The real comeback kid of the night however was British sensation, Adele and her triumphant return to the music scene after having career-threatening throat surgery. She performed her monster hit, “Rolling in the Deep” in a lower key-which was a pretty smart move on her part. And she sounded absolutely remarkable, too. She received a warm- well deserving standing ovation at the end of her performance. She went on to dominate the night by grabbing all the big awards- Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. If you listen to her album “21,” (if you haven’t already), trust me you’ll know the reason why. Upon winning album of the year, the singer had such a real reaction, not really able to comprehend what had just happened. Even though due to her extremely thick English accent (and lack of captions on my TV), I couldn’t really understand half of what she said, but I’m sure it was heartfelt…lol…..In either case, Congratulations to her because she fully deserved every award she got. On a brief side note, it must really be some type of hard growing up in England. Think about it, Adele, the late Amy Winehouse, and quite a few others from across the pond have so much pain to sing about at such a young age. This is the kind of pain that it takes years for most people to go through, and a lot of them are writing about it while they are still in their early twenties. Well, being a songwriter, I can vouch for the fact that usually out of pain and heartbreak, comes the best music.
The next celebrity tribute was to Country music legend, Glen Campbell, who has recently admitted to suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. To commemorate the tribute were The Band Perry and The Voice co-host, Blake Shelton- with the latter doing a faithful, yet modern version of “Southern Nights.” I must admit that I don’t know much from The Band Perry. In fact, I only see them on awards shows, which I suppose is my loss, because they sound GREAT! Then Glen Campbell himself, at 75, also in the running for oldest in attendance, performed his most well-known hit “Rhinestone Cowboy.” To hear this guy perform, if you didn’t know that he was suffering from a life-threatening disease, you wouldn’t know it. He sounded great- and not much different from the recording, some 30+ years ago. Speaking of the older generation, also in attendance to present “Album of The Year”, was the “Grande Dame” of all Divas, Miss Diana Ross. However the winner, and still champion, for the title of O.G at the Grammy’s went to the legendary, Tony Bennett, who at a staggering 85-years young, is re-introducing his blend of jazz and pop standards to the masses. On his Duets I & II albums, he has collaborated with an enormous roster of today’s younger stars, all the while bringing his music to yet another generation.
The highly-coveted award of “Best New Artist” went to a fellow by the name of Bon Iver. Who??? In the same stunning upset as that of the band “Arcade Fire” last year, this band won an award that most people thought that someone else had in the bag- even though they’re barely known by the masses. The award that the lead singer of the band should have gotten was “Longest Acceptance Speech by an Artist that We’ve Never Friggin’ Heard Of.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking them, cause I like to keep an open mind about most things, but dude’s speech was so long that they had to start playing the ever embarrassing “wrap-up music.” Then to top it off, the speech that dude gave when he almost sounded like he was snubbing The Academy for being chosen. I mean, I get that he loves making music for the satisfaction of well, making music- as a songwriter, I totally get that; but dude, you’ve just won one of the top awards of the night. They least you could do is be thankful! There’s a lot of folks that would have “killed” to have that award, but instead you, a band that the majority has never really heard of, actually won. At least, pretend like you’re happy with it! With that said, I think he could seriously benefit from writing a acceptance speech out beforehand- even if its on like a napkin or something, because looked like he was totally rambling off the top of his head….I’m just sayin’…….Also, I’m not one of those legions of music fans who thought that Nicki Minaj should have won either. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, and most obvious…..She’s not a NEW artist. She’s been around since 2009, and so therefore, it’s not even fair that she was in the running in the first place.
The last celebrity tribute and the most emotional by far, was that of Whitney Houston. In a performance that was put together just hours before it aired, Jennifer Hudson took center stage and performed a stirring rendition of Houston’s classic, “I Will Always Love You.” As it seemed that Hudson did all that she could not to break down right then and there, no one else could really contain their emotion- as there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Hudson is obviously one of the multitudes of singers that have come along in the last 20 years or so that was directly influenced by Houston, and in this writer’s opinion, is probably the only singer of this generation vocally befitting to do a tribute to The Queen of Pop. Whitney was working with legendary hit-maker, Clive Davis just days before the Grammy’s, and was even coaching younger singers, Brandy and Monica. The news of Houston’s passing hit just 1 day before the Grammy’s and has left not only the music world, but the world, in general, in complete shock. Many fans think that Houston should have had more of a tribute than just one song, and I’m hard pressed to disagree, but after all, they had to slap the whole thing together in 24 hours time, and somehow still stay on schedule. Many have taken to social media forums; some even making fun of the situation, labeling her as nothing more a “drug-addict.” Who are we to judge the circumstances of her situation, as we did not know her personally, but it’s safe to say that this is a loss that has affected everyone who ever grew up listening to her music, extremely personally.
The last hour of the show had its very own high and low. The low point, in this writer’s opinion of the whole evening was Nicki Minaj. What in the Hell was that anyhow?? I’m sorry, but I have to ask, why does everyone have to have a gimmick? Why can’t the music just speak for itself? Nicki Minaj actually has the talent and flow to be a good MC, but her constant outrageous persona overshadows any talent that she may actually have. She started off by confessing to a priest and then shortcut to a movie clip of her being possessed by a demon. I really want to know what the Catholic Church has to say about this, because you know it won’t be good. That’s just asking for trouble and controversy unnecessarily, just for the purpose of selling records. I truly felt as though I should pray for my soul after watching her performance.
On the other hand, the major highlight of the night came from of course, none other than Sir Paul McCartney, who performed the classic “Golden Slumbers Medley” from The Beatles last album, "Abbey Road." Now this is a medley that is over 40-years old, and yes, it still rocks to death. Then to join in the fun, were Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, and Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters. Together, along with Sir Paul, they had a battle of dueling guitar solos that would make any fan’s mouth drool. Legend…….wait for it……..dary. I think I speak for all classic rock fans when I say that this collaboration felt as though we had “died and went to guitar heaven.” What a perfect way to end and already incredible night. Absolutely Amazing!!
Well, I think that about covers it. Until next time…..