Music’s greatest night lived through its 54th annual Grammy Awards, held in the usual hosting city of Los Angeles. The night was darkened with a cloud of somberness, due to the breaking news of singer Whitney Houston’s death the day before.

Music’s greatest night lived through its 54th annual Grammy Awards, held in the usual hosting city of Los Angeles. The night was darkened with a cloud of somberness, due to the breaking news of singer Whitney Houston’s death the day before.

Everyone from producers, actors and singers were mourning the loss of a music legend during the awards, especially since she was scheduled to be present at the event.

The show started with rocker Bruce Springsteen performing. The host of the night was rapper/actor LL Cool J. He was the show’s first host in seven years. He opened the night with a surprising prayer dedicated to the late Whitney Houston and her family. The show still went on as planned, though a sense of sadness resonated throughout it.

Newcomer Bruno Mars performed a James Brown rendition of his song “Runaway.” He shined in a sparkling vintage inspired gold blazer, and matching gold bow-tie, with background singers wearing the same. He kept it old school with a full live band. His performance stood out because he stuck to his real music roots, letting his talent speak for itself.

The first award of the night, Best Pop Solo Performance, was awarded to the British pop star Adele for her hit single “Someone Like You.” This was one of many wins for her that night.

Another highlight of the night was Chris Brown’s comeback to the Grammy stage. He did not disappoint with performing his new dance hit “Turn Up the Music” and the up-beat song “Beautiful People.” He kept the audience entertained with flawless dance moves and high energy. At the end of his performance he simply waved at the crowd and took a bow of appreciation.

The night did not end there for the talented singer as he later performed with dance producer David Guetta and Lil’ Wayne.

He also won the award for Best R&B album for his latest release “F.A.M.E.” During the speech he thanked God, and seemed to get a little emotional in showing his appreciation to his fans. It is safe to say that Brown made his presence known at this year’s award show with two performances and winning his first Grammy.

Chris Brown’s ex, Rihanna, had fans anticipating her performance. She started her time on stage acting out her video for “We Found Love.” She stayed true to her Barbados roots with her dance moves and sex appeal. From that performance she joined band Coldplay with singing “Princess of China.” The band finished their set singing popular hit “Paradise” with a dark background and neon lighting details.

The night took a historical turn when classics like the Beach Boys reunited on stage and performed some of their hits. Another music pioneer Paul McCartney hit the stage and performed a song perfect for the Valentine holiday, “My Valentine.”

The much-anticipated moment of the night came when Jennifer Hudson was introduced to the stage to pay tribute to Whitney Houston. She performed one song, Houston’s classic “I Will Always Love You.” Hudson, who did not seem to belt the song like we all knew she could, kept her poise throughout the song, only getting emotional towards the end. Some may have wanted a longer or even better tribute for Houston, but people have to remember the show had been planned months prior to, and the producers could not switch the entire show around. The tribute was short, but sweet, just like it needed to be.

As for the rest of the performances, Katy Perry performed a high energy set with singing her hit “E.T.”, and she also debuted a song titled “Part of Me” which seemed to take aim at her ex- husband Russell Brand.

Nicki Minaj was the last performance of the night. Her performance left most confused, disappointed and at a lost for words. She put on more of a production instead of performing. She even had a short video prelude titled “The Exorcism of Roman.”

On a more positive note, Adele won the big award of the night, Song of the Year, for “Rolling in the Deep” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “21.” At the end of the night Adele had six awards in total.

All in all the Grammys was far from the best this year. From production problems to lackluster performances and mediocre attendance, the awards were not at all memorable. There were few surprises and the show was predictable in many ways (minus Nicki’s performance).

The night’s best moments were Adele’s success, Chris Brown’s comeback, Rihanna and Coldplay’s perfomance and the emotion behind Whitney Houston’s tribute.

• Ashley Vaughn, Scene Editor