The Grammys: Step Ups, Tributes and No-Show-Ups

The 61st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night, a nearly four hour telecast on CBS, was notable for who was and wasn't slighted by the Recording Academy, resulting in some of the biggest names in music taking a pass on the ceremonies.

Ariana Grande won a couple of Grammys, but didn't show because of a dispute with producers over what songs they wanted her to sing.  Some hip hop stars also declined to appear because they thought the Academy wasn't giving the genre the respect they thought they deserved.  Which led to awkward moments such as Drake's acceptance speech for his Grammy for "God's Plan" getting cut off, and for having to award Song and Record of the Year to Childish Gambino's "This Is America" in absentia.

In response to outgoing Academy president Neil Portnow's admonition to women artists to "step up" if they want to win more Grammys, that's exactly what they did this year.  The show was hosted by Grammy darling Alicia Keys who, when she wasn't channeling her inner Oprah, did a great job of moving things along (outside of a glitch or two) and playing a dueling pianos routine that was the highlight.  Lady Gaga, Janelle Monae, Brandi Carlile and Cardi B all made their star turns.  Even former First Lady Michelle Obama showed up. Dua Lipa won for Best New Artist.  And Kacey Musgraves, previously best known for quirky country songs like "Follow Your Arrow" and "Biscuits", surprisingly won Album of the Year for "Golden Hour".

Isn't this what hip hop artists have been complaining about?  Grammy-nominated rap albums have been losing to the likes of Adele, Macklemore & Lewis, and now Musgraves. Seems the Academy is having the same problem with rap like they once did with rock and roll.

There was no shortage of boomer tributes at this year's Grammys:  Dolly Parton (who won an industry award), Diana Ross (who turns 75 next month, as she likes to remind everyone, Aretha Franklin (who died last year) and Donny Hathaway (who's been dead since 1979).  There was a salute to the 60th anniversary of Motown Records, but for some reason Jennifer Lopez got star billing.  Nothing against J.Lo, but it was just bizarre to watch her here.  Meanwhile, the telecast was promoting upcoming tribute shows for Parton, Franklin and Motown to be aired later on CBS, so presumably we should be getting better performances.

Whether the stars came out or not, four hours is a long time to sit through a mixed bag of performances with the major awards not being handed out until the final hour, outside of East Coast prime time  You might as well skip the trophies and just put the winners on TV.  Would it be too much to ask if the Recording Academy not just settle its differences, but also to streamline its telecast?