OK, as I posted earlier I was gone last night to the Recording Academy's Grammy party in D.C. It was a fantastic experience, full of Grammy voters, music journalists, and other very "important people" within the industry. Of course, there was too much going on to mingle with everyone there.
I had the chance to speak to an actual Grammy voter. I asked the voter about Jennifer Hudson's win (which I disagree with, but am still happy about); the voter said that it was a "good win in that category," but said that it's important not to just vote for the most familiar name. This person seemed like one of few voters who actually votes based on what he thinks is best. He even jokingly commented that his picks "never win."
Overall, it was a fantastic night!
Now, on to my comments about the show and winners.
THE BAD The only bad thing about this year's ceremony was the fact that everyone's Grammy triumphs were eclipsed by the whole Chris Brown/Rihanna drama. That's all anybody wants to talk about...well, that and M.I.A. performing pregnant. But I'll save that for another time.
THE PERFORMANCES "Swagga Like Us," IMO, was hands down the night's best performance. M.I.A. has cemented her name within people's minds due to that performance. Overall, it was simply amazing!
GENERAL FIELD: Though their AOTY win was a good one, "Please Read The Letter" was not a good ROTY choice; "Bleeding Love" or "Paper Planes" (despite how old the latter is) should've taken it. SOTY was a predictable win, but also a good one. Adele was a good choice for BNA, but the best choice would've been Jazmine Sullivan, IMO.
POP: John Mayer won his FOURTH Grammy for Pop Male Vocal. Though I preferred Jason Mraz, I think Mayer's win was very deserved (and I will admit that I'm a bit biased because I'm a huge Mayer fan). Adele's Pop Female win is inexcusable. "Chasing Pavements" is a great song, but a better vocal than "Bleeding Love"? Not by any means. "No Air" lost as expected; too bad since it was MUCH better than "Rich Woman," but I think we all expected that Plant/Krauss sweep. DUFFY WON POP ALBUM!!! That was the highlight of this field. I didn't expect it to happen, but they truly went with the BEST album there. Great job voters!!!
R&B: Like Mayer in Pop Male, Alicia Keys nabbed her fourth R&B Female Grammy. Too bad she won for the WRONG song ("Like You'll Never See Me Again" should've been nominated and won). I know a lot of people were predicting Jennifer (I was), but I'm not surprised. The fact is that they ALWAYS go with the crossover choice here, so it was CLEARLY gonna go to one of the two veterans. Because "Superwoman" is new, Alicia had the upperhand over Beyonce. I know Jennifer is just as much an A-lister as they are, but she's not a crossover success regardless of her Oscar win. Personally, I thought Jazmine or Jennifer should've taken it. I don't agree with Jennifer's R&B Album win at all, but I'm still SO ELATED that she won a Grammy. I loved her speech and it was a great way to kick off the show by rewarding Hudson. We all knew she'd win somewhere; I just didn't expect it to be that category. But even though I don't agree, I love Jennifer, am a lifelong fan, and I'm glad she has a Grammy! Al Green's two Grammy wins? I don't care for either of them. He should've won Jennifer's category, and Jennifer should've taken his Duo/Group Grammy, while Jazmine or Saadiq took his Trad. Vocal Grammy. The only reason I like the latter win is because Anthony Hamilton FINALLY has a Grammy under his belt. I'm SO glad that Chrisette Michele won. Fantastic choice! Ne-Yo won twice for "Miss Independent"; no shock there, though I don't think either was the best in its category. Now, the REAL shock was Ne-Yo, an AOTY nominee, losing to Mary J. Blige. But I'm so glad they went with the BEST album of the bunch. Mary totally deserved that 9th Grammy, and she's now the only artist in history to win BOTH R&B Album categories.
RAP: As expected, Lil' Wayne nearly swept the ENTIRE rap field. I strongly disagree with his Rap Album win (even though it was expected). Any of the other 4 would've been a better choice. "Lollipop" winning Rap Song was no shock, but "Swagga Like Us" really should've won. "American Boy" is a great Rap/Sung winner. Now, Kanye has officially won EVERY category in the rap field.
COUNTRY: GO CARRIE!!! Win #3!!! I love it! Sugarland and Jennifer Nettles for Country Group and Song, respectively. Once again, BRILLIANT choices! As far as overall categories that I care about this year, they certainly have more hits than misses. Wins for Duffy and Mary definitely regain some of voters' cool points.
GOSPEL: Mary Mary won their 2nd Grammy! I loved their win. CeCe Winans won her 9th Grammy, while Kirk Franklin won his 6th & 7th. All AMAZING wins!!!
Overall, I was pleased with the majority of the winners in my favorite categories.
Excuse the long post, but I wanted to drop all my comments at once.
Hey MrTalented I attended the Grammy Viewing Party in Chicago. Some of the voters that I talked to really loved Adele. Jennifer Hudson of course got a loud response when she won and performed. This was my first time attending the event and I really enjoyed myself. I just wish that they wouldn't show the predictable categories for next year. But here were some of my favorite performances:
*Estlle & Kanye *"Swagger Like Us" Performance *Jennifer Hudson *Adele & Sugarland *Al Green
Posts: 1914 | Location: Indiana | Registered: October 28, 2002
I loved Radiohead's performance of 15 Step and Jennifer Hudson's performance was good as well. The only thing that turned me off that night was Kanye's hair, it was like watching a flashback to the 80's . But overall, the show wasn't that bad, i actually expected the televised categories to be as predictable as they were.
Loved the "Swagga Like Us" performance...I really wish M.I.A. would have won a Grammy, but it didn't matter b/c she was still awesome.
Poor Whitney Houston! It took her 10 minutes to say a few sentences.
I believe that they threw together that Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Boys II Men, Keith Urban performance together at the last minute and it turned out fantastic. That was just as good as when Aretha Franklin had to feel in for Pavoratti.
Congratulations to Cynthia Nixon, who is now a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner.
For Your Grammy Consideration: Kristin Chenoweth - in all eligible categories
Lucky you guys being at those grammy parties. That sounds pretty cool. How did you both end up going?
Really Thor, you thought Radiohead was boring? I mean, they had a marching band for God's sake! They and the "Swagga" crew seem to be getting some of the best reviews I've read.
My favorite performances, in order.
1. Adele/Sugarland 2. "Swagga Like Us" 3. Radiohead 4. Jennifer Hudson 5. Lil Wayne and co.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bildo10,
Originally posted by Classof2006: I cant believe the ratings went up! Maybe having the Jonas Brothers,Miley Cyrys,and Taylor Swift was a good idea.
I think that's giving them too much credit. I think there was a great diverse group of nominees and performers that appealed to a lot of people.
Grammy FYC: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak; Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.; John Legend, Evolver; Paolo Nutini, Sunny Side Up; David Guetta, One Love; Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"; Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"; Kings Of Leon, "Use Somebody"; Maxwell, "Pretty Wings"
Originally posted by Classof2006: Mr.Talented you liked Carrie's performance too? I thought I was the only one.She did a GREAT job last night!
I just wished her mic wasn't screwed up. Most of the performers last night had bad mics, something was wrong with the sound. Anyways, I thought her performance was alright. I've heard her sing better though. I wish she performed "Just A Dream" instead of "Last Name" though.
Did anyoneelse think that Katy Perry,Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift sounded a HOT MESS! They all sung horribly last night. I actually laughed during Taylor and Miley's performance cause it was so sad!
I expected the ratings to go up a little bit. I'm sure the JoBros, Miley, Taylor, and so on helped with the ratings. Also since they had a lot more Hip-Hop artists. But 2 million more isn't that much more. Still its something.
It seems younger viewers contributed to the increased ratings. According to Variety:
"Among adults 18-34, this year's prelim 6.9 rating/19 share was up 23% from 2008 (5.6/15) for the show's second best score in four years. And in teens 12-17, Sunday's Grammys reached a projected 5.1/17, up more than 30% from last year and the strongest delivery among the Clearasil crowd in four years."
Maybe having the Jonas Brothers,Miley Cyrys,and Taylor Swift was a good idea.
. But overall, the show wasn't that bad, i actually expected the televised categories to be as predictable as they were.
I actually laughed during Taylor and Miley's performance cause it was so sad! 
