CARISSA MARSH
A&E Editor
The Grannys. That is what my guy friends called Sunday’s 49th Annual Grammy Awards, and I honestly can’t blame them. Music’s biggest night, as it is proudly called, was just plain boring.
Yes, I will admit, there were a few “whoa” moments. Some faves that top the list are Mary J. Blige rocking the stage in a dressed-to-kill white frock that, despite delicate detailing, could not stop Blige from breaking it all the way down as only Mary can do.
There was also 17-year-old Chris Brown’s performance, which my guy friends called the best part of the night. It was so exciting in fact that they stopped playing the Xbox 360 game Gears of War for a whole five minutes. While Brown did not show off his vocal abilities as best he could, he definitely pumped up the crowd and the TV audience with his step-team moves, trampoline backflip and little kid dancers.
There was also the debut of 18-year-old Houston singer Robyn Troup, who won the “My Grammy Moment” contest. She performed a live duet with Justin Timberlake on stage. Despite her bug-eyed appearance, I have to say she took to the stage like she had been doing it all her life.
Still, between these rousing performances, the overall feel of the three-hour show was slow and dull. But the thing that irritated me most about the Grammys was the wholesale sweep of top prizes by the Dixie Chicks. I was not “whistlin’ Dixie” Sunday night.
No, I am not a country hater; I actually like some of the Chicks’ songs. But I absolutely cannot stand that little lead singer with the big mouth, Natalie Maines. I just want to put a cork in her. And it’s not the anti-Bush sentiments I resent. I just find her ‘gotta have a snide comment for everything’ attitude to be utterly obnoxious, which was why I was momentarily overjoyed when she said during the group’s acceptance speech for Record of the Year, their fourth award of the night, “I got nothing clever. I’m all out of jokes.”
Thank God. Except, a half hour later Maines was back on stage, her arsenal fully reloaded. Luckily, this time she seemed a bit more humble, even shedding a tear or two (I guess that fifth Grammy for Album of the Year really got to her).
So after watching, I am fully convinced that award shows, no matter who performs, wins or trips, do not make for good television. However, I am also aware that it is probably a completely different story to actually be there. At the Grannys. I mean, Grammys.
One of my longtime girlfriends, a music industry studies major at CSUN, got the lucky chance to be a talent escort at the show. I was a bit jealous, but nonetheless happy for her, especially because it meant I would get to hear all the juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits.
Because it was her first year working the Grammys, she was not assigned to an artist, but instead worked as a floater, doing whatever was needed backstage. Her Grammy stint was by no means glamorous, as it required two days of training and working more than 12 hours on awards night. But she said it was worth it, just seeing all the stars and feeling like she was a part of the magic. Hearing my friend talk about her Grammy fun lessened my bitterness because for her, the show was awesome.
So while I’m still disappointed I spent my Sunday night glued to the TV waiting for something to happen, I am still ready to give award shows another chance. There is one more shot with the Oscars, which air Feb. 25.
But after that, it is back to regularly scheduled programming.
02-15-2007