Written by: harlemwrite

As many of you know, I LIVE FOR award season, which in my opinion officially kicks off with the Golden Globes. That being said, it should come as no surprise that I’ve been glued to my tv screen for the past two nights watching the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards and the BET Honors Awards, respectively. Okay…so here’s my take on the highs and lows of both productions. Let’s kick things off with the Grammys.

I was pleased to see that the show opened with the incomparable Lady Gaga who did not disappoint with her rendition of “Poker Face”, captivating stage presence and creativity. While I wouldn’t be caught dead in most of Gaga’s get ups, I often marvel at how comfortable she makes them appear to be. Her duet with Elton John was in a word, masterful. All in all, it was one of my favorite performances of the evening, which is precisely why as I watched the telecast I was angered that Gaga was overlooked in all of the on-air categories for which she was nominated. After some homework, I learned that she won two Grammys for Best Dance Song and Record but none on-screen. No offense to Taylor Swift but come on, how much longer are we going to allow her to be a front seat passenger on the “Kanye West interrupted my MTV Video Music Awards” speech sympathy train. Truth be told, that incident seems to have put her on the map so in retrospect she should be thanking him. Don’t get me wrong, the girl is talented and should be acknowledged for writing her own music but winning Record of the Year over Lady Gaga and Beyonce is just wrong on so many levels. To quote Martin Lawrence’s character in Boomerang hand gestures and all, it appears to be a bit “ racial.” LOL!!! :-) JK

Other notable performances were of course, Pink, who appears to have a second career as a Cirque du Soleil acrobat. While the vocals were tight and her tone body in that nude bodysuit made me want to starve myself, I felt like her performance was a bit déjà vu as in didn’t you do this very stunt minus the waterworks at the MTV Video Music Awards. Seriously, did you think I wouldn’t remember? Also, I don’t know about you but had I been in attendance I would’ve been heated if my hair and expensive gown had been doused with water as a result of Pink’s stunts.  Sorry… but I don’t recall signing up for that.

On to the next one…let’s see, I guess we can’t have a wrap up without discussing Beyonce… or would it be more apropos to refer to her as Mrs. Knowles Carter. Once again, Beyonce’s performance while entertaining had several swagger jacking moments. Let’s start with her entrance which was very reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation video and performance way back when, the stepping routine was reminiscent of Shakira’s recent performances of her new Timbaland single (anyone, anyone…crickets) and her outfit was incidentally worn by Rhianna for an Italian Vogue photo shoot last year. Talk about a stylist faux paus. All in all, the performance lacked creativity but it was definitely high energy and incidentally made for a good infomercial for the weave or wig she wore, which surprisingly looked very natural and withstood several head rolls.

However, what troubled me most about Beyonce on Grammy night was not her performance but the manner in which her ‘so called’ husband Sean Knowles Carter publically bruised her ego. Here’s how I saw it go down…Jay Z, Rihanna and Kayne win a Grammy for best rap song collabo. Beyonce, who is standing to Jay’s immediate right, quickly stands up to celebrate her man and he turns left to acknowledge Rihanna and request that she accompany him to the podium. Oh really, is that how it goes down at the Knowles Carter household? My reaction in my best Dominican accent with neck roll action for effect was “OH NO, HE DIDN’T.” I may have forgiven the entire exchange had Jay Z not once again showed his A@@ during Beyonce’s acceptance for “Halo”. In sum, she rose to receive the award turned to her husband and planted a kiss on his cheek (weird, as it’s no secret that they’re MARRIED) and headed up to the podium. During her acceptance speech, she seemed overwhelmed with emotion, as though she was ready to break into tears at any moment, she thanked her fans, family and her husband. She even looked directly at him and said “I love you.” His reaction, an awkward smile and a hand gesture, which I interpreted as him saying “Yo, why are you going there…I thought we had an agreement, no PDA.” The fact that this couple continues to be coy about their union is really annoying and disrespectful. At the end of the day, there are several guys out here who for better or worse look up to Jigga and take their cues from him. His inability to publicly show affection towards his wife is far from setting a good example. To add insult to injury, he loves bragging about his relationship with Beyonce with lyrics like “I have the hottest chick in the game” but on Sunday night, he made her look quite thirsty and clingy. Not cool Jay!!!

Anyhoo…I’ll close out my Grammy Awards critique with a few additional honorable mentions – i. Jamie Foxx’s performance of “Blame It” was off the chain…I found it especially endearing that he allowed his disabled sister to bask in the spotlight towards the end and that he told Jay Z the performance did not include any “AutoTunes” in response to Jay’s infamous DOA record; ii. the Michael Jackson tribute in my opinion was a bit boring but well sung. Having his children accept his Award was a nice touch, which of course Tito’s children tried to overshadow. For GOD sakes, is there anything the surviving Jackson brothers won’t do to capitalize off their brother’s death?  Let me guess, Tito’s trying to reprise his sons’ boy band, 3T.  On a side note, have Tito’s kids been under the knife? Was it me or did they look a little too perfect?;  iii. While I love Stevie Nicks, her performance with Taylor Swift left much to be desired and the pairing seemed a bit Odd Couple-ish. I guess it didn’t help that Taylor was off pitch at times; iv. Finally, I heart Andrea Bocelli and MJB’s bi-lingual rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” for Haitian Relief- in a word FLAWLESS.

So, moving right along…after a year or so of boycotting BET because of the tomfoolery they choose to air such as “College Hill”, “Frankie & Neffe”, “Baldwin Hills,” etc., I decided to make an exception and watch the BET Honors. I’m pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the performances and overall production. Who knows, maybe BET will turn over a new leaf in honor of Black History Month. Oh, who am I kidding? I won’t hold my breath.

Queen Latifah, Sean “P-Diddy” Combs and Whitney Houston were among the celebrity honorees whose achievements were celebrated in word and song by artists like Jazmine Sullivan, Patty LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Kim Burrell and Jennifer Hudson. While the afore-mentioned recording artists all SANG their behinds off, it was Kim Burrell’s rendition of Whitney’s ‘I Believe In You and Me’ and Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You’ during their tribute to Whitney that literally brought the house down. Whitney’s reaction to their singing made me question whether she’d fallen off the wagon but I quickly realized she was just tremendously moved and humbled by the praise. All in all, it was nice to hear Whitney speak coherently during her acceptance speech during which, she acknowledged her mom and thanked the BET community for standing by her side despite all her trials and tribulations.

With the exception of a couple of misplaced performances by Ryan Leslie, who in my humble opinion should’ve stayed behind the scenes producing and writing songs, and a duet with Trey Songz and Stevie Wonder (RANDOM), overall I thought the BET Honors was pretty well done. Kudos to BET for successfully making a comeback after the Michael Jackson Tribute debacle. If you missed it, no worries, I’m sure it will be replayed a million times in the weeks to come.

Alright fam, we’ll chat after the Oscars – best of luck to Monique, Gaby and Lee Daniels who all snagged nominations today for their amazing work on “Precious.”

Deuces