Usual disclaimers: IMHO, YMMV, no harm intended, etc
A rapper as MC worked pretty good.
They trotted out enough legendary artists it was more like the Grampys than the Grammys, and it was shocking to see how, even at their age, the talent of the legends still eclipses much of what has been "sold" for the last 20 years. Truly amazing, and thank god they brought them out -- we would've gone all night without a substantial guitar solo!
Bruno mars did a great nod to the past, but voice was buried in the mix.
I'm surprised how much (country excepted) the woman have moved to completely dominate the solo artist category.
Jennifer Hudsen knocked it out of the park, and Adele sounded nervous and tight on a few notes but did great for first post-surgery performance.
I sing a Lady Gaga song, and she's done much for the sexually confused. But I gotta admit I felt a deep sense of satisfaction and revenge as she sat there, looking like a victim of a trawler net accident and getting passed over again and again despite the incredible media push she did for "born this way".
The stunt-girl, pretend-vocalist, over-cooked, madonna/brittney-on-crack solo female pop star category was completely, definitively, and absolutely crushed by the reality that the emotion in voice and song are what really matter.
To that point, kudos to Foo Fighters for throwing down the gauntlet!!!
Learn to sing, learn to play an instrument, and stop looking to technology for emotion and expression!
Their message -- only by practicing your craft will get what is in your heart and head out to your fellow human beings, and that's what they care about -- was long overdue!!
