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Awards Season: the Grammys: the Good, the Bad & the Weird

Hosted by LL Cool J, the 2012 Grammy Awards were full of the usual eccentric happenings this past Sunday night, with artists from every musical spectrum turning up in weird and wonderful outfits to celebrate the awards. It was also a night not without its controversy. Chris Brown performed not once, but twice at the awards, in a comeback effort after that debacle with Rihanna that the music industry has apparently decided he’s served his time for, causing a storm of twitter outrage. Beyonce and Jay-Z, a staple of awards shows, were not present at the awards and neither was awarded any trophies. Well, that’s a first. Lady Gaga turned up wearing yet another envelope pushing outfit; if, of course, there is an envelope left to push. If the woman doesn’t wear a dress made out of raw meat people just aren’t interested anymore. Perhaps the biggest eyebrow-raising moment of the night was Nicki Minaj’s bizarre performance. The Super Bass singer took the stage with her elderly date for the evening, who was dressed as the Pope, and proceeded to give a five minute medley of songs. Stunts included but were not limited to; acting out her own crucifixion on top of what looked like the body of a Dalek, giving a dance routine in a confession box and finally being raised in midair. Interesting.

Taylor Swift also delivered a typically sweet and unassuming performance of her song ‘Mean,’ to a standing ovation. Other performances came from the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay and Paul McCartney, as well as many others.

Quite a line up indeed. Undoubtedly however, the two most memorable acts of the night were Adele and Jennifer Hudson. Hudson, a friend of the late great Whitney Houston, sang a tribute of ‘I Will Always Love You,’ replacing the last line with ‘Whitney, We Will Always Love You.’ Though visibly distressed, Hudson managed a beautiful rendition of the song. (See it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTXylHpuJM). However, Adele’s comeback performance of ‘Rolling In The Deep,’ as introduced by a “deeply honoured” Gwyneth Paltrow, was the real show stopping moment of the night. Once Adele had finished an audience of the worlds’ most esteemed living musicians leapt to their feet in applause. Adele was, aside from the late Whitney Houston, the real star of the show. The London-born artist took home all six Grammy awards she was nominated for, including ‘Record of the Year’ for ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and ‘Album of the Year’ for ‘21.’ When collecting the latter award a noticeably slimmer Adele gushed “mum, girl did good!” True to her down to earth self, she also then told the crowd, “hang on, I’ve got some snot.”

A list of the winners in all major categories is as follows:

Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele

Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth

New Artist: Bon Iver

Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You,” Adele

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul,” Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

Pop Vocal Album: “21,” Adele

Alternative Album: “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver

Rock Song: “Walk,” Foo Fighters

Rock Album: “Wasting Light,” Foo Fighters

Rock Performance: “Walk,” Foo Fighters

Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo,” Foo Fighters

R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.,” Chris Brown

R&B Song: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash

R&B Performance: “Is This Love,” Corrine Bailey Rae

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West

Rap Performance: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West

Rap Song: “All of the Lights,” Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West

Rap/Sung Collaboration: “All of the Lights,” Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

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