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Grammy Review: All Performances, Allll Night

© Paula Chase-Hyman

A few days before last night's show it was announced, that due to the large amount of Grammy awards to issue, the telecast would consist primarily of performances and key awards. I doubt anyone complained.

For years, a majority of the R&B awards were given off-camera - despite the fact that R&B fans do watch the show. So, this year the Grammy's wised up and realized no one really wants to see Enya receive the award for Best New Age Album.

Although Jon Stewarts opening made me chuckle, the rest of the show banter was mildly interesting at the least and painfully, distracting most of the time.

But, if last night was any indication, the Grammy's will soon be an all-out concert - with the winners being announced via a ticker, much like you see on ESPN. Which is really not such a bad idea.

Since the show is much more diverse musically than the AMAs, by 10 p.m. - to get through some of the less interesting performances - I found myself switching between it and Law & Order, and eventually fell asleep on both.

But I saw 90% of the show and had this to say about that:

* Alicia Keys literally swept it, taking home the most awards with five Grammys: Best New Artist, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, Song of the Year and Best Female R&B vocal performance. To top it off Keys medley of "Fallin" and "A Woman's Worth" reinforced why she walked away a winner several times over. And, her performance of "Woman's Worth" with the Spanish flavor and a convincing Tango was fun to watch.

* While Keys deserved every bit of the recognition, I was still shocked that India.Arie went home empty handed after receiving seven nominations. Arie's work has been critically acclaimed, but has experienced low record sales. Apparently, the Recording Academy is not quite ready for her - choosing the more mainstream Keys nearly every time. Still, she gave a strong performance of her hit single, "Video," and obviously has a long career ahead of her.

* Did Miss Mary J. Blige rip it or what? I was held captive by her performance. I mean, Mary took us to church. First of all, I was struck by her simple pantsuit, it smacked of maturity. I think Mary has finally come of age. Though some critics called her outfit "boring," I was pleased that Mary chose to cover up her tattoos and make us focus on her vocals.

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