Grammys 2013: Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake lead performances
The 2013 Grammy Awards are upon us, and this article is provided with one sole purpose: presenting our take on some of the biggest performances of the night. This is always a star-studded show, and it also gives you the sort of numbers that you literally cannot see anywhere else.
Be sure to check back throughout the night, as we are going to have more highlights as the show progresses. We will also do our best to provide videos so long as they are available online and in a decent-enough quality worth sharing. With all of this in mind, let’s dive in!
Taylor Swift – Taylor had the rather prestigious opportunity to open the show this year, and she did so with a performance that was themed around a theme that many other performers have used in the past: “Alice in Wonderland.” While “We Are Never Never Getting Back Together” is a song that Swift has performed many times before, this performance marked a bit of a creative departure compared to some of what she has done in the past.
Elton John and Ed Sheeran – What a special performance this was: a music legend working with someone with enough potential to become one of the best songwriters of the modern era. It was simple, but very well-done.
Fun. – Easily the breakout group of 2012 in our mind, the band appropriately used the platform of this show in order to help support their new single “Carry On.”
Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert – This is country music as country music should be: emotional, catchy, and also an example of what lyrics should be from a storytelling perspective. “Over You” is still a song that gets us every time.
Miguel and Wiz Khalifa – What Dierks and Miranda are for country, these two are for R&B and hip-hop.
Mumford & Sons – The bluegrass group brought plenty of their trademark style to the proceedings, and were also introduced by Johnny Depp.
Justin Timberlake – In one of the cooler performances on the night, Timbelake went retro with a jazzy number that aired in black and white, and felt a little bit like his old numbers mixed with 1960s soul.
Kelly Clarkson – We first heard Kelly sing “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman” on “American Idol,” and it was almost a given that she was going to completely nail this performance.
Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna, Ziggy Marley, and Damian Marley – From this standpoint, this was the highlight of the night without question. Listening to these five help to tribute Bob Marley, following “Locked Out of Heaved” and “Walking on the Moon,” was music heaven.
The Lumineers – “Ho Hey” is one of those songs that manages to sound great every time it’s done live. Kudos to the Grammys to highlighting real music.
Jack White – See above, and it was interesting to see that White brought his female band for this performance (as he alternates shows between them and a male band).
Hunter Hayes and Carrie Underwood – The two performances more or less blended into one, as Hunter sang a brief bit of “Wanted” before Carrie dove into “Blown Away” and then new hit “Two Black Caddilacs” with the assistance of a very electronic dress.
Frank Ocean – A touching, soft-spoken take on “Forrest Gump.”
What did you think of some of the performances this year? If you want to read some more of the latest Grammy news, you can do so over at the link here.
Photo: Grammy Awards / CBS