the Grammys

Did anyone besides me watch the Grammy’s last night? This may be a bold statement, but I think last night was possibly the BEST night of Grammy performances I’ve ever seen.

For starters, the collaborations were INCREDIBLE!!!

• Justin Timberlake & Al Green? Come on, can it get any better? and then JT again with T.I. - any double dose of JT performances I can get, I'll take...
• Miley Cyrus & Taylor Sparks were absolutely adorable...and they sounded incredible together!
• And I realize for being 26 years old, I may have an unhealthy fascination with the Jonas Brothers, but their performance with Stevie Wonder was completely unexpected and great!
• Sugarland and Adele were amazing as well...what a surprising combo!
• Kanye West & Estelle...so good.
• the tribute to Bo Diddly (not gonna lie, I really don't know who that is but I should) with John Mayer, BB King, Buddy Guy, and Keith Urban. WOW. Fascinating combination.
• Lil' Wayne & Robin Thicke - Robin's soul is so unexpected coming from his voice. You'd think he'd be black.
• OK, not a collaboration, but Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" made me so happy. I just love that song.
• the tribute to the Four Tops with Smokey Robinson, "Duke" Fakir, Ne-Yo, and Jamie Foxx - loved the old songs...loved it.
• Radiohead performance with the USC marching band? WOW. I flipped back to the show (while also watching Brothers & Sisters) and only caught the 2nd half of this one, but AMAZING! Loved the drumline.
• Not sure how to comment on the "Swagger Like Us" combo with very preggo M.I.A. and Kanye, T.I., Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z, other than to say that little mama can hold her own w/ those guys. Though I do think she was slightly dressed like a preggers ladybug...
• Coldplay with Jay-Z in the beginning of "Lost" was awesome. But you all knew that was coming...of course they were awesome.
• Do I really even need to comment on U2 and Paul McCartney? I'm pretty sure Paul got plenty of recognition throughout the night...

I just can’t get over how music can get me so excited! Yet everyone I texted about the great performances had something else going on last night, so was anyone else watching? There is something about a great musical performance that gets me excited about creative artistry. There is some incredible talent out there in this world.

And then, of course, celebrities with absolutely no talent do exist, but that’s another story...

It’s overwhelming sometimes just how talented so many people are. In fact, that’s a large part of why the music and entertainment industry overall is so cutthroat-competitive. As many artists out there that are known, there are probably twice as many great talents who have yet to be discovered or who are just on their way to climbing the ladder of success.

Music is so powerful. For some a song is just a song...instruments combined together, sometimes with lyrics, maybe even some vocal harmonies tossed in. But to those of us with an artist’s heart, music carries the weight of emotion, power, passion, and story. Even in rap and hip-hop music, though some would argue it to be pointless, there is a great deal of power.

Most of the time, it’s the lyrics that get me. But there’s something about great instrumentalists jamming together as well. I love seeing the heart of the artist playing or singing coming out in their music.

I’ve always loved music. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been known to sing along to whatever is on the radio, on a commercial, on the soundtrack of a TV show or movie, or in the background at a restaurant or store. Wherever I may be, I’m always listening for the music. I guess it’s just a part of me. I'm still a human jukebox or my own walking version of the Shazam application people have on their phones. Because no matter where I am--speaking both literally or metaphorically--I’m always looking for the music.

So thanks Grammy’s...I’m sure glad you decided to make this year a great one. You revived my heart for music, and I hope you’ll help music to revive our generation for things that are good.

And for a pretty good list of the "best" and "worst" comments of last night, check out MSN's compilation.

Did anyone else see them? What did you think???