Best & Worst: 56th Annual Grammy Awards

While I was not able to see the entire show, Eclectic Pop has narrowed down the best and worst from what was seen at the 2014 Grammy Awards.

Best Guitar-Off: Keith Urban & Gary Clark Jr.: Urban’s “Cop Car” gave way to a great avenue for guitar rifting, which led to an exceptional listening experience. Stripped down and basic, Urban’s collaboration with Clark Jr. was a well explored performance.

Most Bizarre/Head-Scratching Performance: Katy Perry: Whether it was the most spectacular send-up to the cult film “The Wicker Man” ever or simply an ode to witchcraft, it was not bewitching in the least. A disappointing thing to write; given Perry’s often must-see, if off-beat performances.

As if things couldn’t get any weirder, she demonstrated a newly realized use for a witches’ broom, as a stripper pole. Not since Harry Potter re-purposed it for game play has it been ridden with such devotion.

Best Collaborative Duet: Carole King and Sara Bareilles: The “Brave” songstress came back in fine form after her performance at the People’s Choice Awards. Alongside the legendary Carole King, she has never sounded better and King demonstrated why she continues to reign supreme in the hearts of music fans. Their voices melded together with assuring strength and the mash-up of King’s “Beautiful” with “Brave”, was a match made in musical heaven.

Most Hair Raising/Emotionally Expressive Performance: Taylor Swift: T-Swizzle threw her head back and looked directly into the camera as she sent serious vibes to the mystery man, behind one of her most angst-ridden tunes.

Best Multi-Generational Collaboration: Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Blake Shelton: The folksy foursome brought major country flair to the stage in a sensational medley of down home fervor and twang.

Best Simplistic Approach that Paid Off: Kacey Musgraves: To the point and with some help from a loud wardrobe, complete with twinkling cowboy boots, Musgraves offered a heartfelt performance that relied on the beauty and meaning of “Follow the Arrow”, without distracting with big stage antics.

Best Old School Comeback: Chicago: While Robin Thicke paraded around, Chicago did their thing, playing medley’s of their enduring hits. Thicke needs to take note. You can have an enduring career that is about music, not stunts.

Most Feel Good Performance: Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney: The surviving members of The Beatles came to the stage bringing their unparalleled history to music’s biggest night. On the flip side, it would have been nice for them to collaborate on, at least one, of The Beatles’ original songs.

Best Retro-Wonder Mash-Up: Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers (Chic): Summer’s best song, “Get Lucky” was mixed up with, “Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster”, Wonder’s “Another Star” and Chic’s “Le Freak”. The results were joyous as they infectiously sent the crowd into a well-earned dancing frenzy.

Song That Will Hopefully Be Retired after Being Performed at the Grammys: “Blurred Lines”: After being one of summer’s smash hits, the song has been forever soiled with the lurid image of Miley Cyrus bent over with a foam finger, “twerking” on Robin Thicke as he smiled on, donning the regalia from Beetlejuice. All of the summer fun has officially been wrung out of this once pleasant song.

Performance in Need of Retirement: Pink: After what feels like an eternity, of the same Cirque du Soleil performance, it might be time to move on. It seems as though she performs this at every awards show, she is on. The first time Pink debuted her high flying/gymnastics routine was with her performance of “Glitter in the Air” and it was stunning. 5 years later, it’s gotten old and predictable, the P word, Pink has typically seemed eager to avoid.

Weirdest Costuming: Madonna: Swallowed whole in what can only be described as a fashion nod to the Colonel from Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Voice Most Deserving of More Listeners: Mary Lambert: The powerful voice behind the hook in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' hit “Same Love” proved she has some of the best live vocal chops in the business. Hopefully “Same Love” is a starting point to hearing even more from her. Her performance alongside Macklemore and Lewis was the evening's most emotional moment.

[Image by Daft Punk]

So those are Eclectic Pop’s thoughts on the 56^th Annual Grammy Awards. What did you think of music’s biggest night? You can share your thoughts by tweeting @EclecticPop or leaving a comment below.