Yawn… Zzzzzzzzzz
That’s me dozing off during the Annual Grammy Awards Show on Sunday night.
Ha ha, thought I had you there.
No, you don’t get to sleep during the music industry’s biggest night, even if it’s past 4am in the morning and you’ve run out of popcorn.
You don’t even get a chance to blink.
Ever tried sleeping through a thunderstorm? It’s next to impossible. That’s the Grammy’s for you – a roller-coaster of a ride through three hours of maximum entertainment that the Recording Academy can piece together.
The venue was the historic Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles and the performers, presenters and recipients were like Who’s Who of the music business.
There was no live audience but it did not take away anything from the gala show, which has since 1959 brought recognition and rewarded artists for their outstanding contribution to the world of song and dance.
But are they still relevant?
Do they change the lives of Beyonce or Taylor Swift in any way, even though they both created history on Sunday with the former setting a new record for the most Grammy Awards (28) and Swift becoming the first female artist ever to win album of the year three times.
I believe they do.
Sportsmen like Roger Federer or Lewis Hamilton never tire of winning and that is what makes them so special, so unique.
Beyonce and Swift have together scored more hit records than auditors at Delitie or Ernst & Young can wrap their brains around. I’m sure even they don’t know the score. It’s not like they’re playing in a Wimbledon tennis final where the scores are shown loud and clear, there is no live tracking.
And I don’t think they fuss too much about the numbers. Because music is not about scoring records, it’s about making music that appeals to fans. Once you lose focus of the reason behind writing a song, you’re done. The only thought process is about coming up with that hook, that line of that attitude.
Even though I grew up in a part of the world where I was unable to watch shows like the Grammys, the Oscars, or television for that matter, until I was past my pre-teen, I have had an enduring romance with the music business.
Shows like the Grammys are just as much a special moment for me because I come from the Marvin Gaye era, the 70s.
So perhaps I’m a little biased in saying that one of the highlights of the 63rd edition of the Grammys was during a poignant tribute by the all-nominee ensemble that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the great Marvin Gaye classic, Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).
True Harry Styles wowed with his rendition of the hit song Watermelon Sugar while Billie Eilish was mesmerizing in Everything I Wanted. And who can forget Dua Lipa’s hit medley.
Once again, the Grammys braved the pandemic to deliver an unforgettable night’s entertainment that people will be talking about for long.
Even those non-believes, who doubt its relevance.
By the way I had a great night’s sleep even though Korean sensation BTS’s Dynamite was running around in crazy loops in my head!