The 56th Annual Grammy Awards aired Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and it was in interesting show, to say the least. Artists packed the arena full, donning designer dresses from Gucci to Valentino to Emilio Pucci.
While the Grammy Awards show typically is more laid-back compared to the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards, it’s safe to say this year was pretty disappointing. It didn’t have the usual fun and upbeat vibe the Grammys are known for; in fact, the entire show could be found rather boring.
Beyoncé opened the show with “Drunk in Love,” and Jay Z, her husband, joined her onstage. As expected, the entire auditorium and all of America went completely nuts.
But let’s be honest, anything Beyoncé does, people are going to go crazy over. That being said, it wasn’t a riveting performance.
Katy Perry’s performance of “Dark Horse” with Juicy J was pretty cool.
It was an interesting side of Perry that we aren’t used to.
Although, the performance didn’t need the awkward pole dancing on a witch’s broom. Not only was it unnecessary, but Perry wasn’t the best at it.
While a lot of people are huge Lorde fans, her performance of “Royals” didn’t blow anyone away.
The tempo was slowed down to show off her vocals, but it didn’t work. It would have been preferable for her to keep the pace of the original.
But it can be overlooked considering she’s 17 and it was her first Grammy performance. She deserved to win for “Best Pop Solo Performance” and “Song of the Year.”
Taylor Swift vocally sounded good in “All Too Well” and considering past performances, her voice was on point.
However, her performance was boring. Even the hair whipping, which was clearly meant to give something of interest to the performance, was just weird.
Fans of The Beatles probably thought it was amazing to see Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform together. While we will never get a full Beatles’ reunion, it was fantastic for this generation to see half of the group that redefined music and the music industry.
Pink blew the crowd away. While she may have recycled her acrobatics tricks from a previous Grammys performance, who cares.
The amount of strength and talent it takes to ribbon twirl above an audience and sing on key is difficult to even imagine. But she pulls it off with such ease and looked so good doing it.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter that she’s done it before. Some would watch it again and again… and again.
The mash-up between Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar was something unexpected, but it was pretty powerful and fun to watch. And given all the other mediocre performances, it was likable enough, which can also be said for Daft Punk, Pharrell and Stevie Wonder. It wasn’t necessarily show-stopping, but it was enjoyable.
Lastly, “Same Love” was a very good performance. Many people are very big fans of that song and many viewers loved the energy that Macklemore gave the act.
The whole wedding sequence really made the performance.
While some hope those couples celebrate with something more intimate and with family members, it added something to the performance and was just, overall, something audiences have never seen before. It was very well done.
In a nutshell, the 56th Grammys were good but they won’t be particularly remembered in any special way. Compared to other years, the performances were rather bland and I found myself getting distracted throughout the entire show.
From the dresses to the acts even to the winners, the Grammys were not phenomenal this year.
SAMMIE JANIK
