The 52nd GRAMMY Awards kicked off in grand fashion, literally, with Lady Gaga opening the festivities solo, emerging in a green-sequined bodysuit with angel wings, accelerating from a purr to a powerful roar for her No. 1 "Poker Face," surrounded by a fleet of male dancers. Then, she faced a rhinestoned Sir Elton John — a 1970s fashion headline-maker himself — from opposite ends of a pair of conjoined pianos for a pair of songs: "Speechless" and "Your Song."
If anyone in the audience wasn't starstruck to begin with, they surely were by the time the pair passed the spotlight to first presenter Stephen Colbert. After cracking jokes — including one about a possible collaboration that would result in a group called the Pink-Eyed Green Peas — Colbert announced the winner for Song Of The Year, Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."
It was a night of pure GRAMMY gold for R&B songstress Beyoncé, who picked up six wins, a record for a female artrist, at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, including Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album. Country sensation Taylor Swift was the evening's runner-up with an impressive four GRAMMY wins, including taking Album Of The Year for Fearless, besting Beyoncé.
And in an evening of spirited, sometimes joyous performances, the broadcast's more reflective moments might have been its most memorable. Following a star-studded tribute to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop's children appeared, brave-faced and in armbands, to accept an award on his behalf. Later, Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige sang a stirring duet of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to raise funds for earthquake-devastated Haiti.
It was destined to be a good night for the Black Eyed Peas, nominated for six GRAMMYs. A fashionable Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo lit into "Imma Be," prancing and hip-shaking before bouncing in time alongside a team of dancing robots to their omnipresent smash "I Gotta Feeling."
Lady Gaga wasn't the only Lady sensation in attendance at the 52nd GRAMMY Awards. Lady Antebellum, who picked up a GRAMMY for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, sang the earnest "Need You Now," the title track from their new album, with harmonic grace and country prettiness. Everything about the performance suggested long-term promise for the Nashville-based vocal trio.
The multi-talented Jamie Foxx threw the audience a curveball in posing as a cloaked opera singer, but in short order got us feeling loose alongside his generous collaborator T-Pain — who was disguised momentarily as a wig-wearing conductor — with the contagious hit "Blame It." By performance end, Foxx was strutting, T-Pain's dreads were shaking, and Slash joined the fun, adding some wailing guitar pyrotechnics.
Lionel Richie's spirit-lifting introduction to the evening's Michael Jackson tribute preceded a video clip, voiced by Jackson, recalling the tragedy of the King of Pop's death as well as his commitment to multiple worthy causes. Celine Dion led an all-star, 3-D rendition of "Earth Song," harmonizing with Usher before Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson joined in. As the song built to its dramatic crescendo, each superstar took turns asking, on behalf of Mother Earth, the song's sad refrain: "What about us?"
Wyclef Jean, a native of Haiti, thanked the United States for its generosity in the wake of the devastating earthquake that recently struck the island. He introduced Blige and Bocelli, who teamed for a beautiful and graceful duet of Simon And Garfunkel's aforementioned classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" — which is celebrating its 40th anniversary GRAMMY wins for Record and Album Of The Year. Bocelli opened in perfect voice and was joined by a stunning Blige, turning in a unique performance, raising voices in support of those in need.
The evening's final statue was presented to Swift for Album Of The Year, which the young singer/songwriter accepted with youthful exuberance and a surprising long-term point of view:
"This is the story…when we are 80 years old, and we are telling the same stories over and over to our grandkids, and they are so annoyed with us, this is the story we are going to be telling over and over again: In 2010 that we got to win Album Of The Year at the GRAMMYs!"
ENJOY PICS FROM THE 52nd GrammyS...Coming up...
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