Grammys Defy Prediction, diss Mariah

You may recall I had previously predicted the winners of the four major categories in the Grammys: Record of the Year ("We Belong Together"), Song Of The Year ("Ordinary People"), Album of the Year ("Late Registration") and Best New Artist (John Legend). Sadly, MadProfessah went 1 out of 4 in these categories, predicting only the last one correctly. Grammy voters went with U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb for Album of the Year and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" for Song of the Year. Since the boys from Dublin had previously won 16 Grammys it is always dangerous to bet against them in the big categories, but I thought that the "Mariah Carey comeback" story had permeated the Academy. She did end up winning 3 awards (Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album) but none of those wins were televised. Mariah not only lost five Grammys but she also lost the opening performance slot to Madonna, who gave a desultory outing with the cartoon group Gorillaz. However, she did acquit herself quite admirably in her live vocal performance. She of course had to do "We Belong Together" but then she made the bravura choice of the final track from The Emancipation of Mimi, "Fly Like A Bird." This is probably one of the hardest songs on the album to reproduce live, but she did an excellent job. It is gospel-tinged, with a full choir and a frenetic, almost chaotic crescendo which Mariah was able to reproduce with remarkable accuracy. She tore up the stage. It looked to me like the audience of jaded music industry types were stunned. Many, many members jumped to their feet at the conclusion of her performance and I saw Sting's wife mouthing "Wow." Indeed.