A Grammy Awards Worth Watching?
February 13th, 2007 by Ed Lau |Like every year, I skip watching the Grammys since the awards are such a sham. This year is no different with crap like the Black Eyed Peas My Humps winning…something or other. However, after being told by more than just a couple people that I was missing out on the performances, I went and downloaded the show and surprisingly, I was not disappointed. Other than Coldplay’s absolutely amazing performance of Politik years ago, there hasn’t been a noteworthy (literally) performance at this dying awards show in the past few years. Watch the video linked if you can. Coldplay’s performance in 2003 was the best I had ever seen them with the orchestra and the lights…it was like going to freakin’ church. Heck, I consider the MTV awards more credible as they actually give awards to people that usually don’t suck. There are always exceptions to the rule but c’mon, there are years when you just wonder what the heck they were thinking. Ludacris’ album doesn’t compare to ANY of the others on that list. Well, it was better than Pharrell’s but c’mon!
Many of the decisions this year were quesitonable as well but you can’t doubt that just about every performance was worth watching. The Police reunion at the beginning, Carrie Underwood (I’m just not into country…), Shakira’s colorful dance number with Wyclef (NO FIGHTING!) and Beyonce’s rather…bland Mariah Carey impersonation weren’t awesome but just about everything else was. Beyonce needs to take some lessons from Mary J. Blige. Beyonce is probably a better singer but the veteran MJB Be Without You performance was flawless. The United 93-inspired Gnarl Barkley managed to sing a song I’ve heard a million freakin’ times and STILL not be boring. I’m a sucker for strings and a choir of flight attendants. Cee-Lo totally owned it up there. I can’t say the same for James Blunt. I’m not even going to name that song…you know which one I’m talking about.
Justin Timberlake managed to top his great performance of What Goes Around Comes Around on SNL a few weeks ago. Seriously, who would’ve guessed that that guy from that stupid boy band would be one of the world’s best performers? Oh, and did anyone else notice that all three of the girls that the audience was supposed to vote for were all really cute? The best looking one won and surprisingly, she could really sing. Ain’t No Sunshine is not an easy song. Christina Aguilera looked really hot too for once. (the look on Jamie Foxx’s face afterwards was priceless) She’s usually an example of an amazing voice but…what the heck is she wearing?! This year, that honor belongs to the Dixie Chicks, who looked like they were going to a ghetto country high school prom. By the way, did anyone notice that the lead singer from the Dixie Chicks is married to Nathan Petrelli from Heroes?
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this but we’ve had the Eagles DVD’s playing at London Drugs non-stop so I’m very familiar with all their songs. Who were those jerks ruining Hotel California!? If you’re going to pay tribute to the classics, why didn’t they just actually call the Eagles like they did with Smokey Robinson and the Lionel? I mean, Don Henley was in the building! Then they followed it up with Chris Brown hilariously running out of breath and not actually doing any singing. Learn something from the classics, son…you can’t sing and dance at that kind of pace at the same time.
One of the steps in the right direction for the Grammys was that they put in some unknown acts up there. Along with the chicks that were going to win their chance to sing with Justin Timberlake…did anyone see that girl on the violin!? Holy crap, that’s fast.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were great as usual but they’re just one of the best live bands ever so it’s no surprise. I would’ve picked a faster song to really get people out of their seats but still. Well, everyone was out of their seat for Al Gore. The reception that dude got was crazy considering how he went from a robot man to presenting…best rock album!?
Lily and Robin from How I Met Your Mother were on for some reason. I was hoping they would bring The 88 with them but hey, can’t argue with getting my favorite show some publicity.
The absolute best performance of the night was definitely Corinne Bailey Rae, John Mayer and John Legend. I got chills when the spotlight hit Corinne on the acoustic guitar playing Like a Star and the three of them jamming to each other’s songs. It was just a great performance. These three are great examples that real singer/songwriters are still marketable in a world where Paris-freakin’-Hilton can have an album. If you haven’t check them out, all three albums (Corinne Bailey Rae’s Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend’s Once again and John Mayer’s Continuum) are very worth picking up.
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Christina Aguilera may have had a pretty good performance, but no one beats Mr. Brown himself.
The performance in that vid isn’t great, but James is pretty electrifying.
True. The tribute to the Godfather was quite moving…bringing out his signature cape one last time.
Your Red Hot Chili Peppers Link has one too many “https” in it. Thanks for the great coverage. I, too, could care less about the Grammys, so I would’ve missed all this!
Dixie Chicks picked up far too many awards just because the Grammy’s wanted to make a political statement… but hey, I agree with the statement so.. Go Dixie Chicks!