2011 Grammys, the fashion, fun & fall

The biggest night in music reached its highest ratings since 2001 with an average audience of 26.5 million viewers.
The Sunday night Grammys was full of surprising performances and fashions.
The opening performance, an Aretha Franklin tribute, seemed to be the talk of the town. With overly talented artists such as Christina Aguilera, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and Florence Welch, you couldn’t go wrong. Aguilera seemed to be continuing her bad luck streak, after tripping over her lines of the National Anthem at the Superbowl.
The soulful singer took a tumble on stage after the memorable tribute. But, as usual, her voice made everyone forget the noticeable drop.
After the tribute, Aretha Franklin appeared via video to express her gratitude. The 68-year-old diva was visibly thinner after undergoing surgery last year.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be with you this evening,” she said. ‘”Especially all of you who took the time to send me get well cards and flowers, beautiful flowers, and most importantly, your prayers.”
In true Lady Gaga fashion, the eccentric singer “hatched” out of a giant egg before wowing her fans with much awaited single, “Born This Way.”
The horn-wearing singer then changed into a molded black piece to accept her three awards. Surprisingly, she thanked Whitney Houston during her acceptance speech. “I wanted to thank Whitney, because when I wrote ‘Born this Way,’ I imagined she was singing it because I wasn’t secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar.” she said.
“So, Whitney, I imagined you were singing born this way when I wrote it.”
The night wouldn’t have been complete without some Bieber Fever. Justin Bieber opened his performance with an acoustic version of “Baby” on his guitar.
The 16-year-old prodigy then brought Jaden Smith and his cheetah pants on stage for “Never Say Never.”
The music sensation then performed with Usher to his hit, “OMG.”
Duets also included Rihanna and 10-time nominated rapper Eminem performing the number one hit, “Love the Way You Lie.”
Rihanna was a hot topic by her outfit choices. She showed up on the red carpet in overly peek-a-boo Jean-Paul Gaultier dress.
She then had her first performance in a billowing petal-print ball gown.
Although Eminem lost out to up-and-coming country groupLady Antebellum for Record of The Year, he took home the gong for Best Rap Album for his hit record Recovery.
Hip-hop artist Jay-Z was luckier in the category winning three awards.
Four-time nominated Katy Perry may have left empty handed but looked fabulous in a pink custom Giorgio Armani dress and sparkling heels covered in hearts in honor of Valentine’s Day.
To continue the romantic element of her performance, footage from her wedding to Russell Brand was projected against the over exaggerated train of her skirt.
Cee Lo continued the odd factor of the night by sporting a feathered ensemble with metallic breastplate for his performance with actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
The “Forget You” performance also included and a band of Jim Henson puppets.
Bruno Mars, B.o.B and Janelle Monae shared the stage for their performance.
In her expected tuxedo and cotton candy hair, Janelle Monae sang background during B.o.B and Bruno’s “Nothing On You” before the trio transitioned into Bruno’s solo hit “Grenade.”
Mars’ performance was a ’50s throwback. To complete the old fashioned performance, the singer used black-and-white camerawork, doo-wop backup singers and a sharply tailored suit with two-tone oxfords.
Janelle Monae then took over the stage with a performance of “Cold War” with Bruno Mars drums and B.o.B guitar.
Other fashions included Kim Kardashian in Kaufman Franco. The plunging, leg-baring gold number was reminiscent of Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammys.
Between Lady Gaga, Cee Lo and Nicki Minaj, the Grammys looked like a costume ball. Nicki Minaj stunned viewers in a leopard print Givenchy dress topped off with a leopard spotted hairstyle.
The 2011 Grammys was one to remember.