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RTE Bonus: 2017 Grammys Significantly Delayed Blog

Standard disclaimer on how this is less fun on the west coast; I am social media unspoiled though so let's see what goes down.  Though, since Justin Bieber has publicly declared that the Grammys aren't relevant anymore, is there any point?

Kicking off with a heavy hitter, Adele right out of the gate.  Her hair and make-up look phenomenal and that dress is so much better than what she's worn in the past.  New styling team?  Her pipes remain as impressive as ever though, this song was not one that really did it for me.  Or maybe that spring where I did nothing but listen to '21' and cry on airplanes ruined Adele for me.

Is James Corden actually stuck in the stairs or is this a bit.  Oh, it's a bit.  Got it.  Was the point of that, "James Corden is good at physical comedy?"  Because this sequence is not doing a whole lot for me.  I have a lot of of love for James Corden because of a lot of his gimmicks, his appearance in 'Begin Again', but most of all for sending his parents to cover the Bills at Wembley.  Clock it, the first Trump burn at, what, five minutes in?  Can't wait for 45 to tweet about that post-haste.  I did not love that opening.

J-Lo!  I can't tell if the giant flower on her dress is genius or looks like it's going to eat her  neck.  The neckline and the slit are stunning.  She's stunning.  "This is when artists go to work..."  Subtle but powerful.  (I'm 4 for five on knowing those nominees, btw.)

And #NODAPL at 12 minutes or so in.  There are not many punches being pulled, huh?  This looks like he borrowed Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' set from a couple of years ago.  I'm distracted by the constant back and forth of his hand; the in and out does not seem to match the lyrics.  I like the 'Feel it Coming' song a whole lot better than 'Starboy'.  Daft Punk looks particularly Darth-Vader-y this evening, eh?  This vamp on the end makes me wonder if he really, indeed, feels it coming.

Travolta looks good, yeah?  Less melt-y in the face than recent years?  What was up with the sunglasses though?  Looking for a link, I see that I never wrote about when I saw Keith Urban.  Alex must be very disappointed in me.  Both Keith and Carrie are so great, but this song is about as far from country music as anything either of them have ever done.  Carrie Underwood always makes me think about how, for one hot minute, American Idol was super relevant.  This is a lovely song, with the potential to be a club-banger.  Not what I would have expected from them.

JO-BRO! I've written about this in every live-blog but I really loved the Chainsmokers this year.  This category is interesting in that it's groups and collaborations. I get it, but they seem like pretty different things.  Why are these children taking their pants off?  I like that the camera just hot girl panned up them though.  That was, actually, quite charming.  I always like the, "this could be you," message.

Ah, Corden, don't step on the guys' nice moment.  I like that Sheeran is going full one-man show for this.  It's pretty impressive to see the layering live like this.  I do love this song.  It's super sexy to listen to.  Potentially less so to watch him sing it (sorry dude!).  I just checked the video to see if it lived up to my 2k17 'Wicked Games' update inspiration and I totally don't get the Fight Club thing.  I guess I will go back to just listening to it and getting the visuals just in my mind.  Nicely done though.

Oh, Katherine McPhee.  I miss 'Smash'.  A nice posthumous nod to Bowie.  McPhee is not who I would have pegged to accept on his behalf.

Seacrest doesn't age, eh?  I do not feel good about his velvet jacket.  Both of these songs are a bit weepy inducing on their own.  Together, they lack a bit of punch.  The 'Seven Years' song reminds of the Five for Fighting '100 Years to Live' song that made me cry a bunch in college.  These are both great vocalists.  He is outshining her, both in fashion and vocals.  That was lovely.

Aw, it must be a trip to be Tina Knowles.  Bey looks like Cleopatra, yeah?  Or Cleopatra mixed with the Virgin Mary.  This hologram stuff is pretty amazing - so far super visually stunning and this table segment is really compelling choreography.  I love that she's gone full on performance art this year with this and the MTV Lemonade mix.  I mean, she'll get back to pop smashes, for sure, but I love that she's just putting her truth out there.  And Jay-Z has the, "I can't believe that I am so lucky," face, which is nice to see.

Man, I feel a little out of touch on my country music. I've heard all these songs but didn't realize they were the big ones of the year.  I'm confused about the skirt of her dress.

This is a pretty cute bit, with all the celebrities in the carpool karaoke.  I like that he's trying to get all the people to sing and they're just like, "Uh, Neil Diamond has got this.  We're good."  "SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD."  That was pretty adorable.

Yay!  Bruno Mars!! I love gold lame suit Bruno best, but am enjoying athleisure Bruno with the Nike Cortez.  I love that he makes this look absolutely effortless.  Like, he is crushing some vocals, running perfectly synchronized movement, doing a little popping, and he looks like he could just be hanging out at home or something.  He is so fricking talented.  Yes, please, talk to me.  I like that J-Lo, Rihanna, Chrissy Teigan, and Faith Hill all look equally smitten.

Oh man, this is stunning.  I am a sucker for all acoustic covers of 'Teenage Dream' but this is pretty special.  Ah, Katy's blonde.  I am confused by the sunglasses.  Oh, they're literal rose-colored glasses.  Is this Katy Perry's big political move?  Rejecting white picket fence America?  I am distracted by her sneakers.  The rotating house/ screen image is really compelling imagery.  Oh whoa, the house was all held by people.  Interesting staging, good on you KP.  Oh! And now it's Constitution time!  I am not 100% sure what the message of the song was other than just general malcontent with the USA 2017 but it was interesting.

You have to wonder what some of the country musicians who gain their support from the deep red think about all this and if showing up here is going to garner any backlash for them.  Though, everyone they've panned to - Dierks, Keith, etc. - probably don't align as far right as that.  It's not like we're talking Toby Keith.

The Corden tweet bit was cute.  'Bring back LL Cool J.'  Ha!

I love these duets.  Nothing will ever outdo my favorite one - Sara Bareilles and Carole King but this is pretty great.  Gary Clark Jr. is one of those guys who is so much cooler than most people could ever dream of being.  Blue Ivy in that hot pink suit is also so much cooler than most people.

Beyonce is such a class act; that was polite, on point, made her point, and succinct.  What a treasure.

(I wish Joel McHale's new show was better.  He's so charming but that pilot was rough so I gave up on it.)

That is a lot of sparkles on one stage, ladies.  Marren looks appropriately stunned to be on stage with Ms. Keys.  All these super deep vee necklines make me worried for everyone's skin; I have awful allergic reactions to double sided tape and I have to imagine I'm not unique in that.

Why is there an octopus on the back of Corden's jacket?

This is lovely but I always think of George Michael as such a fun musician, and such a role model for male pop stars in terms of what's possible that I would have liked to see this super-group style.  Oh man, bold move to stop it and start again.  Do Adele and George Michael have a special bond that I missed?

(I like the line "The ball should bounce the same for everyone."  I wonder if that Nike commercial was in direct response to the Under Armour press kerfluffle.)

Hahahahahahaha, James Corden's dad and Heidi Klum were adorable.  Nick Jonas looks significantly less entertained by this.

Do you think Sophia is ever going to get out of the SHU?  That is a dress, yo.  They are really pushing the political shout-outs on this.  Gaga with Metallica, huh?  Oh dear, his microphone is off.  The extras pretending to mosh (? thrash? dance?) to this are terrible and kind of distracting.  This is not really my cup of tea, if I'm being honest.

I like Dwight Yokam.  This Strugil Simpson performance is lovely, clean, well-sung, amazing horns, and a sax solo that crushed it?  I'm considering this an aural palette cleanser after the last one.

And now it is late and I am going to go to bed.  I will perhaps finish the second half tomorrow.


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