Grammys in Your Jammies 2012

Hello faithful blog readers, it's time for the annual Grammys in Your Jammies post. This year feels both very sad and very exciting. Sad because of the sudden death of Whitney Houston yesterday, exciting because Adele is going to make her triumphant return to the stage tonight. I really do think she deserves to win tonight. I'm excited about LL Cool J hosting... I don't know why, but I've always liked him. I was wondering how they were going to honor Whitney - I liked LL Cool J's prayer... I like that they weren't afraid to pray - a very touching tribute.

I've never really posted a picture of the legendary Grammys in Your Jammies, but I decided to do one today. Shadow very grudgingly participated:

Camping Out On The Sofa

Performance Reviews

Bruce Springsteen: I could have done without the very 90's earrings, but he's a rocker so I guess he can get away with it. The man can still rock and "We Take Care of Our Own" is a pretty catchy tune. I really liked this performance. Mike and I even looked up tickets to his 2012 tour just now - sadly, he's going to be in San Jose on a Tuesday night and we both have to work on Wednesday. Boo. I bet it would be a great show!

Bruno Mars: I love, love, love the old school vibe to his performances. From the pompadour hair to the cheesy choreography, I love it all. I bought his album last year and was really impressed by it. I think his concert would be another really fun one to go to.

Alicia Keys & Bonnie Raitt: They sang "A Sunday Kind of Love" as a tribute to Etta James. Bonnie Raitt still has an amazing voice - I was really surprised because I haven't heard much from her in the last few years.I would have rather seen Alisha Keys at a piano instead of a cheesy sounding keyboard, but I think this was a pretty good performance.

Chris Brown: I've had a hard time with this guy ever since he beat the crap out of Rihanna. I'm fairly certain that he was lipsynching "Turn Up The Music", which completely pisses me off since this is the freaking Grammys... a show about MUSIC. And what the heck was up with the guys with the capes and SARS masks? Two thumbs down on this one.

Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson: I absolutely love "Don't You Want To Stay". Oops - they forgot to turn her microphone on. I love when two people dueting a love song sing to each other like they're really in love. I liked her voice a little better in this performance than his... he seemed a little bit nervous and warmed up as the song went on. And now his microphone died. Get it together Grammys.

Foo Fighters: Maybe I missed it, but why are the Foo Fighters performing in the parking lot? Mike thinks they wanted a rock audience to play in front of and that the Staples center might have been a little too high brow. Their song was called "Walk" from their latest album. I love the Foos (as I call them) because they're true to their music and just legitimately a great band.

Rihanna & Coldplay: I have never really been a Rihanna fan - something about her voice just kind of irks me. Her dancing looks like it's out of an 80's aerobics video. I think she was lipsynching too - there was a point where she moved the microphone away and the singing kept going. So lame. She sang the whole first song alone ("We Found Love" in case you're wondering) which really doesn't constitute singing with Coldplay. Chris Martin came out to sing "Princess of China" a capella and then she joined him on the yodeling. It was really bad. Just plain not a good match up in my opinion. Finally the band joined in, which was a little better, but I wasn't really a fan of this one.

Maroon 5, Foster The People & The Beach Boys: I love Adam Levine and I think he did a great job on "Surfer Girl". I haven't heard of Foster The People, but I really liked their version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice". I'm not sure what their normal music sounds like, but they did a great job covering. It was great to see the Beach Boys back on stage - who doesn't love their awesome sound?! "Good Vibrations" sounded awesome and I can't believe these guys can still sing that well!

Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, & Diana Krall: First of all, I love Joe Walsh. I wasn't a super huge fan of this song ("My Valentine"). It was sort of sad and weird and all minor. I like my love songs to be in major keys. The whole performance was a little blah for my taste and if you didn't know who Diana Krall was, you wouldn't have even known she was there...

The Civil Wars: I haven't really heard of them, but I sorta dug their weird little song. Mike liked them too.

Taylor Swift: While I think her songs are catchy on the radio, I think her performances haven't really improved over the years. In fact, she tends to be just a little off key, which I find disappointing (although it does prove that she's not lipsynching... so she's got that going for her). I'm also a little tired of the teen-angsty songs... Taylor, you're 22 now. Move on to grown up topics.

Katy Perry: I don't really understand the draw to Katy Perry. I don't love her voice, I don't love the blue hair and she doesn't really dance. She comes across like a Bible school version of Lady Gaga, without the voice and without the balls.

Adele: I think she is so beautiful and I love how she stuck with a simple dress.  I'm so happy that her voice is back and that she's able to sing again. I absolutely love "Rolling In The Deep". I really love her performance style - just stand in the middle of the stage and sing your heart out. I absolutely loved this performance.

The Band Perry, Blake Shelton, & Glen Campbell: I really liked the Glen Campbell tribute and the Alzheimer's thing hits close to home. The Band Perry is one of my favorite new bands out there and I loved hearing them do that little bluegrassy version of  "Gentle On My Mind". Blake Shelton has one of those voices I just like to listen to - his version of "Southern Nights" was pretty good. Glen Campbell was awesome, as always. I loved when they cut away to the audience and Joe Walsh was dancing with his date.

Tony Bennett & Carrie Underwood: I love "It Had To Be You". I've actually been really impressed with Tony Bennett's voice in recent years. The man is 85 years old and sounds great! Carrie Underwood could sing the phone book make it sound good. This was a classy little duet.

Jennifer Hudson: I am so not ok with this performance. You are not, nor will you ever be Whitney Houston. Maybe it's too soon for me on this. "I Will Always Love You" was Whitney's signature song and anything someone else tries to do to it right now is just going to bastardize it. This is just a cheap imitation of Whitney. Mike and I both agree that if anyone was to sing it, it should have been Dolly Parton. I love Jennifer Hudson and think she has an amazing voice, but I found this to be a lame tribute.

Dance Music Mash Up: Maybe I'm just not over the Whitney thing, but I wasn't really into this. I like the idea of honoring dance music as it's definitely a genre that's around to stay, but I'm tired of Chris Brown. I don't really see how the Foo Fighters fit into the dance music thing unless it was just that they still didn't want to let them into the building...

Nicki Minaj: She sounds like a scared lamb. I can't get into her. And I don't dig the costume crap or the weird video stuff. This is not the Oscars. Learn to sing and then come back to the Grammys. I'm still bitter about Whitney. I dont' get the performance at all.

Paul McCartney: I suppose THE Beatle deserves an encore. I was sort of hoping for "Maybe I'm Amazed" (that was the first dance at our wedding) but I'll settle for some "Golden Slumbers". I loved when they had all of the guitarists come out on stage to jam with him... to me that's what music is all about.

Clothing Reviews

LL Cool J: I love his tux and even more, I love his newsboy cap.

Adele: I love her simple but sparkly black dress and her crazy sparkly shoes. Classic, yet fun. I think she's really beautiful and am so glad she's not giving into society's pressure to be thin.

Fergie: What the hell is that dress? Honestly, don't care to see your black bra and panties under your lacy red dress. Not even a little sexy.

Reba McEntire: Love her dress, love her hair and love her body. I hope that when I'm 56 years old I can still rock a kick ass dress like that.

Victor Cruz: Your pants are too tight. I don't even know why you're on the Grammys.

Adam Levine: I loved his striped shirt and vest.

Chris Brown: There was absolutely no need to show your ugly chest tattoo off. Button up your shirt. Now.

Paul McCartney: The man is looking pretty dang dapper in his white suit. I like it.

Kate Beckinsale: I love her little white dress. And apparently, she's British. I had no idea.

Mirnada Lambert: I loved her pretty sparkly dress. I love that she is a little curvier and is not afraid to flaunt it!

Carrie Underwood: I loved her dress, but her spider leg eyelashes scared me. A lot.

Diana Ross: Her dress was so pretty and she looks really good! I love how classy and elegant it was!

Who Got Screwed

The Mumford & Sons writers - it's not really that they got screwed, but more that it sucks they were nominated in the same year/category as Adele.

The Band Perry: They TOTALLY deserved best new artist. If I, a music enthusiast, can't name a single Bon Iver song, they probably shouldn't win best new artist. Lame. P.S. You should never use "sweet hookup" in your acceptance speech.

Closing Comments

I loved Dave Grohl's acceptance speech - it's great to hear that someone still sits in their garage and makes music. I also loved that he talked about learning the craft of music and that it's not about being perfect - maybe a slight dig at those lipsynching?

I noticed a surprising lack of Lady Gaga this year - they showed her once when they were talking about album of the year. I guess it's because her album isn't new, but I would have thought some of her singles would have been nominated.

Finally, in case you're wondering every year like Mike and I what the difference between record of the year, song of the year and album of the year, here's the breakdown:

• Record of the Year is awarded for a single song. The award goes to the performer, producer, recording engineer and mixer for the song.
• Song of the Year is awarded for a single song. The award goes to the songwriter.
• Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album. The award goes to the performer, producer, recording engineer and mastering engineer.

Adele definitely deserved her sweep - congrats to her for her six wins! Good night!