The 2010 Grammys: Posh Pageantry Promotes Diverse Styles of Music

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by Administrator in Gallery, News

Lady Gaga performs onstage

Picture 1 of 9

Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards - ShowStaples CenterLos Angeles, CA United StatesJanuary 31, 2010Photo by Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com

by Jason Dean

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards shoehorned a string of powerhouse performances into a three-and-a-half-hour awards free-for-all Sunday night. When it was all over, Beyoncé had won six Grammys—a record for a female—but country music darling Taylor Swift took home the crown jewel for album of the year.

Highlights? There were many. Michael Jackson was awarded a posthumous lifetime achievement award, and Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson sang along with the King of Pop on a new song to a backdrop of some snazzy 3D imagery. Mike’s kids—Prince and Paris—were trotted out afterwards to read some awkwardly worded teleprompter text about how they will continue to spread his message of love.

One surprise had to be Kings of Leon winning record of the year over Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and the Black Eyed Peas. Presenter Ringo Starr wasn’t expecting it, because he didn’t even know how to pronounce the band’s name. Speaking of the Black Eyed Peas, what was that ridiculous shart they made on stage during their performance? On a night when everything sparkled like rhinestones on Liberace’s codpiece, that tuneless robo-train wreck was—oh, what’s another word for “pathetic” that isn’t quite as upbeat?

Back to the highlights. Pink’s swinging/singing performance above the audience was graceful, inventive, and sounded great. The fact that her skin-tight outfit was barely there—especially after she was dipped in water and soaking wet—kept millions of eyes glued to the set clear well into the commercial break.

The powers that be at the Grammys of the 21st century have diversified the brand to account for every nook and cranny of recorded sound. Good for them. Long gone are the days when a band of hairy men and a flute (Jethro Tull) could blow away Metallica for Best Metal Performance, which famously happened in 1989. But the Best New Artist category still brings an oddball assortment of genres. Sizing up the countrified winners the Zac Brown Band with other nominees The Ting Tings, Keri Hilson, the Silversun Pickups, and MGMT is like comparing apples, spoons, shoes, and canoes.

I was just thankful I didn’t spend the night sitting behind Lady Gaga and her very inconsiderate “hat” that resembled foam insulation on acid.

Share this story with your friends:

Valentine’s Day – Film Review

Tags: 2010 Grammys, Beyoncé, Grammys, Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift

7 Responses to “The 2010 Grammys: Posh Pageantry Promotes Diverse Styles of Music”

Sara

03. Feb, 2010

Love this article! Very sharp and witty. Cheers to Pink who was hot beyond belief and to Liberace’s codpiece which all men should be required to wear at all times. Thanks~

Reply to this comment
Mike Pardee

03. Feb, 2010

Not so sharp, Tull won for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock not just Heavy Metal…and there were a lot of other artists bunched in with them there…personally I thought it was pretty cool to watch the smarmy smiles on Metallicas faces fall when they heard the news….awww…Tull is an awesome band and their legacy form the 70′s was deserving a grammy, its not their fault they were fairly mis-catorgorised.

Reply to this comment
- Jason Dean
  
  04. Feb, 2010
  
  Very sharp, Mike Pardee, to go to the Grammys website and clarify the exact name of the award. While it’s not Jethro Tull’s fault he was miscategorized, I know through all the research I did on him and his band that he plays a mean flute that is definitely heavy, hard, metal rock.
  
  Reply to this comment
James

04. Feb, 2010

Sharp as a knife! I think we all agree that Jethro Tull rules and yes I have seen them live. It was in the 70′s and the way, the place went wild with Tull’s heavy, hard, metal rock! By the way this article reads like a comic book. F—in funny mate!

Reply to this comment
Mr. Led Zeppelin

04. Feb, 2010

Actually, Jethro Tull isn’t a guy. Jethro Tull is a transvestite who likes it hard & heavy, but without metal. Thus, the Grammy category was flawed as pointed out in the article by Mr. Dean. Obviously, Mike Pardee is a fan of CDs and I don’t mean compact discs. This brings new meaning to the whole Bungle In The Jungle thing (insert flute in mouth - repeat).

Reply to this comment
Kelly

05. Feb, 2010

I think your Jethro Tull experience is cool but the article is about so much more. So let’s cut to the chase… Pink was so hot and yes all eyes were on her! The aside comment about Jethro Tull was effective! Lady Gaga is cool but she needs to have a cone of silence talk with her stylist. Never block the view of others when you don’t have to. Now you can insert the flute~

Reply to this comment
ian anderson

05. Feb, 2010

First, Jethro Tull isnt in the band although clearly some of the folks responding to this clever and funny article clearly might be named Jethro or Cletus….

Ian Anderson, the leader of Jethro Tull does indeed rock a mean flute and if colorful codpieces are all it takes for a heavy metal grammy than I am certain Mr Anderson has worn a few…..

Agreed that Mike P must be ‘thick as a brick” to get defensive like this. Of course the ‘Tullsters’ rock and deserved more than that grammy to be certain…in the future I ‘really dont mind if you sit this one out’ at least when your bothering to correct a point nobody really cared about anyway.

As for Lady Gaga’s choice of hats….perhaps she is actually a man who is lacking in certain areas and a large hat makes up for her shortcommings elsewhere.

Reply to this comment

h Magazine's hmonthly.com