Last night as a voting member of NARAS I was fortunate to be inside Staples Center for the 2010 Grammy Awards. I am happy to report that after some fair to middling award ceremonies in the past few years, the Grammys have returned to the standard of excellence that they have given us in the past. It was a welcome change to witness the contrast of the lukewarm presentations of late to this year's high level of inspiring professionalism in a wide variety of pop (and classical) musical styles that used to be the what Grammy nights were all about in their heyday.
Sunday night, the celebrity-laden crowd inside the arena as well as the telecast audience outside was treated to one sparkling performance after another rich in emotion, vocal as well as physical virtuosity, and visual artistry, albeit a few glitches which one always expects in a live presentation thrown together with only a few days of rehearsal. From the opening pairing of Lady Gaga and Elton John in their outrageous costumes and dueling piano playing to the three-rapper (Lil' Wayne, Eminem & Drake) medley, albeit laced with enough profanity to cause CBS censors to work overtime with their bleeping technology, the evening was filled with top flight entertainment. This year the show's producers thankfully decided to change the focus from incorporating American Idol amateur hour and other young audience patronization to what Grammy used to do so well, showcasing seasoned performers doing what they do best. Also, the nostalgic retrospectives of bygone styles and eras were deleted in favor of featuring what is happening in many of today's pop music arenas. Using their big budget to full advantage, NARAS served up fully staged and produced presentations of contemporary hit songs from mostly Grammy nominated artists introduced by the usual who's who in the entertainment industry, including creative pairings of seemingly disparate performers like Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks, and Zac Brown and Leon Russell.
Comedian Steven Colbert, who later won an award himself, set the tone for the night with a quip about one of celebrities' favorite pastimes, congratulating each other on their accomplishments. Highlights of the evening included Beyonce's working of Alanis Morrissette's alt rock-styled 'You Oughta Know' into her own hit single 'If I Were A Boy', Pink's acrobatics a la Cirque De Soleil while singing 'Glitter in The Rain', and Blige & Bocelli's Haiti-directed rendition of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. Other standouts included the second half of the Black Eyed Peas performance, their anthem 'I've Got A Feeling', and country newcomer Zac Brown's 'Chicken Fried'. Solid performances from Maxwell, the Dave Mathews Band, and Green Day added to the evening's excitement. The only disappointments were minor such as Taylor Swift's somewhat shaky presentation and Bon Jovi's uninspired medley of their current and past hits. Notably absent was bad boy Kanye West, who only received a minor award for rap-sung collaboration. He didn't even come onstage with his collaborators to accept his award. Also thankfully absent were any long winded self-promoting acceptance speeches.
Another highlight was the tribute to Michael Jackson which featured a 3-D video presentation in the background of images of endangered species and faces of smiling children (we in the audience were all given special two-tone glasses to wear). This underscored Jackson singing his ecology protest 'Earth Song' along with vocal accompaniment of notable stars Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson.
Oh yes, I almost forgot, the awards. It's was definitely ladies' night, as Beyonce garned six of them and Taylor Swift four, dominating the evening's honors. The rest of the field was spread out among many other recipients, at least half of them, in my opinion, well deserving. However, the envelopes and Grammy statuettes played second billing to the exciting performances and skillful productions, as I feel they should be. After all, it is a night to celebrate the best in show, not the best in awards. And the Grammys did that with full force. They finally have got their groove back.
Cat Cohen
www.catcohen.com
P.S. Now that you have read my views, whether you agree with me or not, feel free to get back to me with yours.