Before the proceedings even began, the tragic passing of Whitney Houston cast a sombre tone over the 54^th Grammy Awards.  One of the Grammy’s favourite daughters passed away 24 hours before the ceremony, leaving organizers scrambling to offer a fitting tribute for the woman with the legendary pipes who inspired so many.

Bruce Springsteen kicked off the evening with a rousing run through "We Take Care of Our Own",  the first single from his upcoming album.  If there’s a man who embodies the healing and celebratory nature of music, it’s Bruce and he did not disappoint.

Whitney’s name came swiftly courtesy of the night’s host, LL Cool J.  Where Bruce provided healing with music, Mr. Cool J healed with words.  LL thanked Bruce for his performance and then delivered a passionate and moving prayer followed by a clip of her singing “I Will Always Love You” from a previous Grammy telecast.  As host, LL was more than capable for the task.  If anything moved me over the course of the evening, it was LL’s eloquent and overwhelmingly positive tone.  He was perfect for the night and gets my vote to host everything from now on.

The other name on everyone’s mind was Adele!  The British soul singer came in with 6 nominations and made her first singing appearance since throat surgery in November.  Rightfully, Adele took home everything she was nominated for, including Album of the Year for 21.  Her performance of “Rolling In The Deep” was outstanding.  Beginning acapella (to show her pipes are still there) then with full-on band inspiring an extended standing ovation that she basked in.

The awards themselves offered no real surprises other than how few of them were actually given out during the telecast.  With inspired performances scarce for the evening, I couldn’t help but notice what little hardware was being given out for an Awards show.  Maybe this should be rebranded the Grammy Concert instead?

Performance highlights for me included the Alicia Keys/Bonnie Raitt  tribute to Etta James, Bruno Mars channeling James Brown and urging the rich in the crowd to get up and dance, Glen Campbell’s farewell and Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” that brought the crowd to an eerie silence. 

Sound was an issue for a few artists as well.  Jason Aldean’s mic cut out towards the end of his duet with Kelly Clarkson and the sound for Paul McCartney was spotty at the beginning.  Maroon 5’s Adam Levine didn’t have much sound when he began his tribute to the Beach Boys, but as the sound improved, it was clear Levine was over his head with tackling the Boys’ falsettos.

I felt The Beach Boys reunion was anti-climatic  and it appeared to be so for Brian Wilson who removed himself from the stage when “Good Vibrations” was concluded.  While the rest of the band and everyone on stage looked to be having the time of their lives, Wilson could have phoned his performance in. 

Canadians were virtually shut out for the evening.  Arcade Fire’s deluxe packaging for last year’s Album of the Year, The Suburbs, won for packaging.  Multiple nominees Drake and Deadmau5 left the ceremony empty handed.

So what did you think of the 54^th Grammy Awards?