Daijams' Full Grammys 2012 Recap

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Daijams' Full Concert Tuesday to bring you...an even longer concert, interspersed with awards to some of America's (er, the music industry's) favorite artists! Let's recap the most-watched Grammy Awards since Michael Jackson's eight-category sweep in 1984.

In the 54th annual showcase of America's taste in music, there was much to be joyful about. As I mentioned yesterday, and as you've no doubt seen all over the Internets, the soul-wrenching British contralto Adele made a clean sweep, winning every category in which she was nominated for a total of six golden, wood-mounted gramophone statuettes, tying Beyoncé's record for the most wins by a female performer in one year. I just adore her photo shoot backstage, and look at how it compares to 2009's two (measly) wins:

    

GIRL YOU LOOK STUNNING! Left 2009; right 2012.

My roommates and I sat down to watch the Grammys about an hour and a half late on Sunday night, but thanks to the magic of DVR, it meant we got to skip previews and commercials and get right to the good stuff. We cuddled up and settled in for a dose of Americana. We weren't waiting long, as 62-year-old vintage American rocker Bruce Springsteen opened the evening with a performance of "We Take Care of Our Own." I'll be honest, most of Springsteen's songs sound much the same to me, and I feared a descent into boredom with yet another generic display of patriotism. But damn, who doesn't love the Boss? He's such a great musician, not to mention the fact that the guy is still standing on speakers, windmilling his guitar like a rock star. The 21-time Grammy winner deserved the room's standing ovation.

After host LL Cool J presented a somber Whitney Houston tribute, the Grammys continued with a healthy dose of exuberance, which was a relief -- we would honor both Whitney and the winners by celebrating the joy that music brings to our lives. "This night is bigger than any one of us," Mr. Cool J reminded us. "This night is about something truly universal and healing. This night is about music."  Kind of cheesy, but totally on point, and it was the host's finest moment of the night.

We were off to the races with Bruno Mars' performance of "Runaway Baby" off 2010's Doo-Wops and Hooligans. The 26-year-old rocked the house with his soulful voice, gold Dolce & Gabbana jacket and matching bow tie, and tight, low-impact choreography. My roommates and I agreed he was definitely singing live, as had the Boss, making the evening 2/2 thus far. Mars even got playful: "Tonight we celebrate music! Tonight we celebrate the beautiful Whitney Houston! So get off your rich asses and have some fun!" The rest, you might say, was James Brown.

Karmin: "Look at Me Now"

This video, a cover of a current Chris Brown song, was uploaded just over a week ago and already snagged more than three million views for its young performers. They were even on the Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this week. Maybe it's because this is, like, way better than the original.

Karmin is composed of musicians Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, who met at Berklee College of Music in Boston. (And are now engaged! Adorable.) They released an original EP last year and have a series of covers on their YouTube page. Amy's got a poppy R&B thing going on, and Nick is apparently a trained trombonist (and keyboardist/back-up vocalist). Their stripped-down covers feature Amy's lovely voice in a bunch of contexts -- but none more impressive than this. She sounds like she could go toe-to-toe with Nicki Minaj the way she handles the rhymes of not only Chris Brown but also Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, who both rapped on the original track.

As a sidenote, this is a true modern indie duo: They're promulgating their music in every way possible, from the increasingly archaic MySpace to YouTube to Facebook to Twitter to Last.fm to Amazon to iTunes to iLike to Reverb Nation. And after all that work it's a Chris Brown cover that's getting them attention. Figures.

If you're skeptical, just watch the first minute and a half. If your jaw doesn't drop along with the beat at 1:15, you may not have a soul. Enjoy.

"Look at Me Now," performed by Karmin.
Original on Chris Brown's "F.A.M.E." (2011).