Best and Worst of the 2011 Grammy Awards

Miley Cyrus hasn’t gotten over her onstage tumble as Hannah Montana. “I’m nervous about the stairs -- I don’t know why they always give me the stairs because I’m the clumsiest one up here,” she said in a pre-show interview. She also praised Lady Gaga’s arrival and said next time she’s planning on coming as an egg “for sure.” “I like it because it’s about who you are -- she always does something so outrageous and I love that about her.”

-- Nardine Saad  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Christina Aguilera — joining Yolanda Adams, Martina McBride, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch — belts out Aretha Franklin‘s “Ain’t No Way” with the same closed-eyed, tonsil-exposing passion with which she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl. This time, though, she got the words right. LL Cool J also properly spells out “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” when introducing the fivesome; the song was later sung by Jennifer Hudson.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Patrick Monahan, the Train vocal frontman, takes home the first award of the telecast. “Thanks, Justin Bieber, for not being a duo or group,” he said. The singer also thanked radio personality Howard Stern, who has has previously called Train one of his favorite bands.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy gave a glammed-up take on its “The Resistance,” complete with gratuitous guitar solos. The stage was stripped down with what looked to be dancers dressed for a revolution jumping up and down as if they were grooving on fire. Nevertheless, the band did not make its case, because its arrangements are more flowery than aggressive, and its jumble of high-concept moves felt more like a Michael Bay film than anything approaching a statement. At the least, it’s a song that wouldn’t feel out of place on Broadway.

-- Todd Martens  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

We know the Grammys are a much more casual affair, and we were definitely shocked by some of the wardrobe selections, but for whatever reason Ricky Martin‘s silver pants are still an anomaly. Ricky, Reynolds wrap called; they want their foil back.

— Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Gaga, always one to make an entrance, didn’t disappoint and has everyone wondering what she’ll do next after she arrived early carried in an orb-like vessel. The artist “hatched” from the egg during her performance of the new single “Born This Way” wearing a sunny-side-up egg hat and yellow costume. Talk about eggs-hiliration.

-- Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A winged-Katy Perry arrived on the red carpet with new husband Russell Brand and her grandmother Ann, who walked with a bedazzled cane to match the Armani-clad couple. Perry told Ryan Seacrest that if she didn’t win anything during the show, it was OK because “I still go home with my grammy.”

— Nardine Saad  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

B.o.B., Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae sang a sleepy version of “Nothing On You.” The lullaby then gave way to a ‘50s-Four Tops version of “Grenade” that was even rendered in black and white for those viewing at home. Mars’ voice nearly cracked while he was performing, but the variation on both songs was a bit refreshing since the singles have become so overplayed on mainstream radio. Thankfully, Janelle Monae woke up the crowd when she jumped into it to bodysurf while singing a rock anthem version of “Cold War.”

— Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In a strange attempt to make a scornful song kid-friendly, a colorfully plumed Cee Lo Green performed “... You” with what we can only presume are Jim Henson puppets. The singer somehow managed to outshine them wardrobe-wise and Gwyneth Paltrow, who performed the hit song on “Glee” joined the rainbow of a stage wearing a black suit and hot pink earrings climbed onto a piano to belt out the lyrics, which were still bleeped out by the censors. Color us confused.

-- Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Katy Perry shouts out for Valentine’s Day with red and pink light-up costumes when she performs “Teenage Dream” and our music expert has nothing to say about this typically Perry performance.

— Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Eminem, Dr. Dre, Cee Lo Green, Lady Gaga and a member of Arcade Fire were all silenced during the telecast for having potty mouths. We guess we weren’t the only ones shocked by some of the night’s surprises.

— Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The moment that everyone was waiting for, however, was the arrival of Bob Dylan, making one of his rare Grammy appearances. He sang “Maggie’s Farm” with all of the Avetts and Mumfords backing him. The mike was wobbly at first, but Dylan’s voice is wobbly, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s a song of personal revolution and standing up to an unjust employer, so it worked well for these recessionary times.

— Todd Martens  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

With Lady Antebellum winning country album of the year (undeserved) as well as song of the year (undeserved) and record of the year (alas, undeserved), their performance proved exactly why it did not deserve the top country album honors. Not only was the act upstaged by Miranda Lambert earlier in the night but the band also has designs strictly on the pop marketplace rather than dominating Nashville. Make no mistake, Lambert is no country rebel, but the girl can sing, and she has something Lady A doesn’t: a personality. Yet the band still won record of the year, and we’re still shaking our heads.

— Todd Martens and Nardine Saad  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

As for Mick Jagger paying tribute to Solomon Burke, there was nothing not to like in his take on “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.” Jagger was raised on this sort of bluesey-soul, and he brought the crowd to its feet like few others. I would have liked to have seen him dig a little deeper and go beyond the big hit that’s been covered by dozens and give a performance that really would inspire people to check out Burke.

— Todd Martens  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding wasn’t the favorite to be named best new artist, but she’s perhaps the most adventurous artist in the crop. So it’s rare for a jazz artist to win: In 2008, Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters” was named album of the year, the first jazz title to lead the field in about 50 years, and Norah Jones, who leans decidedly more toward pop, was named best new artist in 2003, one of the few talents with a jazz background to lead the field. Mumford & Sons as the folksy act seemed more like Grammy artists, but Spalding, three albums in, has had the critical and industry support for a few years now. So it’s not her first, but she’s an artist deserving of more recognition, and one the Grammy Awards should be highlighting. So ... Grammy voters, congrats. You got this one right.

— Todd Martens  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Arcade Fire‘s “The Suburbs” was named album of the year. Repeat. The Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” was named album of the year. The Grammys got a lot of things wrong, and this was a total shock, considering the band lost the alternative album field. Even Barbra Streisand seemed to struggle in saying “The Suburbs.” But this shows a few things: One, that the Grammy Awards is finally recognizing independent music in its top categories. Two, a band that has sold 484,000 copies can actually compete with performers whose albums have all sold more than 1 million copies. A shame, however, that they cut Arcade Fire off during the band’s second song.

-- Todd Martens  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)