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Awards show inundated with aural pleasure

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead practice "15 Step" with the USC marching band.

Sunday evening’s Grammy Awards showcased a record 23 live performances by artists varying from Radiohead with the USC marching band to Stevie Wonder misplaced with the Jonas Brothers.

The Staples Center was overflowing with famous musicians, actors and fans of the arts. The audience consisted of members with the Recording Academy, but members could bring their families including small children.

The show kicked off with a performance by U2, led by dancing Irishman Bono. Duane “The Rock” Johnson followed with corny jokes, then turned the show over to Justin Timberlake and his story about growing up in Tennessee and being influenced by R&B.

Songstress Whitney Houston presented the first award. She awkwardly read her cues and seemed a bit “off.” The rest of the night went smoothly, with Carrie Underwood belting out a song about sleeping with men she doesn’t know and M.I.A. performing “Swagga Like Me” pregnant — on her actual due date — with Kanye West, T.I., Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.

In tribute to the Four Tops, Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx paired with Smokey Robinson and original member Abdul “Duke” Fakir to sing two classics, including “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).”

Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift sang a country song about romantic relationships with boys at 15-years-old. Both girls look the same age, but Cyrus is 16 and Swift is 19.

The performance by Radiohead was amazing, but somewhat overwhelming. The sound of the USC marching band with “15 Step” was a good pairing, but drowned out the vocals of lead singer Thom Yorke at times.

During one of the intermissions the marching band from the University of California performed with a great job entertained with beats from their huge drums.

Since the show was live on CBS, there were frequent breaks needed for commercial, and people could visit the bathroom or grab a drink. The announcer would say “5, 4, 3, 2, and 1!” each time when the commercials ended. When the show resumed after each commercial break, bright lights, which would change from red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple each minute, would light the entire auditorium — which were so bright that some audience members had to wear sunglasses to bare the glare.

Rock legend Sir Paul McCartney performed and received a standing ovation.

Justin Timberlake sang along to T.I.’s “Dead and Gone,” a song off T.I.’s album “Paper Trail.” T.I. is set to serve a one-year prison sentence starting next month.

Chris Brown and Rihanna were scheduled to perform together, but Brown was taken into police custody during the award show after an alleged domestic dispute in a silver Lamborghini early Sunday morning.

Among the Grammy recipients were Adele for Best New Artist award and John Mayer won an award for the Best Male Pop Singer.

Streets were all blocked around the Staples Center for security purposes. The Los Angeles Convention Center, next door to the Staples Center, held the post-Grammy celebration where members could attend following the Awards ceremony.

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2 Comments

  1. i love the song that Miley Cyrus and swift sung…..also i really enjoyed hearing the Jonas Brothers & Stevie Wonder.

  2. I think it’s all a matter of taste here. I thought Radiohead was extremely underwhelming, especially taking into account how clear it was that Thom was lipsyncing, definitely at the end. I was disappointed. Esp. with the lyrics.

    I really enjoyed the Jonas Brothers & Stevie Wonder…I didn’t find it at all misplaced. In any case, they were funky and energetic, and they were all at least clearly singing and playing live, as they, unlike many that night and otherwise, always do – despite the fact that the sound and camera direction were lacking. People just don’t give these guys enough credit.

    Don’t even get me started on M.I.A. Gimmicky, repetitive AND lipsynced? Check to all three! The commercial darlings of the music snobs exposed themselves as awfully shallow that night.

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