady Antebellum took home the award for Best Country Album, after which we finally got to Adele's much-hyped performance. She began "Rolling in the Deep" a cappella, and I was a ball of nerves, closing my eyes and soaking in her voice, trying to detect signs of weakness after her throat surgery last fall. There were none. She was perfect, even letting out a giggle after the last note, which was met with a standing ovation that took us all the way to commercial. I relaxed, satisfied, and rewound the DVR to watch it again.
T-Swizzle introduced a touching tribute to nine-time Grammy winner and 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Glen Campbell, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Campbell came out and gave a rousing rendition of "Rhinestone Cowboy," after introductory performances of "Gentle On My Mind" by the Band Perry and "Southern Nights" by the cool and dapper Blake Shelton, fresh from the set of the second season of The Voice. Blake, I'll be on your team any day.
Watch your back, Miranda Lambert. I'm coming to get him.
The appeasem*nt of country fans continued with a duet of "It Had to Be You" between all-American starlet Carrie Underwood and the legendary, 16-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett. Bennett won an award in the pre-show for his collaboration with the late Amy Winehouse, who went curiously under-mentioned given the attention paid to Whitney and Etta. Carrie and Tony both sounded great; he was mellow and congenial, she modest but forceful. They followed their performance by awarding Best New Artist to Bon Iver. During his acceptance speech, frontman Juston Vernon looked downright uncomfortable with the honor, having already turned down a performance spot on the show because he's suspicious of the industry's motives in putting on awards shows like the Grammys. He humbly thanked all the bands who would never make to the Grammys, like many of those he toured with, and after he started thanking the people of his hometown in Wisconsin, they played music over him and he wrapped it up. What would his performance have been like? By way of introduction to what the industry has declared our favorite new artist, here's a video of Bon Iver on Jools Holland last October.
After the standard "In Memorium" reel, which curiously left out Etta James and long-time Soul Train host Don Cornelius, Jennifer Hudson belted a shortened version of "I Will Always Love You," fighting back tears in the evening's final and last-minute Whitney tribute. It was simple, soulful, and danced us right to the cliff of overkill without plunging over the edge. Jennifer contained herself on the chorus, resisting the urge to mimic Whitney's trademark warble. It was respectful and nicely done, but my roommates and I were ready to move on.
After a "celebration of dance" enforced by David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, the Foo Fighters, and deadmau5 (which Mr. Cool J dedicated to the memory of Cornelius -- phew, bases covered!), Nicki Minaj delivered the strangest performance of the night with "Roman Holiday," essentially a theatrical, on-stage exorcism of her hom*osexual male alter-ego "Roman." It was mostly just unsettling, switching between Nicki in a confessional on stage, to a video of her acting weird and possessed, to her singing while tied up and overlooking an elaborate, Catholic-themed stage set. She's been nominated for four Grammys but has yet to notch a win; is she hoping Roman will be her key for next year? Oy.
Mr. Cool J brought us back for the final awards of the night, introducing last year's Record of the Year winners Lady Antebellum to present this year's award, which of course went to Adele for "Rolling in the Deep."
Point of order: While Best Song of the Year is awarded to a songwriter for a single track, Best Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team, including the producer, recording engineer, and mixer. The recording itself is thus recognized separately from the song. And of course, since Adele co-writes her music with producer Paul Epworth, the two again took the stage together and bubbled adorableness and humility: "Thank you so much, this is ridiculous," Adele said, thanking radio DJs everywhere for playing her recordings. She flashed a goofy grin and exited stage, only to be brought right back out to accept Album of the Year for "21," the biggest award of the night and the one that finally broke her down to tears. “It’s been the most life-changing year,” she said.
To close out the show, Mr. Cool J introduced his "homie," Sir Paul, who led an initially mesmerizing but prolonged guitar orgy over the second half of "Abbey Road," incorporating Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Walsh, and two other guys with axes who I didn't recognize. It was an appropriate close to Music's Biggest Self-Congratulatory Night, six dudes up on stage, stroking their guitars and making squealing noises. Roll credits.
So, final conclusions? Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and anyone classifying themselves as a rock band without the word "Foo" in it got hosed, but they'll no doubt be back next year. The show was entertaining, and the bulk of the performers actually sang live. Even Chris Brown and Rihanna could be heard breathing heavily into their microphones during their dance-heavy numbers.
In addition to celebrating today's pop chart-toppers like Adele and Katy Perry, it was nice to see tributes and performances from some of the industry's golden oldies, including Springsteen, Sir Paul, Campbell, and the Beach Boys.
My favorite performance of the night came from electro producer and mouse-helmet-wearing deadmau5. Even Dave Grohl leapt from the stage and joined the audience to watch the DJ spin a dubstep that was easily the most headbang-worthy act of the ceremonies.
Of course, the telecast is only a small tidbit of the annual Grammys presentation. For anyone who's bummed that some of today's finest musicians annually get pushed aside by the pop, rock, country, and dance stars, here's a full list of the 2012 Grammy winners to munch on, from the headliners to the guys who write the album notes:
The Big Four
Album of the Year – Adele, 21
Record of the Year – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Song of the Year – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Best New Artist – Bon Iver
Pop & Dance
Best Pop Solo Performance – Adele, “Someone Like You”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse, “Body and Soul”
Best Pop Instrumental Album – Booker T. Jones, The Road From Memphis
Best Pop Vocal Album – Adele, 21
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album – Tony Bennett & Various Artists, Duets II
Best Dance Recording – Skrillex, “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”
Best Dance/Electronica Album – Skrillex, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
Rock, etc.
Best Rock Performance – Foo Fighters, “Walk”
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance – Foo Fighters, “White Limo”
Best Rock Song – Foo Fighters, “Walk”
Best Rock Album – Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
Best Alternative Music Album – Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Best Folk Album – The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow
R&B & Rap
Best R&B Performance – Corinne Bailey Rae, “In This Love”
Best Traditional R&B Performance – Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona, “Fool For You”
Best R&B Song – “Fool For You” (Performed by Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona)
Best R&B Album – Chris Brown, F.A.M.E.
Best Rap Performance – Kanye West & Jay-Z, “Otis”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie, “All Of The Lights”
Best Rap Song – “All Of The Lights” (Performed by Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
Best Rap Album – Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Country
Best Country Solo Performance – Taylor Swift, “Mean”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance – The Civil Wars, “Barton Hollow”
Best Country Song – Taylor Swift, “Mean”
Best Country Album – Lady Antebellum, Own The Night
Gospel & Christian
Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance – Le'andria Johnson, "Jesus"
Best Gospel Song – Kirk Franklin, "Hello Fear"
Best Contemporary Christian Music Song – Laura Story, "Blessings"
Best Gospel Album – Kirk Franklin, Hello Fear
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album – Chris Tomlin, And If Our God Is for Us…
Jazz
Best Improvised Jazz Solo – Chick Corea, "500 Miles High"
Best Jazz Vocal Album – Terri Lyne Carrington and Various Artists, The Mosaic Project
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album – Christian McBride Big Band, The Good Feeling
Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Corea, Clarke and White, Forever
Latin
Best Latin Pop, Rock, or Urban Album – Maná, Drama Y Luz
Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album – Pepe Aguilar, Bicentenario
Best Banda or Norteño Album – Los Tigres Del Norte, Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends
Best Tropical Latin Album – Cachao, The Last Mambo
Classical, Opera, & Instrumental
Best Engineered Album, Classical – Aldridge: Elmer Gantry
Best Orchestral Performance – "Brahms: Symphony No. 4," Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best Opera Recording – John Adams, Doctor Atomic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Best Choral Performance – "Light and Gold," Eric Whitacre, Conductor
Best Small Ensemble Performance – "Lonely Motel, Music From Slide," Rinde Eckert and Steven Mackey; Eighth Blackbird
Best Classical Instrumental Solo – "Schwantner: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra," Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor; Christopher Lamb (Nashville Symphony)
Best Classical Vocal Solo – "Diva Divo," Joyce Didonato
Best Contemporary Classical Composition – "Elmer Gantry," Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein
Best Instrumental Composition – "Life in Eleven"
Best Instrumental Arrangement – "Rhapsody in Blue"
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) – "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)"
Other
Best Historical Album – Paul McCartney, Band On The Run
Best New Age Album – Pat Metheny, What's It All About
Best Reggae Album – Stephen Marley, Revelation Pt 1: The Root of Life
Best Children's Album – All About Bullies… Big and Small
Best Americana Album – Levon Helm, Ramble At the Ryman
Best Bluegrass Album – Alison Krauss and Union Station, Paper Airplane
Best Blues Album – Tedeschi Trucks Band, Revelator
Best Regional Roots Music Album – Rebirth Brass Band, Rebirth of New Orleans
Best World Music Album –Tinariwen, Tassili
Best Spoken Word Album – Betty White, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)
Best Comedy Album – Louis C.K., Hilarious
Best Musical Theater Album – The Book of Mormon
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical – Paper Airplane
Best Surround Sound Album – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical – "Cinema (Skrillex Remix)"
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media – Boardwalk Empire: Volume 1
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media – Alexandre Desplat, The King’s Speech
Best Song Written For Visual Media – “I See The Light," Tangled
Best Short Form Music Video – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Best Long Form Music Video – Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters: Back And Forth
Beyond "Other"
Best Producer of the Year, Non-Classical – Paul Epworth (Adele's producer)
Best Producer of the Year, Classical – Judith Sherman
Best Recording Package – Scenes From the Suburbs
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package –The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story
Best Album Notes – Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond As Recorded by the San Francisco Bay
