HELLO AMERICA!—Usually, I have had a lukewarm reaction to the Grammy Awards show each year, but this time in 2018, I’m so happy to acknowledge that the music show was brilliantly produced and created. The host of the show James Corden was perfect for this type of TV fare, as he is on his own weekly talk show. However, the appearance of Patti LuPone singing the hit song of her Broadway award-winning musical, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” wiped out the audience.
This lady, this performer, this star showed the young ones how to sell a song with class and utter dignity. It is no wonder that LuPone is still a hot item for any Broadway musical or play. WHAT A TALENT!
Every performer on the show was first class and I would be upset if I didn’t include Pink! who displayed her artistry with utter ease; Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance reading from that infamous new book “Fire and Fury,” as did Cher. Bruno Mars walked away with Album of the Year for “24K Magic.” Trevor Noah presented the Grammy to Dave Chappelle for Best Comedy Album. While Tony winner Ben Platt performed “Somewhere” from West Side Story was quite beautiful, displaying a surprising impressive range/ Elton John and Miley Cyrus also collaborated on stage, just as Kesha joined the “Me Too and Times Up” movement delivering an astounding performance on the stage. Rihanna also hit the stage alongside DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller.
Usually these award specials are terribly boring, especially, in the last past few years. However, miraculously, this year’s production fare was absolutely brilliantly effective in every way. The sound, costumes, music numbers, especially the dancing, it represented New York in the expected glowing way. Janelle Monae surprised the Madison Square Garden packed audience with her compelling speech concerning women’s rights. The young singer, actor, producer received a standing ovation. It was quite moving.