The grandest Grammy Awards ever

Since you can get the names from the TV newscasts and the papers, I do not really watch the annual Academy Awards for the winners. All they do is thank Mom and Dad, current squeeze, managers and stylists. I watch to look at the clothes and choose which stars will get barbecued by the fashion police and to check out details like how Jennifer Aniston looked speaking at the podium with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the front row.

You can also get juicy bits like those at the Grammy Awards. Lady Gaga came in an egg this year that hatched on stage to become a vintage disco diva. Nicky Minaj in her leopard outfit was the tasty offering for the stick. I wondered if Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez will let on that they are dating. Maybe the fact that he came dapper in a white dinner jacket and she was all movie star glamour in a slinky silk gown could be a sign. And it looks like Nicole Kidman is taking her role as country star wife very seriously. She came with husband Keith Urban who won for Best Country Vocal Performance with his song Till Summer Comes Around.

But things like those are never reasons to watch the Grammys. You watch because of the music. And to the credit of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, they always give out those little gramophones with a great show. Sometimes though, to the delight of the audience, the gossipy movie star bits do combine with the music to create a wonderful moment.

This year this happened when Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow crawled on the piano as she joined Cee Lo Green and cute singing muppets to do Forget You. They ran away with the show. Paltrow, Mrs. Chris Martin of Coldplay in real life and can really sing, has y been busy with her music career. She plays a country singer in the movie Country Strong opposite Tim McGraw and has a recurring character in the TV series Glee. It was there that she first performed F*** U which turned wholesome as Forget U.

So, record sales might be down worldwide and music companies are teetering on bankruptcy but this year’s Grammy presentation was not only fabulous, it was one of the best in Grammy history. In fact, to the delight of all those watching, there were more musical numbers than awards in the show. Is this good or bad? Like an awards show should give awards. But who cares about trophies when you get those spectacular performances? Did you see how changing the screen from color to black and white turned Bruno Mars into a doo wop singer? Wow!

The evening was a blend of the grandeur of the past and a look into an exciting future. The legends came. Mick Jagger performed for the first time on the Grammy stage. He did Solomon Burke’s Everybody Needs Somebody To Love and earned a standing ovation. So did a raspy Bob Dylan who looked like an eccentric millionaire who can play the harp. He was with Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers for his Maggie’s Farm. Barbra Streisand was there, too. Her dress might be one of those that gets skewered. Where was Donna Karan? Or maybe it was Donna Karan’s. Anyway escorted by Kris Kristofferson and singing Evergreen, she remains a divine presence.

She couldn’t attend so Aretha Franklin accepted the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award via satellite after a sensational tribute number by divas, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welsh, Miranda Lambert and Christina Aguilera. This was a showcase of great pipes but Aguilera’s efforts to stand out in the number made me uncomfortable. She should take a cue from Hudson on how to lose weight and from Paltrow on how to be effortless as a star.

There might be a Grammy in Paltrow’s future soon. Also for Bieber who lost but got to perform with mentor Usher and an energetic Jaden Smith, whose sister Willow also has the makings of a star. With them around there will surely be lots more Grammy spectacles in our future.