As most of you know, it’s an annual tradition for me to camp out on the sofa, stay up past my bedtime, and watch the Grammys. This year was no exception. This year was surrounded by a little bit of controversy… Apparently the attendees got a note asking them to make sure that they were well dressed… no side boob, butt crack, etc. If you’ve ever watched the Grammys, you’ll know that the attendees tend to be a bit fashion forward at this event – it’s part of what makes it so fun! Without further ado, here are my thoughts!

The Clothes
LL Cool J: the man looks good. I love a good newsboy cap and somehow he can make it work with a tux.
Jennifer Lopez: I love that she started with “As you can see, I read the memo”. That was a lot of leg!
Adele: I didn’t totally love her red dress… Apparently she did read the memo and covered everything up. Her speech was cute though!
John Mayer: Was that seriously a velvet blue tux?
Carrie Underwood: Her dress was STUNNING. She looks so good! I want to be her.
Kelly Roland: Apparently she didn’t get the memo either… Her dress was an odd mix of sheer and shapes.
Kelly Clarkson: Her performance dress was beautiful – simple black with a beaded band at the waist. Very elegant!
Prince: ‘nough said.

The Performances
Taylor Swift: Not really sure what this performance was about. I love “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” because it’s pretty much been stuck in my head since she released it. But I don’t understand the circus bit…
Elton John and Ed Sheeran: Honestly, Elton John can do no wrong in my book. They sang Sheeran’s song “A Team” which I keep thinking is a Jason Mraz song every time I hear it (which is good by the way).
fun.: These guys are amazing. Nate Ruess, their frontman has a phenomenal voice. They sang “Carry On” which they absolutely killed it!
Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley: I am beyond excited to be seeing these two in just a couple months. They sang “Over You” and “Home”. This was a good, mellow performance… I can’t wait to see them rock!
Miguel and Wiz Khalifa: They sang “Adorn”. I don’t think I have hear Miguel before, but he’s got a pretty good voice. I like how smooth his voice is.
Mumford & Sons: OMG, I love these guys. Like a lot. And I love “I Will Wait For You”. I have no idea how Marcus Mumford manages to play guitar, sing, and play drums with his feet all at the same time. I seriously hope they come to NorCal sometime soon!!!
Justin Timberlake: “Suit and Tie” is really starting to grow on me. Lets not lie, I will be first in line to see JT when he goes on tour again. As always, he is a great performer. I love that he has Jay-Z rap in his song too… It feels like he got longer on the show than on the recorded song (I felt like it was really short on the record).
Alisha Keys and Maroon 5: I really like “Daylight” and thought it was a good choice for the show. I loved that Alisha Keys played the drums on “Girl On Fire”. It was a great duet with her and Adam Levine – I loved the mash up of the two songs.
Rihanna: She sang a song called “Stay” with a guy no one knew (songwriter Mikky Ekko). I normally can’t stand her, but actually really liked this song and performance.
Dr. John, The Black Keys, and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band: This was a pretty cool combination of musicians. They performed “Lonely Boy” but I wished they would have let the jazz band have a little solo.
Kelly Clarkson: I loved her performance of “Tennessee Waltz”. I’ve loved her since she was on “American Idol” and think she’s only gotten better over the last 10 years. She sang “Natural Woman” on Idol (remember the crazy high part?!) and did a great job on this version too.
Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna, Damian Marley, & Ziggy Marley: I think he’s so talented and love his music. “Locked Out of Heaven” was a great pick for the show! It was neat to have Sting sing and play with him too! That led nicely into the Bob Marley tribute.
The Lumineers: Their catchy tune “Hey Ho” was a great intro to Jack White.
Jack White: His music is so creepy and great! I love seeing him perform – it’s captivating! The whole jam session around the piano thing was really neat!
Hunter Hayes: “Wanted” has been growing on me and it makes me happy to know he can actually sing!
Carrie Underwood: “Blown Away” is not my favorite song she does, but she rocked it. She wore another beautiful dress – a great grey/blue couture frock. I loved “Two Black Cadillacs” – it’s one of my favorites on her newest album. I thought it was interesting how they used her dress to project light, shapes and patterns.
Elton John, the Zac Brown Band, Mavis Staples, Mumford & Sons: Zac Brown kicked off the tribute with “The Weight”. Hearing Marcus Mumford and Elton John jump in was great. Levon Helm would have loved the tribute – a great collaboration!
Frank Ocean: He sang a song called “Forrest Gump” that was pretty, but a little odd. He has a pretty good voice, but the song repeats Forrest Gump just a few too many times.it’s like the story of the movie but in a song and with something about a cigarette burning his fingers.

LL Cool J, Chuck D, Travis Barker, Tom Morello and DJ Z-Trip: This was  very raucous perfomance (geez, Travis Barker can play the drums) and had a great little tribute to MCA. Not the best finish every to the Grammys, but a good one none the less.

They Got Robbed!
“Stronger” Writers: If you listen to the lyrics, it’ really a great song… I do like “We Are Young”, but think “Stronger” is a much better song.
Mumford & Sons: I think they seriously deserved to win best rock performance… I like the Black Keys, but I think M&S should have won! They did win album of the year over BK, so that makes up for it a little bit.
Everyone in the pop vocal album category: Kelly Clarkson totally deserved it, but what a category!!! There were some serious contenders!

I was really excited that they’re going to start giving the Music Educator of the Year award next year. While my music was encouraged by my parents at a very young age, I can think of several teachers (Mr. G, Mr. Hodge, Dr. Adler and Stephanie my vocal instructor) who helped teach, encourage, and inspire me along the way. This is going to be a great award!