The Grammys 2012

February 12^th was the live showing of the 54th annual Grammy awards which pulled in the program’s largest viewing audience since 1984 with 39 million viewers tuning in to the three and a half hour broadcast.

This year’s Grammys proved to be a big night for Adele, who won a record-tying total of six awards, two of them in the Pop Field. While accepting the Best Pop Solo Performance award for “Someone Like You” Adele noted that since this was a vocal performance award, she wanted to thank her doctors who brought her voice back. Adele triumphantly returned to the Grammys stage with a soaring performance of “Rolling in the Deep.” Fully recovered from her vocal cord surgery, the singer hit every note with precision. At the end of the song, the entire crowd stood to their feet for a standing ovation. These awards were not Adele’s first. She won Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in 2008 for “Chasing Pavements.” That same year she won Best New Artist.

Rivalry was rampant at the Grammy Awards on Sunday when electronic acts Deadmau5 and Skrillex went head to head for Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica Album. Skrillex came out on top, but Deadmau5 most definitely stood out. His trademark mouse head was not the only part of his outfit that caught viewers’ attention. He has Skrillex’s number, and now we all do, too. Deadmau5’s idea of Grammy fashion was wearing Skrillex’s cell number on his shirt with “u mad bro?” written below. Skrillex had the last laugh though, taking home three Grammys including Best Dance/Electronica Album.

The Grammys did not only consist of excitement and laughter but also of sorrow and grief for the death of Whitney Houston only one day before the show. There was no better performer to pay tribute to Whitney Houston than Jennifer Hudson, who says she idolized the late superstar as a young girl. Hudson, an Oscar winner and celebrated singer in her own right, performed an emotional rendition of Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You,” appearing on the verge of tears. She ended the song with a lyrical switch, singing: “Whitney, we love, we love you.” She was also one of the few artists who was honored with a standing ovation.

Other memorable performances from the Grammys on Sunday night included a banjo-playing Taylor Swift who took to the stage for a very country performance of her Grammy-winning hit “Mean.” Other country stars also performed, such as the gorgeous Carrie Underwood who performed a duet with Tony Bennett singing “It Had to Be You,” as well as Jason Aldean’s duet with Kelly Clarkson of “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” We also saw the entertaining singer and dancer, Chris Brown, come back to the Grammys with the Best R&B Album and not one, but TWO performances. It’s pretty incredible how he has risen out of the controversy of his violent past with his ex, Rihanna. Nicki Minaj’s controversial performance, “The Exorcism of Roman,” caught everyone’s attention. At the end of the number, Minaj levitated. Her performance did not seem to express her intentions very clearly, and those viewers who were not terrified by it were utterly amused.

The usual Grammy atmosphere seemed to be cast in shadow with those mourning the death of Whitney Houston, but the show did go on. Many artists blew the audience away with their performances- others, not so much- but this year’s Grammys was definitely one to be remembered. The Grammys, the show that is known as music’s biggest night, did not let its audience down.

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