Another poem

5 Favorite Grammy Performances

I couldn't let the Grammys come and go without sharing my 5 favorite performances from Grammys past. These are all moments I can remember loving while watching live and that have stuck with me over the years. I'm hoping for a few more performances this year to rival these wonderful memories. C'mon , Adele!

#5 - Mariah Carey - Vision of Love

This isn't the strongest vocal from Mariah and she's visibly nervous. This was her first Grammys and I can only imagine what it would be like for a new artist to perform in front of the global audience. She's almost unrecognizable from the Mariah of 2012 - physically and vocally - but her sense of humor was there from the start. At the end of the performance, the look she gives the dress strap that kept slipping off her shoulder cracks me up. This is the Mariah that I adore.

#4 - Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone - Cry Baby/Piece of My Heart

At the start of this performance, I was looking forward to Joss Stone, who I have liked from the start of her career. Not that I didn't like Melissa, but I wasn't as excited about her. But when she came out and started Piece of My Heart (one of my favorite songs ever), I may or may not have popped up off the couch and screamed "You better sing, b----!!" - and she did.

#3 - Aretha Franklin - Nessun Dorma

Filling in for an ill Pavarotti at the last minute, Aretha ignited the crowd with a unique and soulful take of this aria by Puccini. This is a legendary moment in an even more legendary career. She keeps promising an entire album of operatic covers, and maybe someday it will happen.

#2 - Pink - Glitter in The Air

This was only 2 years ago, but it has become one of the most memorable performances of all time. When watching this live, it was so unusual and unexpected that it took my breath away. Watching it now, even knowing what is to come, it's like watching a dream unfold. Not long after this performance, Pink injured herself recreating it for her tour, falling on a crowd divider and requiring a trip the the ER. The mix of beauty and danger is hypnotic. 

#1 - Deniece Williams - God is Amazing

Best known for the pop hit "Let's Hear It For The Boy" from Footloose, Deniece Williams is a stunning vocalist. She defied the wishes of her PR team to perform this gospel song - they wanted her to instead sing her current single. The audience is in the palm of her hand and she takes them to church. Remember that this is a live a capella performance - who would dare this today with the world watching? Furthermore, who can even sing like this today? I will trade all the Katy Perrys, Keshas (I refuse to type the ridiculous "$"), and J-Los for another Deniece Williams. But sadly, there can only be one. 

I remember watching this in 1985 and being overcome with emotion. It wasn't religious fervor but a  kind of musical madness that swept over me. I link this moment with the start of my fondness for the soprano voice. This performance also cemented my love for R&B and gospel music. I could watch this constantly and have heard it a million times now -the audio track is even included on one of her best-of CDs - perhaps the finest live vocal performance I've seen. I have a joke with a old friend -we say that the four things you must do while singing to get the audience to like you are: go low, go high, repeat things, and get loud. She is teaching a master class in this method.