Grammy's.

I wasn't planning on watching The Grammy's last night. The last few years have left me annoyed, irritated or bored in one way or another, not to mention the fact that there were new episodes of both Once Upon A Time (with Emilie De Ravin!) and The Walking Dead (after a 2 month hiatus) on at the same time. But then we heard the news about Whitney Houston passing away and it felt wrong not to watch. I was curious to see how they paid tribute to her and to see how the music world would react to losing such an icon the night before a big event like this. Turns out, I'm really happy we decided to watch. For the first time in a really long time, Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed the show (not all of it but most of it).  

Here are my highs and lows for the night (in no particular order):

- LL Cool J impressed me. His opening monologue was genuinely uplifting and he managed to take the sadness over Whitney's passing out of the room by celebrating not only the performer that she was but music in general. He preached it and I bought it. Way to go, LL.

- My favorite performance of the night was ------ > Bruno Mars. There is something about this guys voice that I am absolutely in love with. It's so good and his performance was so enjoyable and energetic and it boomed with FUN. I love that. I also really enjoyed Taylor Swift (I know. What is happening to me??). She sang LIVE, she rocked out on that banjo and she sounded the best I've ever heard her sound. Also, C really loves the song she sang, so there is that as well.

- I wish Mumford and Sons or The Decemberists would have won. That's pure selfishness on my part. I love them both so it would have been nice to see them up on stage.

- I'm not and never have been a Jennifer Hudson fan. I can't explain why, I just don't care for her. I'm not denying that she has talent. She does. I'm just eh about her. With that being said, however, she did a good job with "I Will Always Love you".

- I hate Chris Brown. I hate that he gets honored for lip synching and dancing. I hate that he gets standing ovations for his "performances". I get that it's supposed to be about the music and his "talent" but he's a sorry excuse for a human being and I will never be able to respect anything he does. That's the truth of it.

- It was weird seeing Gaga so quiet but her face-net and pimp cane were lovely.

- Adele won all her categories and was genuinely appreciative. That's pretty fantastic. No matter how sick of those songs I am, I can't deny the fact that her album (21) is phenomenal and she deserves all the praise she gets. Also, I could listen to her talk all day. She's so very British, "Fank you so much!"

- Paul McCartney is so wonderful. I was bummed his first performance was so slow but he's so classy and so elegant and so very Paul. I like that when he sings, he makes you feel like you're the only one he's singing to. His finale was great. I just love his voice so much. It takes me right back to being a kid and hanging out in the basement with my parents on a Friday or Saturday night. Love it.

- The Nicki Minaj performance was a clusterfrick. In the words of Carrie; "She was trying too hard".

- The Glen Campbell tribute was good and it was fun seeing Jeff act like an excited little kid when he sang "Rhinestone Cowboy". I also loved The Band Perry and the oh so handsome Blake Shelton in his suit and vest.

- The Beach Boys reunion was fun but I wish Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) would have been with them up there, singing "Kokomo".

I know they didn't have a lot of time to prepare but I would have liked to have seen a tribute to Whitney (aside from Jennifer Hudson's performance). I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more.  I know she was a mess and I know her death isn't necessarily a surprise to most people but it makes me sad. She was a phenomenal talent that left such a huge impact on the music world. Her passing is a gigantic loss to music lovers everywhere and it's felt even more when you see all those "singers" out there who have the nerve to lip sync there way through their performances and then call themselves talented. They should take a look back at her career and see that she was the epitome of a talented live performer. No gimmicks needed, just an amazing voice.