COMMENTARY | The sudden death of Whitney Houston hung over the 54th Annual Grammy Awards held on Sunday, Feb. 12. Many of this year’s nominees were inspired by a woman with one of the best set of pipes in music. Whitney was respected by older musicians and admired by newcomers. Though the night belonged to Adele in terms of number of awards, memories of Whitney were in the back of lots of performers’ minds at music’s greatest celebration. The night also remembered others who died the previous year.
The 2012 Grammys opened with a performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. In 2011, saxophonist Clarence Clemons died a few days after suffering from a stroke. Springsteen stuck to his tradition of singing songs about the working man and the common people. The crowd showed admiration for a group that has rocked the world since the 80’s.
LL Cool J, the first Grammy host in seven years, came on stage and acknowledged the elephant in the room. He offered a prayer for Whitney Houston, who died a little over 24 hours earlier. He wore a black tuxedo, almost in memory of her. Whitney’s greatest Grammy moment played almost as a replacement for her anticipated presence that night. He followed by welcoming Adele back after her recovery from surgery to remove polyps from her vocal cords. LL Cool J rightly called it “a night of healing.”
Bruno Mars gave an upbeat performance, even mentioning Whitney’s name before telling the crowd to get up and dance. Like a lot of his live acts, he dressed in 60’s-style clothing and even danced like music legend James Brown. The Grammys remembered others who died last year. Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys gave tribute to Etta James, singing “Sunday Kind of Love.”
Adele gave her much-anticipated performance, singing her hit song “Rolling in the Deep.” She didn’t sound like her voice ever left or that she was nervous about letting it be heard again. Her performance was not filled with special effects, but it was a good, solid crowd-pleaser. Adele was the queen of the Grammys, with a clean sweep of six wins that included Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
Other live performances included Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna and Coldplay, Chris Brown, and Katy Perry. Nicki Minaj, though, will likely be the talk of the Grammys. I’m sure Nicki Minaj’s performance will get the criticism of some segments of the population. We shall see what happens in the following week.
The Beach Boys reunited for their 50th anniversary. Maroon 5 and Foster the People sang some of the group’s greatest hits before The Beach Boys hit the stage and sang “Good Vibrations.” Rounding out musicians who began their careers in the 1960s, Paul McCartney performed his latest song.
Glen Campbell, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, was also honored at this year’s Grammys. The Band Perry and Blake Shelton sang some of his classics. His Grammy appearance was part of his farewell tour and final album release before the disease takes away all of his memories. Even people who don’t know country music have likely heard some of his songs, most notably “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
Toward the end of the show, Jennifer Hudson sang “I Will Always Love You” in remembrance of Whitney Houston. She looked like she was fighting back tears as she got to the end of the song. Sir Paul McCartney concluded this year’s Grammy Awards, proving why he’s music royalty. Foo Fighters joined him for this final performance of the night.
I expected a night of mourning and sorrow because of the death of Whitney Houston. The Grammys tried striking a balance of having fun and not forgetting her death as well as the death of other greats the previous year. I wish they would have given a little more time to Don Cornelius, the man who created “Soul Train.” He did so much to bring R&B music to the mainstream. The highlight of the night, though, was the triumphant return of Adele, topped off by her sweep in the categories in which she was nominated.
Recap of Nominees and Winners:
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Someone Like You” – Adele (winner)
“You and I” – Lady Gaga
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“Fireworks” – Katy Perry
“Perfect” – Pink
Best Rap Performance
“Look at Me Now” – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
“Otls” – Jay-Z & Kanye West (winner)
“The Show Goes On” – Lupe Fiasco
“Moment 4 Life” – Nicki Minaj & Drake
“Black and Yellow” – Wiz Khalifa
Best Rock Performance
“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” – Coldplay
“Down by the Water” – The Decemberists
“Walk” – Foo Fighters (winner)
“The Cave” – Mumford & Sons
“Lotus Flower” – Radiohead
Best R&B Album
“F.A.M.E.” – Chris Brown (winner)
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Love Letter” – R. Kelly
“Pieces of Me” – Leclisi
“Kelly” – Kelly Price
Song of the Year
“All of the Lights” – Kayne West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Fergie
“The Cave” – Mumford & Sons
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“Rolling in the Deep” – Adele (winner)
Country Album
“My Kinda Party” – Jason Aldean
“Chlef” – Eric Church
“Own the Night” – Lady Antebellum (winner)
“Red River Blue” – Blake Shelton
“Here For a Good Time” – George Strait
“Speak Now” – Taylor Swift
Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver (winner)
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
Record of the Year
“21” – Adele (winner)
“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“The Cave” – Mumford & Sons
“Fireworks” – Katy Perry
Album of the Year
“21” – Adele (winner)
“Wasting Light” – Foo Fighters
“Born This Way” – Lady Gaga
“Doo-Wops & Hooligans” – Bruno Mars
“Loud” — Rihanna