By Lindsay Christ
The 51st Grammy awards ceremony was held last Sunday, Feb. 8, and it had elements of surprise, drama and joy-all the typical factors in making a sucessful awards show.
The show began with U2 singing the single “Get On Your Boots” from their upcoming album “No Line on the Horizon.” The band was not originally scheduled to open the show, but filled in after Rihanna cancelled.
Whitney Houston, who seemed to almost get a standing ovation on the sole factor that she was able to stand up straight, took the stage to honor Clive Davis. She also presented the award for Best R&B album, won by Jennifer Hudson. Fighting back tears, she thanked her family “in heaven and those who are here with me today.”
Al Green with help from Keith Urban, Justin Timberlake and Boys II Men filled in for Chris Brown with a rendition of the classic “Let’s Stay Together.” Other notable performances were Jennifer Hudson, Estelle and Kanye West, Kenney Chesney, Carrie Underwood, T.I. with Justin Timberlake, Neil Diamond and Coldplay with Jay-Z.
Coldplay took home both Song of the Year and Best Rock Album. Katy Perry put on a medicore performance of her hit song “I Kissed a Girl,” amd though she had an elaborate fruit set onstage, she seemed to just be going through the motions.
“Best Friends” Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift sang Swift’s song “Fifteen,” and the Jonas Brothers paired up with Stevie Wonder to perform “Burnin’ Up” and “Superstition.”
Possibly the best performance of the life was the Best Rap Perfomance by a Duo or Group winning single “Swagga Like Us,” with M.I.A., Kanye West, T.I., Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne also performed by himself later in the night with. He won four awards, including the conveted Best Rap Album, which he accepted with his family right beside him.
A crowd favorite was Paul McCartney, who sang “I Saw Her Standing There” with Dave Grohl on the drums. Radiohead also gained the attention of the audience by playing “15 Steps” with the University of Southern California’s marching band.
The night was filled with many surprises. Best New Artist went to Adele, the British songstress who some had never heard of before Sunday night, but all were definitely smitten after her performance of “Chasing Pavements” with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles.
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss were somewhat of an upset at the Grammys, winning both record and album of the year. Blink 182 also caused a stir when they announced that they were back together. Overall this year’s Grammy Awards were definitely a step up from the previous ones.