The 54th Grammys— Tragedy and Wins

British R&B-soul singer Adele swept this year's Grammy Awards with six awards, including the top three awards for album, record and song of the year. But her wins were somewhat overshadowed by all of this year's tragic losses— Whitney Houston, Etta James, Amy Winehouse... and so many more. I wondered if singer/songwriter Don McLean was sitting somewhere in his home knowing that the lyrics to his infamous song, American Pie had been playing out throughout this entire year.

In the autumn of 1971 Don McLean's elegiac American Pie entered the collective consciousness, and over thirty years later remains one of the most discussed, dissected and debated songs that popular music has ever produced. A cultural event at the peak of its popularity in 1972, it reached the top of the Billboard 100 charts in a matter of weeks, selling more than 3 million copies; and at eight and a half minutes long, this was no mean feat. But this was no ordinary song, either: boldly original and thematically ambitious, what set American Pie apart had a lot to do with the way we weren't entirely sure what the song was about, provoking endless debates over its epic cast of characters. And these controversies remain with us to this day. But however open to interpretation the lyrics may have been, the song's emotional resonance was unmistakable: McLean was clearly relating a defining moment in the American experience- something had been lost, and we knew it. And we know it today as much as we did back then.

The 54th Annual Grammys were undoubtedly filled with magical moments but perhaps one of the finest moments was Jennifer Hudson's moving tribute to Whitney Houston. Hudson, I believe, was the perfect choice for the tribute as she had also suffered several losses in her life and truly understood the meaning behind the words to I Will Always Love You. 

The evening began with a prayer for and tribute to Whitney Houston. "There is no way around this," host LL Cool J told the crowd in the Staples Center and TV viewers after an opening number by Bruce Springsteen. "We've had a death in our family. So at least for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman that we loved. Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed by her musical spirit." LL Cool J said. And then producers played a clip of Houston singing from a past Grammy show.

The next moving performance came when Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys took the stage together to pay tribute to the late Etta James. They performed a beautiful piano and guitar rendition of Sunday Kind of Love before presenting the first Grammy of the night— best pop solo performance— to Adele for her emotional single Someone Like You. "My life changed when I wrote this song, and I felt it before anyone even heard it. I just felt it," Adele said in her first acceptance speech. "Seeing as it's a vocal performance I need to thank my doctors I suppose who brought my voice back." Adele also understood the deeper pain involved in experiencing a loss, albeit not a tragic death.

The 54th Grammys was destined to be a somber look at our collective mortality. Whether or not we are famous and talented musical performers or not, we will inevitably shed this mortal coil for something known or unknown, depending on your theological perspective. But I would prefer to end this commentary with what would have to have been the most experimental [and somewhat tedious] moment of the evening- which was Nicki Minaj's eclectically symbolic performance art which I think even Lady Gaga wouldn't have been able to translate. As far as anyone could tell— it involved an exorcism, elaborate stained-glass CGI, a large group of both male and female monks, a really creepy priest and levitation, but alas... no raw meat... at least none that we noticed.

Whitney Houston— Moments in Time

Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston died at the age of 48 in a Los Angeles hotel room, setting off an avalanche of tributes. Police say she was pronounced dead late Saturday afternoon in her fourth floor room of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Investigators say an attempt was made to resuscitate Houston after emergency personnel rushed to her room.  Police say the cause of her death has not been determined. Houston's death comes on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where the six-time Grammy winner had gathered with hundreds of artists for Sunday's program. The executive producer of the Grammys, Ken Ehrlich, announced that Grammy award winning singer Jennifer Hudson will pay tribute to Houston during Sunday's broadcast. Houston sold over 170 million albums and singles, making her one of the world's best-selling artists.  Her self-titled debut album, released in 1985, sold 25 million copies worldwide. Her talent took her from music to movies, where she starred in hits like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale. She was married to singer Bobby Brown from 1992 to 2007. They have a daughter. 

Whitney Houston's musical prowess was not fluke. She was inspired by a host of singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, and Houston's godmother Aretha Franklin, who expressed shock at Whitney Houston's death. Whitney left her immutable mark on a generation of music lovers and singers, and she will always be recognized as one of the most talented artists to leave their mark on the world. Her tragic death will no doubt bring many tributes over the next year, but it’s impossible to imagine anyone filling the void she leaves behind. 

It’s hard for a lot of us— to understand just how successful Whitney Houston was, in every conceivable way, at her early peak. Sports and pop culture writer Bill Simmons once summed it up thusly: "Young Whitney was like LeBron [James] crossed with Tiger [Woods]. Actually, you can't even compare her to anything. Let's say you rated a young female singer from 1 to 50 in five categories: likability, attractiveness, singing voice, pedigree and stage presence. Young Whitney was a 50 in all of them." By age 25, she’d had seven #1 hits and released two albums that went on to sell over 20 million copies combined in the US— and she hadn’t even had her biggest success yet. She seemed destined to go down as one of the immortals, one of the greatest, most beloved pop performers in the history of recorded music... the path was there.

Few could ever deny that the greatness of her peak still ranks her as one of the most important solo performers of the last 40 years of popular music, her musical catalogue providing us with countless pop classics and her voice—that soaring, supernaturally powerful voice, which defined all the greatest aspects of divadom for so many music listeners— touching the hearts and lives of millions and millions of fans, including such sworn Whitney devotees as Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga.

All of us here at UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate are deeply saddened by the passing of Whitney Houston. The details of her death are insignificant. What matters more than anything is what she gave each of us with her presence, her voice and the numerous memories that each of her songs resonates within. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family and friends and so many who loved her. I can personally recall the first time I heard the song "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"... it was uplifting, fun and it even had meaning... because, let's face it... not only do you want to dance with somebody... but somebody who loves you.