In the interest of full disclosure, I should begin with this:
Lady Gaga literally personifies the triumph of packaged and formulaic acts over talented performances. Which is rather a shame because this girl can sing. …
By sterling contrast, Adele not only sings like an angel, she might just be the music industry’s saving grace. Unfortunately, this industry has so little to do with musical talent these days, Adele performing on any music awards show is rather like Andrea Bocelli performing on So You Think You Can Dance.
(“2011 MTV Video Music Awards,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 30, 2011)
To be fair, Lady Gaga has undergone a commendable transformation since then, which I duly noted in “Ovation: Gimmicky Gaga Is Now Singer ‘Joanne,’” November 29, 2016.
But here is how Adele and Beyoncé vindicated what I wrote back in 2011:
- Adele opened the show with a no-gimmick, stand-up rendition of “Hello.” The audience rose to their feet.
- Beyoncé followed an hour later. But she performed what can only be described as a preview of the stage adaptation of the movie classic, Cleopatra – complete with Jay Z’s concubines carrying “Queen Bee” in an imperial sedan. The audience sat in their seats … perhaps out of reverence.
Apropos of previews, I previewed this show last month in “Contending for 2017 Grammy Queen: Beyoncé vs. Adele,” December 8, 2016. It is not lost on me that, given the way she reigned on stage, Beyoncé effectively anointed herself.
Equally off-putting was Adele appearing unworthy of even being a contender. Specifically, she followed her stellar opener with a tribute to George Michael that smacked of a really bad, late-night recording session. WTF, Adele! You don’t stop mid-song at the friggin’ Grammys for a do-over. That’s what rehearsals are for.
In any event, here is what I wrote about their matchup in that December 8 preview:
Music awards have become so patently contrived, I’m willing to bet that, in their head-to-head competition, Beyoncé will win Album Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance; and Adele will win Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. Each will undoubtedly win additional Grammys in other categories where they singularly headline the nominees.
As things turned out, Adele not only won the two biggies as I predicted, but also stole the two I predicted Beyoncé would, and then another one (Pop Vocal) – for a total of five. In other words, Adele ended up the queen bee in all of the categories where she and Beyoncé contended. Frankly, but for Urban Contemporary and Music Video, where she’s lucky Adele was not in contention, Beyoncé would have gone home empty-handed.
Yet, even though she won the crown in sweeping fashion, Adele reacted as if Beyoncé had been crowned:
Adele’s 25 may have beat Beyoncé for album of the year, but the British singer spent most of her acceptance speech pouring her heart out about how much she loves Beyoncé.
‘My light is Beyoncé. The Lemonade album was just so monumental and so well thought out and so beautiful and so soul-bearing,’ Adele said.
(Washington Post, February 12, 2017)
And she wasn’t faking this modesty. I fear the poor dear really did not feel worthy …
Nonetheless, given my opening disclosure, I couldn’t be happier for Adele … and the music industry.
Incidentally, Beyoncé took her dethroning, er, regally. But she and Adele will never drop an album in the same year again. Trust me, Bey will make sure of that.
As for the rest of the show, here’s a reminder for a little context:
I took a lot of flak for dissing the 2011 Video Music Awards (VMAs) as ‘the triumph of packaged and formulaic acts over talented performances.’ But no show since then has controverted my diss.
(“Makeup-Free Alicia Keys Star of VMAs,” The iPINIONS Journal, September 6, 2016)
Well, at long last, this show did. In fact, I can’t believe I watched the whole thing. Because I tuned in only to watch Adele’s opening number, but was still watching four hours later when Adele picked up her fifth Grammy for Album of the Year.
The telecast redeemed itself this year by dedicating far more time to entertaining us – with popular artists performing songs, than boring us – with obscure artists receiving awards. No doubt there were many terrific performances. But the highlight of the night, after Adele’s opener, was Bruno Mars paying tribute to Prince with his cover of “Let’s Go Crazy.” Who knew Bruno could play like that …
I would be remiss, however, not to mention that David Bowie won five Grammys for his requiem album, Blackstar. Never mind that each award reeked of the cynical, posthumous acclaim I denounced in “Bowie more Popular in Death than He Ever Was in Life. Thanks for Nothing!” January 15, 2016. Again, the academy did not think Bowie worthy of a single musical Grammy during his lifetime. Its members should be ashamed of themselves.
Also, James Corden deserves honorable mention – not so much for hosting as for performing an opening rap number that put all Grammy-nominated rappers to shame.
Related commentaries:
VMAs…
Lady Gaga…
Makeup-free Alicia…
David Bowie…