Christina Aguilara is THE highlight of Grammy night 2007 with her outstanding performance of "It's A Man's World." 

My first hand impressions of my trip to the Grammys on February 11th, 2007.

Most of you know the story about the Dixie Chicks.  They stormed Country Music in the late 90s and by late 2002 they were slamming the President Of The United States on foreign soil, while doing a concert in London.  We had just begun our war in Iraq.  Lead singer Natalie Maines didn't realize what was about to happen to the band.  They were voted off most all country radio stations by both the Program Directors and as in the case of 99.9 KFAV, by the listeners.  It wasn't exactly what they said, but how, when, and where they said it.   There wasn't really anywhere they could go as far as radio formats that would play their music.  So they languished.  In 2006 they released a new CD and hoped for the best.  The first single was "Not Ready To Make Nice" which was head-on Personal Music with a capital "P".   First they talk politics while on stage, and then they do the same thing several years later on their album.  The CD comes out, and still Country music doesn't play their music.  I think they would have had more spins had they not put that song on the album.   I've heard the album, and it's just OK.  It is not spectacular, but wait....They just won Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal!!!  Wow...is that possible?  They also had to cancel quite a bit of their tour in 2006 for lack of ticket sales!  How many Grammys did I say they won?  And what about those artists up against them in all those catagories?  How should they feel?  And HOW can you win that many Grammy awards, even one in a Country catagory up against folks like Alan Jackson, when Country Radio didn't even play your stuff??  Hmmmmmm?   Is it now fully realized how political the Grammys are and always have been?  I sincerely believe that the Dixie Chicks were handed both the original nominations, and now the awards because, and only because of their standing firm against Bush and his presidency.  They were rewarded.  Period.  Isn't this supposed to be about good music?  Doesn't this further tarnish the credibility of the Grammy nomination and awards processes?   Those of you who saw the telecast on CBS saw the Chicks eat up the strokes they got from the left.  Natalie couldn't help herself and made another back-handed slap at Country Radio.  As if that weren't enough politics for the night, even Al Gore was asked to make a surprise appearance at the end of the show.   Has the DNC (Democratic National Committee) infiltrated the musical awards innerworkings?  I say yes...in a round about way.  But enough of that.

Let me tell you.  Despite the Dixie Chicks fiasco, the evening was full of some really good music.  The crowd at the Staples Center in L.A. was largely music and record label types.  Sitting next to me were two young guys who work in promotions for Atlantic Records and were friends of James Blunt, a performer and nominee (who, by the way, got beat out by the Chicks).  The lights went down, and when the telecast started, Sting was reunited with the big 80s group, "The Police" and brought the house down with a 2007 edition of their first big hit in 1979 "Roxanne." 

Other highlights for me personally were Beyonce performing the song "Listen" from the motion picture "Dreamgirls" and Justin Timberlake, who almost became a host of the show, he was in so many performances and bits.  This guy is very talented both as a singer and dancer.  His "What Goes Around Comes Around" captured the audience and proved that he is also a pretty good writer. 

Shakira electrified the stage with "Hips Don't Lie".   

Three of the best performances followed...Smokey Robinson, Lionel Ritchie, and Christina Aguilara.  Spot on.  Smokey's range is still impressive, and Lionel is such a great writer and singer it really makes you wonder why he's been tucked away somewhere.  

The highlight of the night at the Grammys for me was the performance by Christina Aguilara.  She sang "It's A Man's World" from James Brown, and tore up the stage.  I thought to myself, all she had to do is just sing the song and she would have received great applause, but she went out on stage to do more, much more.  All other performances paled in comparison to hers.  As one writer has said already, Christina's performance is already "legendary." 

My second favorite moment of the evening was the performance of California rockers, Red Hot Chili Peppers who played their new song from the Grammy winning double CD, "Stadium Arcadium"...   They played "Snow..Hey Oh" and while they were singing, small white pieces of paper fell like snow all over the Staples Center.   I'm glad they won, and for anyone who likes good rock and roll, pick up that CD....you'll love it. 

I need to thank Carrie Underwood for being gracious to the folks who put her on the world stage.  She is one of the very few American Idol winners who actually thank Simon Fuller and the folks at Fox for putting her in the public eye.  She did that on live TV while accepting an award.  I give her props for that.  She is also a very smart gal with a tremendous amount of talent.  At one point it was obvious that Carrie countered the Dixie Chicks with a big thank you to Country Music. 

Down close to the stage is where all the nominees, presenters, and movie stars were seated.  I gotta say that during the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, movie director and producer Quinten Terantino was up in the isle dancing like a mad man having too much fun, with his long arms flipping all around....this while the snow was falling everywhere.  It was hysterical. 

So, where the night let me down was that there were any awards at all.  I couldn't believe any of them.  The awards weren't about the music, that was clear.  What didn't let me down were most of the performances. 

Read Recording Academy President Neil Portnow's telecast remarks here.

For a complete list of 49th GRAMMY Awards winners, please click here.