2013 Grammy nominations show: Katy Perry, Lorde, Taylor Swift, and Robin Thicke

Tonight, CBS aired its annual Grammy nomination show, otherwise known as there one opportunity a year to get young viewers on a Friday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Personally, we’re pretty surprised that they air it at this time at all, given that there really are not that many people sticking around to watch it at home.

You can check out the full list of nominations here. This article is more about some of the performances that took place over the hour hosted by CBS’ go-to-guy for all things music in LL Cool J. As for the full awards show, it will air on January 26.

Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble” – This came via one of her concerts in Australia, which was almost surely pre-taped based on that time difference. if you’ve watched a video of any of her concerts over the past couple of months, this is going to feel pretty familiar.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, “Thrift Shop” – Just for the sake of fun, we thought this was the best of the night. The duo came out and just had a good time with the song. Plus, the audience was involved, and that’s always a nice little plus.

Katy Perry, “Roar” – This was also a similar sort of concert performance, but this one courtesy of Toronto rather than Australia. Therefore, it at least felt live. But at the same time, the issue here was only that it was in a nightclub, which hardly gave her room to move around the stage.

Lorde, “Royals” – Personally, we admit that we’re not a big fan of the song, and this melody just doesn’t really grab us. But, she did at least make a good effort to perform the song in front of the crowd.

Robin Thicke, “Blurred Lines” – This was a weird sort of collaboration with members of Earth, Wind, & Fire, and we don’t really think that it worked at all. The music just didn’t fit the song! Maybe we’re also just tired of watching Robin performing this song live, even if we still dig the radio version.

Photo: CBS