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4 LIVEMAGS.NET FEBRUARY>>10 Writer>>candice yacono The 2010 Grammy Awards will be recalled as the year of fashion bombast, spectacle-filled performances and homages to musical legends. Beyoncé's musical talent sent her up to the stage to accept six awards at the 52nd annual show, the most of the night and the most of any woman in a single Grammy awards show. During her live performance, her black, powerfully sculpted Versace mini-dress matched the feminist tones of her mashup of "If I Were a Boy" (her rant against unfaithful men) with "You Oughta Know" (Alanis Morissette's own strong-woman anthem). Pop singer Pink also widened eyes with her Cirque du Soleil-inspired trapeze-and- water live show, wearing cleverly placed mummy bandages à la Leeloo in "The Fifth Element." Lady Gaga, in a flame-filled spectacle of a performance, made fashion headlines for her typically bizarre green-heart leotard, and became the darling of a new legion of fans with the song and her follow-up duet with Elton John. As is tradition, several legendary performers passed the proverbial torch to the younger generation in the Jan. 31 telecast. But the adulation of Gaga didn't result in an Album of the Year win. Gaga did her best to maintain a poker face when Taylor Swift, with her youthful exuberance, accepted the award — one of four she won that night. A duet between Swift and legendary singer Stevie Nicks was hardly well-received, with awkward harmonization and bad notes. Although Kanye West also won a Grammy, he didn't attend this year's show — leaving Swift free from the specter of having her mic being grabbed by West mid- speech. West famously declared at last September's MTV Video Music Awards, in a ridiculous stage rush that left Swift literally speechless, that Beyoncé should have won the award for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Swift good-naturedly got up and danced to the song at the Grammys when Beyoncé won the award. The late, great Michael Jackson was honored with a 3-D performance of "Earth Song" by Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and Usher. Viewers were urged in previous weeks to pick up free 3-D glasses at Target to watch the performance, which was a migraine inducer to those without the glasses. The video was intended to be shown in Jackson's planned concert series in London, for which he was rehearsing when he died. Artist Lionel Richie introduced the segment, saying Jackson intended the performance as a call to action against humanity's destruction of the planet. His son Prince Michael Jackson graciously accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award on his father's behalf, thanking God for watching over his family, his grandparents, and his father's fans. "Through all his songs his message was simple — love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world. Thank you," the 12-year-old said. "Daddy was supposed to be here. Daddy was going to perform this year," his sister Paris, 11, added. Haiti wasn't left out of the show; an improbable duet by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" can now be downloaded to benefit the earthquake-stricken island. Many R&B and hip-hop acts used Auto-Tune to guarantee a good live performance, a practice which is disdained by musical purists. A performance between Lil Wayne, Drake and Eminem was full of awkward silences in which offensive language was "bleeped" out. The Kings of Leon admitted they were buzzed onstage while accepting the Record of the Year award. Legendary rocker Alice Cooper took it down a notch, describing his post-show plans: "I'm going to have three or four Diet Cokes. I'm going to paint the town beige tonight." Show host, comedy album Grammy winner and mock conservative news pundit Stephen Colbert's jokes were hit-or-miss throughout the night; in a stroke of product placement genius by Apple, Colbert flashed an iPad, the company's new tablet. "Did you not get one in your gift bag? Am I cooler than you?" Colbert asked a barely tolerant (and triple Grammy-winning) Jay-Z, who looked as if he was watching paint dry whenever Colbert took the stage. Colbert also drew a mix of laughs and raised eyebrows for his frequent bashes of and references to British singing sensation Susan Boyle. "This year, your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes," he admonished the glittering assemblage of musical elite. GRAMMY AWARDS 52nd review