Grammys a triumph for millennial music

(L-R) Singers Ziggy Marley, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Damian Marley perform onstage during the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)

The true winners of the Grammy’s on Sunday night were not Fun., Mumford & Sons and Gotye. The real winner was the millennial music generation.

For the first time ever, pop music that younger people actually listen to dominated the show, with performances by The Black Keys, The Lumineers and the expected mega acts like Rihanna. Even Justin Timberlake was huffing newer pop star Bruno Mars’ dust in his 1950s retro performance of a new single “Suit & Tie.” Timberlake’s black-and-white styled number felt like a higher budget version of Mars’ 2012 performance at the Grammys.

Finally.

The recording industry woke up to what people are listening to on Spotify.

For too long, watching the Grammys felt like a visit to the preserved body of Lenin. The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John would perform, and if viewers under 50 were lucky, they got to see a few token numbers by Rihanna and Eminem. The most shocking event of the ’90s was the debut of Ricky Martin.

The win for “No Church in the Wild” for rap-sung collaboration felt like a ceremonial passing of the torch. Although Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and The-Dream all shared in the win, Hove deferred to younger up and comers, Ocean and The-Dream, to do the thanking.

I might make a point of watching in 2014.

Here is the news story about the show and a list of winners from the Associated Press.

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