POLL: Did You Watch the 2013 Grammy Awards?

Image courtesy of sxc.hu.

Jane Lagiglio, Contributor

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were broadcast on CBS Feb. 10. This year, 28.37 million viewers watched the Grammys, the second-largest audience the show has had since 1993. All across America, people were watching music’s biggest night.

According to the critics, the show was simply ‘fine.’

The Washington Post said, “For the first time in too long, the Grammys telecast was a good time in and of itself — a refreshingly coherent celebration of our increasingly incoherent pop-scape. There were A-game performers, trophy-hoarders who deserved to win them and very few reasons to wince, grouse or wish you were watching ‘Downton Abbey.’”

The popular British group Mumford & Sons might have won the night’s top award for their album “Babel,” but more memorable was Rihanna singing her new ballad “Stay” about her on-again and off-again relationship with rapper Chris Brown. Another unforgettable performance was Kelly Clarkson’s rendition of “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” made famous by Carole King.

Fun. was named best new artist, and they also won song of the year for “We Are Young,” the band’s highly praised pop-rock hit.

Sarah Sampson, a senior communication studies major, disagreed with the verdict.

“I feel like the Lumineers should’ve won best new artist,” Sampson said. “Fun. has been around for too long to be considered new.”

As far as performances go, there sure were plenty of them. From Jack White to Bruno Mars, the performances did not disappoint. One of the more popular and unforgettable performances of the night was Justin Timberlake singing his new singles “Suit and Tie” and “Pusher Love Girl.” According to senior special and elementary education major Kenneth Cronin, JT’s performance was at the top of his list.

“It’s not to say that Justin Timberlake’s performance was the best; it’s just that when he was back on stage singing, I think America realized we forgot Justin is a brilliant, talented musician,” Cronin said. “He has been doing many other things he is talented at, but seeing him do music again showed us he is a 21st-century media-man.”

Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys put on another groundbreaking performance. The musical powerhouses sang a mash-up of their two hits “Daylight” and “Girl on Fire.”

“Despite the fact that I cannot stand Adam Levine, his mash-up with Alicia Keys was probably my favorite performance,” Cronin said.

The strangest occurrence at the Grammys seemed to be the new strict dress code. An email was sent out to all who attended the show, stating,

“Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare flesh under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Also, please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples. Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible ‘puffy’ bare skin exposure.”

Clearly, not everyone got the memo. Some of the night’s biggest dress code offenders were Jennifer Lopez with a fully exposed leg, Kelly Rowland with a semi-see-though black dress, Katy Perry with a cleavage-exposing mint-colored gown and Miranda Lambert with a deep V-neck navy blue gown.

Senior criminal justice major Candice Nelson was not aware of the new dress code either.

“I actually didn’t know about the dress code until after the Grammys were over,” Nelson said. “But I do think that some of the celebrities still had some very interesting dresses, despite the dress code. Overall, I thought they were all very beautiful.”

In the end, the 2013 Grammys did not disappoint. The show was very well-crafted, and there was a little something for everyone’s taste. Who knows what the 2014 Grammys will bring? Maybe a new dress code stating that only turtle-neck sweaters and khaki pants are allowed to be worn.

Tags: awards, grammies, music