Grammy review

Last night was the Grammy Awards, and there were a bunch of surprises - on TV and off. But I'll go from start to finish:

- The opening performance with Gwen Stefani and Eve, Black Eyed Peas, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5 and Franz Ferdinand was too bland to open the show. The end was a good idea - to have all the bands play at the same time, but it just didn't sound good. And is it just me, or is Franz Ferdinand straight out of the 80s?

- Queen Latifah announced that rock-n-roll was 50, but it's sad that few nominees fit in the rock category.

- The first award went to Los Lonely Boys for Pop Duo or Group with Vocals. A big surprise to start the show, but the band deserves it. They're definitely talented.

- Alicia Keys had a solid performance, on her own and with Jamie Foxx.

- Prince won for Male R&B Vocal Performance. Another surprise. Another that was deserved.

- U2 had a bland performance. These "album versions" are just too boring to me. I want something out of the ordinary.

- Green Day won Best Rock Album. It was on my list of the best of last year, so I'm not surprised by this one.

- Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez did a duet - did either one of them look like they wanted to be there? Talk about lack of emotion and fire for a married couple. This was pretty painful to watch.

- Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keith Urban and Dickey Betts performed a Southern Rock tribute. The music was great, but the vocals were weak. It would have been better as an open jam, instead of a scripted piece.

- Queen Latifah sang. Who knew she could? She's come along way from her rap days, huh?

- Maroon 5 won Best New Artist. Another shock here. But going with the theme of the night, the favorites were being shut out.

- Green Day performed "American Idiot." No holding back, the band simply ripped it up.

- Alicia Keys won Best R&B Album. No surprise here.

- Kanye West, John Legend and the Blind Boys of Alabama performed. I wasn't impressed.

- Kanye West won Best Rap Album. Personally, I thought it was the strangest speech of the night, but that's just me....

- Joss Stone and Melissa Etheridge did an amazing tribute to Janis Joplin. Really well done - one of the highlights of the night.

- Tim McGraw sounded just like his CD.

- Loretta Lynn won Best Country Album. Nobody saw this one coming. Jack White was pretty scary, and it looked like he was on stage with his mom.

- John Mayer sang "Daughters." This guy should win the award for worst faces made while singing.

- U2 won Best Rock Duo or Group with Vocal. The new album's gotten good reviews, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

- Velvet Revolver, Green Day, Steve Tyler, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Brian Wilson and Tim McGraw performed a song for tsunami relief efforts. Pretty weak in my opinion. Didn't look like anyone was happy to be there, or sang with any heart. Hopefully they've donated more money than effort for this one.

- John Mayer won Song of the Year. He's a good songwriter, I'll give him that.

- Usher had a fun, pop performance.

- Ray Charles and Norah Jones won Record of the Year. Ah, the sentimental favorite.

- Bonnie Raitt performed in a tribute to Ray Charles. I thought it was nice and bluesy. Well done.

- Ray Charles won Album of the Year. I guess I'll have to go out and pick this one up....

So, that was the show, pretty much.

Outside the show, here are the surprising winners:

- Motorhead for Best Metal Performance. Who knew they were still putting out albums?

- Britney Spears for Best Dance Recording. I can't believe she's won a Grammy, and she can't even sing.

- That awful song "My Boo" won for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. Ugh....how depressing.

- Ozomatli won for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. Was surprised, but happy they won. I'm a big fan of theirs.

- Bill Clinton for Best Spoken Word Album. A book on tape counts as spoken word?