On Sunday night, thousands of celebrities — some dressed in their best attire, while others…weren’t — gathered together to attend the annual Grammy awards.
Sunday’s show was the 45th installment of the Grammys. To show their patrotic spirt, the producers held the show in New York for the first time in five years, and to top it all off, the show was hosted by the people of New York. These people included mega producer P-Diddy, sex kitten Kim Catrell and a handfull of other industry people.
The night started off with the classic folk rock group Simon and Garfunkel, and as the night progressed it had its high and low points. One of those highlights was when ‘NSync sang a mixture of “Bee Gee” hits accapella. Justin Timberlake dazzled the crowd with his human beat-making capabilities, once again proving he is more than a Michael Jackson wannabe.
The disappointing part for me were the performances by No Doubt and Avril Lavigne. Both, who are usually very energetic, seemed to lack that something that seperates them from the rest. Gwen Stefani was into her performance, but didn’t seem as amped as she usually is — maybe this could have something to do with the six inch heels she was wearing. Avril, who sang “Sk8ter Boi,” also was not as enthused, the crowd participation from the makeshift mosh pit was more entertaining then she was.
Perhaps one of the best performances of the night was by the handsome, baby-faced guitarist/singer John Mayer, who performed his hit, “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” complete in grudge gear and his guitar. He later picked up a Grammy for “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.”
Norah Jones stole the show, winning all eight of her Grammy nominations, beating out Alicia Keys five wins last year. Norah stood in the way of popular artists like Eminem and Britney Spears.
The one thing that I could not figure out is why Petey Pablo, Mystical, Nelly and Ludacris were the only rap artists worthy of being in the rap album of the year category? The pickings may have been slim, but it wasn’t that bad.
But, what I am most proud of is No Doubt’s win for “Hey Baby.” As an avid fan of the group from “Tragic Kingdom” until now, I never doubted their talent and am happy that they are finally getting the recongition they deserve.
The fashion for the show was more classy. Most of the artists were suprisingly wearing suits or dresses. Of course, not everyone came in respectable attire: there were some who looked as if they just rolled out of bed and decided to stop at the Grammys before heading back home. There were those who did not break away from their styles and remaind true to form. One of those people was the “Ill NaNa” herself Foxy Brown who wore a dress in which she left little (well, nothing) to the imagination.
All in all, the Grammys were what I expected: not entertaining at all times, but they definately made a concious effort to show different types of music and tried to bridge together with unlikely collaborations and sequences.