Grammys 2010

The first Grammy Awards of this decade boasted some of the best performances ever in the history of Grammys. There were as many medleys (string of short songs) performed by various artistes as there ever had been in its 52 years history. In case you did not already know, R&B legend-to-be Beyoncé bagged the most awards (6) including the coveted Song Of The Year for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It). Taylor Swift, who scored her first nomination two years ago (only to be beaten by soul sensation Amy Winehouse), finally realised her dream with one, two, three, four Grammys- and she's only 20! Ms. Knowles' husband Jay-Z only did half as well as his wife, as so did Black Eyed Peas and Kings Of Leons. The most unsurprising surprise was that A.R.Rahman, who is well known for his work on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, scored two Grammys for his work on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. Anyhow, I extend my sincerest congratulations to all the talented musicians and artists who were recognised and awarded for their hard work. (You guys are a huge source of inspiration to all music lovers worldwide, including me!) Anyways, let's briefly review how this year's Grammys really turned out.

Tribute in 3-D

Everyone saw it coming. The only question was 'how'. It was a magical moment from start to end. Five outstanding artistes from four different genre sang along with Michael Jackson's super awareness Earth Song. Ballad Queen Celine Dion, though well past her prime, provided some nevertheless superb vocals; R&B crooner Usher showed off his gospel-worthy tenor; Carrie Underwood proved that country singers do have powerful voices; Jennifer Hudson, though visibly smaller, assured us that she still has that big kickass tune in her; the softer Soul legend Smokey Robinson blended in well in what was a befitting tribute to his one time protégé. However, none of the above gifted performers could outsing The King himself. Even though gone, his unique voice haunted every viewer, nailing the song's intented Earth-saving message into our ignorant brains. Kudos to the organizers for succeeding in reminding us that a dead pop icon's impact in music and humanity was and is and will be greater than five best-selling artistes of three different generation from four different music genres. All hail Michael!


Borderless

Back in 2006, hip hop, alternative and Brit pop were fused into one when Jay-Z and Linkin Park teamed up with Beatles great Sir Paul McCartney. This year's ceremony was full of such instances (C-O-L-L-A-B-O-R-A-T-I-O-N). Attention-drawing Lady Gaga woke us up with an inspired duet with Elton John, who need no introduction. Skipping the non-collaborative performances (Green Day's musical interpretation of 21 Guns deserves a special mention), comedian cum movie star cum R&B singer Jamie Foxx united with autotune archtypal T-Pain to give a rather frantic rendition of 'Blame It', which ended epicly with a signature Slash (Guns 'n Roses, Velvet Revolver) solo rift. Zac Brown Band then entertained us with three songs of which the only one I have in my playlist is 'Chicken Fried' with a very cool looking Leon Russel, who is one of those amazing folk veterans. Taylor Swift then delighted her diehards with a pure-country style performance of hit singles 'You Belong With Me' and 'Today Was A Fairytale' and reintroduced the world to aged rock chick Stevie Nicks. After the sacred MJ tribute, Bon Jovi made us relive their moments of glory with the globally unknown Jennifer Nettles. The legendary David Foster teamed up with the legendary Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige in a Haiti earthquake charity performance that left Mary J. overwhelmed by the stunning Italian tenor (when Bocelli takes stage, no one else but him is singing!). Maxwell made his Grammy debut with Roberta Flack while the man who revolutionised the guitar world, the late Les Paul, was honoured by Jeff Back and Imelda May in the brilliant 'How High Was The Moon'. The shows finale was presented by rap's next big thing Drake along with two of the best mainstream rappers, Lil' Wayne and Eminem, while Travis Barker barely sweated it out on the drums that backed 'Drop The World' and Kanye-missing smash hit 'Forever'. This year's collaborations were really sweet and 'dope', and they were unlike any other award shows ever (apart from Adam Lambert at the recent AMAs).


Country Music The Biggest Winner

Taylor Swift may be pinching her skinny arms to feel the reality of her phenomenal and well-deserved achievements, but it was country music that emerged as the night's ultimate winner. Previously, country music was stereotypically associated with 'banjos', 'midwestern', 'cowboys', 'folk' and even 'redneck'. Thanks to Taylor Swift, country music is now ranks the highest in play counts in playlists among tweens and teens. The Grammys kinda up Taylor Swift's fame by one notch, and now she has achieved almost everything there is to achieve in music history, with what's left is experimental, non listeners-orientated music. Of course, many would argue that Taylor Swift's music is miles away from true country and sounds a lot closer to contemporary pop that many would admit, but who would complain? Country music has regained its status as 'in' music and I bet people are now frantically searching for Zac Brown Band or Carrie Underwood or even Lady Antebellum and will be pondering if they sound 'Taylor Swift' enough to be on their playlist. I am prepared to bet that in the next two to three years, they will probably add another award or two to the country music category. Taylor Swift may be the heroine of every teen girl's (and boy's) heart, but that night, she was the heroine of country music.

A Music Awards Show Or A Popularity Contest?

Forgive my harshness, but I'm afraid this years Grammy awards were decided based on popularity more than merit. When the nominees for the various awards were announced a few months back, it was apparent that the nominees were selected on the basis of chart performance and marketability rather than musical performance. For instance, Record Of The Year saw Halo, I Gotta Feeling, Use Somebody, You Belong With Me and Poker Face competing with each other, all of which were chart toppers. Now, I'm not saying that any of the songs did not deserve their nomination, but one cannot help feeling that the all of the nominees selected were mainstream to increase viewer ratings (though I'm glad Use Somebody won). Why were all the contenders for the top honours (AOTY, ROTY, SOTY) from the Billboard 100? Why not include Michael Bublé or Bruce Springsteen or even Steve Martin? Last year, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss defeated the likes of Coldplay and Neyo to wrest the top honours, and they were commercially the least successful nominees. This year, it is the overplayed and overdownloaded that are recognised instead. I am happy for the artistes that have won as it was totally deserved, but I do hope the Grammy Awards would banish the 'chart-topping' criteria and give the less featured but equally deserving artistes a chance.