Although I always enjoy seeing who the Grammy winners are, Sunday's 53rd Grammy Awards Show was all about the performances.
The show opened with a tribute performance to Aretha Franklin, who has won a whopping 18 Grammys in her career. Soulful stars Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams and Martina McBride converged onstage to pay homage to Franklin, belting "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and other Franklin hits.
Delivering a killer rendition of "Ain't No Way,"Aguilera saved face after her 2011 Super Bowl performance fiasco. Her voice is perfectly suited to tributes, as evidenced by her stellar performance of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" at the 2007 Grammys.
However, while Aguilera's impressive vocals and sophisticated gown turned heads on Sunday, the star did not manage to make a complete comeback. After belting the last note of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," Aguilera was caught on camera stumbling in her high heels. Thankfully, the starlet was quickly brought back to her feet by Hudson and Welch.
The only artist worthy of following such a soulful performance was Lady Gaga, who was carried onto the red carpet in an egg a reference to her new single "Born this Way." The egg or, as I think of it, incubation orb was then brought to the stage and "hatched" for Gaga's performance of the single.
Gaga delivered a typically memorable performance, creating a spectacle with elaborate dance moves, shiny yellow attire, plastic pyramids on her shoulders and a long blond ponytail. Gaga even played the organ for the performance. A true performer at heart, Gaga does more than simply sing a tune she expresses herself through her fashion and uses her music to impart serious messages.
Cee-Lo Green also gave a standout performance, singing his hit song "Forget You." Sporting multicolored feathers and silver sequins, Green looked like a mix between Liberace, a chicken and a peacock. Although Green's fashion choices may have been shocking, my favorite part of the performance was when Gwyneth Paltrow accompanied by a puppet band joined the artist onstage, paying homage to the actress' popular rendition of "Forget You" on Fox's "Glee." Green is an incredible artist who possesses the rare ability to put a fresh twist on classic R&B and soul music, and his presence added the perfect balance to the already stellar list of Grammy performers.
Even Justin Bieber made a noteworthy appearance at Sunday's awards show, performing with mentor Usher and fellow teen crooner Jayden Smith. Bieber whose voice is starting to change is going through his Peter Brady stage, which showed during his performances of "Baby" and "Never Say Never." However, I think I may actually like the new, mature sound of Bieber's voice or maybe I am just glad that the tween idol is finally hitting puberty.
Although the night should have been about Lady Antebellum whose members walked away from the show with five awards or Arcade Fire's unexpected win of the coveted "Album of the Year" award, it was the performers who really stole the show.
