Lady Gaga Pays Tribute to David Bowie at the Grammys

Lady Gaga was tasked with putting on the 2016 GRAMMYs tribute to the late icon David Bowie. She had Nile Rodgers with her, who produced two Bowie Albums: Let's Dance & Black Tie White Noise, to play guitar and help create the show. Gaga delivered a high energy performance that utilized the latest technology, which is something Bowie was always fond of doing.

And of course, it featured her in numerous costumes. She was able to seamlessly cram some of Bowie's biggest songs into the almost 7 minute performance, which can be difficult considering how much Bowie changed through the years. However, everyone involved were able to make it work. Her opening performance of "Space Oddity" utilized a new Intel projection technology, which projected the lightning bolt from Bowie's Aladdin Sane album cover onto her face. Luckily it worked well and matched up perfectly on her face. I personally loved her moving futuristic robot-looking piano.

Let us not forget though: The Grammys have only awarded David Bowie with one Grammy Award... Let that sink in. And he wasn't even first nominated until 1984 despite his acclaimed 1970s work. The fact that he wasn't very mainstream in the 70s is probably part of it, as the Grammy voters tend to go for mainstream even today, but especially back then. He should win a few more for his acclaimed new album Blackstar next year, though he sadly won't be able to receive them of course.

Songs featured:
Space Oddity
Changes
Ziggy Stardust
Suffragette City
Rebel Rebel
Fashion
Fame
Let's Dance
Heroes

Kanye West: Douche

Kanye West was at it again at the Grammy Awards, a few years after interrupting his first victim (Taylor Swift). He ran on stage after Beck won for Best Album, only to run back down to his seat. It seemed like a joke at first, by poking fun at himself. Great. Then he goes on E! and starts ranting that it wasn't a joke, saying Beck should give his award to Beyonce and to "respect artistry". Beck responded by saying he thinks Kanye is great and talented. I don't really listen to Beck much, but its nice to see someone so humble & naturally talented win.

Even his wife Kim Kardashian was incredibly uncomfortable during the whole ordeal, forcing a smile. I mean, he made Kim Kardashian uncomfortable on camera. And she did a porn!

Personally, I think Kanye West should heed his own advice to respect artistry and creativity. Its 2015 and he is still overusing Auto-Tune (since he can't sing) 17 years after it was first used by Cher as a gimmick in 1998. Real artistic & original there, Kanye. And what is his obsession with Beyonce? I'm surprised more people don't find it odd, especially Jay Z and Beyonce.

I think Shirley Manson of the band Garbage said it best by writing to him, You are making yourself look like a complete twat. 

Ozzy Osbourne & the 2014 Grammy Awards

Ozzy Osbourne came out with his fellow Black Sabbath members to introduce the Ringo Starr performance. He flubbed his lines while reading the teleprompter, causing Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi to laugh. Afterwards while talking to reporters Ozzy had the best response, "I completely fucked it up." And we love you no matter what Ozzy!

Some other highlights included Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr performing Paul's new song "Queenie Eye" together. Half of The Beatles is still better than no Beatles. It featured a memorable moment with Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon dancing around to it. Sean, by the way, looked eerily like his dad John Lennon, circa 1969 and the Abbey Road era. The performance came ahead of CBS' 50th Anniversary Celebration (February 9th, 2014) of the Beatles' first performance in America. It happened back on February 9th, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by over 73 Million people and kicked off Beatlemania and the "British Invasion".

Macklemore performed an emotional and powerful "Same Love" with Mary Lambert and Madonna. Queen Latifah walked out and married 33 diverse couples. Gay, lesbian, straight, interracial, etc. It made for quite the memorable and moving moment that will stand the test of time. Normally a mass marriage gathering would be creepy and cult-ish, but in the context was a nice touch.

The biggest stars of the night were possibly the hats. It seemed half of the people were wearing some type of hat. Pharrell's Indiana Jones style hat may have stolen the show. It's better than the star of the show being a foam finger though, that's for sure. Daft Punk of course took it a step further from hats with their helmets, decked out in enough white plastic to make the Storm Troopers from Star Wars jealous. 

'The Walking Dead' Slays the Competition

Did you think The Walking Dead couldn't get any bigger? Think again. The hit AMC show took Michonne's katana sword to the rest of the competition on Sunday Night, as the return from winter hiatus drew a record 12.3 Million Viewers, with a 6.1 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic, the largest the series has ever seen in both categories.

That means The Walking Dead destroyed American Idol in adults 18-49, and nearly topped it in total viewers period. Not to mention the fact that The Walking Dead had to go up against some stiff competition in the 2013 Grammy Awards, or it could have been even larger. Michael Rooker, who plays fan favorite Merle, commented on twitter: Gmorning all y'all FANS around the World a big SHIT YES!!! Thank you!!! For ur Support...  

The show is changing the face of television, as cable networks can now dream of beating out broadcast networks in the ratings game. This all comes after The Walking Dead became the first cable show in history to become the Fall's most watched show with 18-49 year olds. Zombies may be hot right now, but this show  has been able to be much more than that, creating characters that people care about, which the broadcast networks are dreaming they can do. 

I have to say, it was probably my least favorite episode (titled "The Suicide King") so far this season, but it did a good job setting up the rest of the season, so it was needed. Especially after the intensity of the previous episode, "Made to Suffer", this one was a bit more mellow. Now just because it was my least favorite of the season doesn't mean much, as it was still incredibly entertaining. If you need a little Walking Dead style action in the middle of the week, give The Americans on FX a chance. It's yet another exciting cable show to add to the growing collection of them.

2012 Grammy Awards Thoughts

The 2012 Grammy Awards are in the books, and here are the Best Performances (By the way, the awards now take a backseat to the performances, it's basically a long concert now):

Adele - Recovering from throat surgery, she gave an amazing performance of "Rolling in the Deep." She swept the night, and deserved it for saving the music industry. 2011 was the first time since 2004 that sales increased, and she was the reason. Without her album, they would have decreased again. And she may have spurred people into actually buying other albums as well. 21 has currently sold 6.5 Million Copies (the biggest sales total since 2004), and is on its way to 7 million, and possibly even 8 million before 2013.

Bruno Mars - It was like a mix between Elvis with his moves and Prince with his sound, and I was surprised how good it was. I didn't know much about him before the show, besides "Grenade", but I may have to download "Runaway Baby."

Paul McCartney - He ended the night with an outstanding performance of the "Golden Slumbers Medley" (joined by Bruce Springsteen & Dave Grohl) from the epic 16 minute Abbey Road Medley, which is the ending to The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. Music lovers should own Abbey Road already, if you don't, well what are you waiting for?

Jennifer Hudson - Performed Whitney Houston's classic "I Will Always Love You." She really did the song justice, one of the few who can, and it was a fitting tribute to Whitney and all the musicians lost in the past year. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt also did a wonderful job performing a tribute to Etta James. And none of them needed auto-tune or lip syncing, which brings me to the worst...

Worst performance of the night: Chris Brown. I just don't get him. After beating Rihanna he did another thing that irked me, allegedly, when he performed a tribute to Michael Jackson in 2009 and its rumored someone saw him use eye drops to make tears. Trying to use a death to your advantage? Not the way to go. Jennifer Hudson showed how it is done.

WTF? - Nicki Minaj. She performed that seemed based on 1975 horror classic The Exorcist. It was strange even for Lady GaGa. And the song was weak. She would have been better off performing "Super Bass" and bringing Sophia Grace and Rosie on stage. It would have been a feel good moment that still had people talking.

The Foo Fighters also gave two killer performances, and The Beach Boys reunited. The Beach Boys don't sound quite as good, but it was still nice to hear some classic songs. They forgot to call Uncle Jesse aka John Stamos.

Whitney Houston Dead at 48

RIP to another music legend, Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48. She was found dead in her hotel room around 3:30pm in Los Angeles. Currently no cause is known, but in recent years she struggled with drug addiction along with ex-husband Bobby Brown, who many blame for introducing her to drugs. I'm assuming she never kicked the habit. Whether it's street drugs or prescription drugs, its just not worth it. Its a shame when talented people can't kick their bad habits, such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse & Kurt Cobain. They all succumbed to their addictions. She had such a powerful voice, and was a natural talent who didn't need any auto-tune. One of her better songs was 1985's "How Will I Know."

You could really get a feel for her powerful voice when she performed The Star Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991 in the midst of the Gulf War. The rendition reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ten years later reached #6 after September 11th: 

Her last album, I Look To You, was released in 2009 and was certified Platinum. While not a massive success like her previous albums, it still did well in a climate where albums don't sell as well as they used to. She recently completed filming of a movie titled Sparkle, which is supposed to come out in August 2012 and it is rumored she was contacted to become a judge on The X Factor alongside Simon Cowell and LA Reid. I'm sure it would have led to a career comeback, so you must wonder if and why she went back to drugs when her future seemed so bright. Anyone out there battling drug and/or alcohol addiction needs to seek help.

This news comes just one day before the 2012 Grammy Awards. I am sure they will be scrambling to conduct a fitting tribute in some way.

Lindsay Lohan better take note and get herself healthy or she will end up going down the same path.

Random Things, January 2012

- Adele will win everything at the Grammy Awards that she is nominated for. She practically saved the music industry in 2011, so it's guaranteed. She should be coming up with some creative speeches to make it more interesting.

- I'm fairly sure the characters on Toddlers and Tiaras are created using CGI.

- After Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall became Pro Bowl MVP with a record breaking performance of 4 touchdown catches, I'm pretty sure Kim Kardashian was frantically trying to get his phone number.

- WB needs to release some more official Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises. A poster would work. Also, the next trailer should have more Catwoman in her suit!

- Demi Moore advice: Take a vacation, eat a sandwich, and go talk to Oprah. You will be cured.

- Matthew Broderick reprises Ferris Bueller in a new Super Bowl commercial for Honda. I have a feeling this will lead to a film sequel with the original cast. Except without Honda. Watch it below.