While many of the female pop stars were popping out of their minds in costumes best suited for Laugh-In meets the Carnies, Esmeralda wore the Grammy. Lady GaGa arrived in an egg, and her performance laid another. Justin was sharp with his dance moves, but his voice is thin, nearly transparent, and almost as lost in the music as his dancing was in the lights.
Mick Jagger wore the best tux of the night and proved that old rockers can still move their hips and bring a crowd to its feet. Here is a man who loves to perform. Streisand, on the other hand, looked antiquated- a relic of a by-gone era where show tunes, classical, and jazz music dominated the Grammy awards. Her voice was a mere ghost of her past, with only a glimpse or two of that signature control and tone that set her apart from other contemporary singers. She also followed Mick Jagger onto the stage- yeah, you don't want to do that.
Usher can dance, is a true entertainer, and his troupe tore up the floor. Likewise for Bruno Mars with his multi-instrument performance- nice touch to CBS for the black and white filter...I felt like we had a real director for this award show. Rhianna sang beautifully, looked lovely, as did all the women who sang the 'long enough tribute to think she was dead" to Aretha Franklin.
Eminem is "The Man". He has the presence and power that most rappers only dream of. When he steps out on the stage, he brings the audience to their feet, and he lives and breathes his words- it's an assault upon your senses, an amazingly powerful experience. Eminem is fascinating to watch, a mesmerizing artist unlike any other. He didn't wear an outfit from a 1980's Dr. Who television show in order to bare his soul- he just laid it out there.
Once you remove the silly costumes, turn-off the auto-tuners and the karaoke machine, and the juvenile hair styles, there were some excellent performances that deserve mentioning- and so we rated them. The Mutant Mouse top five performances at the 2011 Grammy Awards were:
5. Bruno Mars - nice work kid
4. Mumford and Sons- You boys kicked ass
3. Eminem - $#*# man, that was sick.
2. Muse - music and light show was excellent- lose the anarchist dancers tho
1. Arcade Fire - Says thanks for Album of the Year award and then plays another song- awesome
Kudos to CBS for adapting on the fly to Arcade Fire's decision to play another song. It felt like unscripted, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants television. And isn't that what we were looking for all along?
On a final note: Sorry, Justin- you have to have better music on your CD than your competition in order to actually WIN a Grammy. Don't give up, your dance moves were slick tonight...you could be the next Justin Timberlake if you keep at it for a few more years. Or you could end up like Leif Garrett. Good luck, kid.
