There was a time, not too long ago, when every musician dreamed of winning a Grammy. It was the most prestigious award the music industry could offer, truly a honor. That time has passed. Despite young songstresses like Christina Aguilera and Beyonc Knowles professing their desire for the award, the Grammy has lost most of its relevance. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) was never the most trendy panel of voters, but their standards and tastes seem to have split between voting for Top 40 radio or outdated musical pioneers. Of course the argument can be made that the music topping radio and Billboard charts is obviously the most important music of the moment, but should Britney Spears be called a musical pioneer?

As its popularity continues to decline, the minds behind the 2004 Grammy Awards sought to make this year's show different from years past. The selling point this time around was the live performances during the show-the 46th Annual Grammy Awards boasted a record 19 live performances. The downside was that fewer awards were presented on-air, but this tactic managed to keep the Grammys from being the slow, tortuous and boring award show it had become in the past decade.
The show kicked off with a duet comprised of the ever-present Beyonc and the notoriously reclusive Prince. They performed a medely of Prince's songs, with Beyonc doing her best Tina Turner impression-which, as it turns out, is excellent, and one more entertaining and befitting than her usual diva style.

Beyonc returned later that night to perform by herself, singing her album's title track "Dangerously In Love." That performance and a stirring (if not slightly overdone) version of "Beautiful" performed by Christina Aguilera, were the two best performances of the entire night. The crowd inside Los Angeles' Staples Center gave both of these women well deserved standing ovations. After all, it has become increasingly rare to see female vocalists get up on stage to sing-and I mean really sing. And while Beyonc used an elaborate set to compliment her song, Aguilera simply stood (and sat) on the stage in bare feet and a simple suit, and used that incredible voice of hers to get her message across. Somewhere, Britney Spears was crying.

The other two exceptional performances of the night involved-not surprisingly-the two men of Outkast. Big Boi performed "The Way You Move" as part of a funk medley led by Samuel L. Jackson, which also featured stellar performances by Earth, Wind and Fire, and Parliament-Funkadelic featuring George Clinton. Andre 3000 had the honor of being the night's final performer, closing the show with an incredible performance of "Hey Ya!" He also single-handedly made being in the marching band cool again, as he brought the University of Southern California marching band on stage to round out the live musical backing, especially during the chorus. And, of course, following Andre's performance, Outkast promply won the award for Album of the Year.
Award-wise, the Grammys were once again hit-and-miss. Outkast won Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, and deservedly so. Other worthy winners included Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Missy Elliott's "Work It" for Best Female Rap Solo Performance,"and Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Artists who recently passed away managed to rack up honors as well: Johnny Cash's moving music video for "Hurt" won honors in the Best Short-Form Music Video category while his wife June Carter Cash 's "Keep on the Sunny Side" won Best female Country Vocal Performance, and the late Warren Zevon won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for his duet with Bruce Springsteen, "Disorder in the House."

But other awards mystified. Pink for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance? Richard Marx and Luther Vandross for Song of the Year (Songwriter's Award)? Apparently not all of the NARAS voters have caught up with the current music trends. But despite the huge game of catch-up they have to play, this year's Grammy Awards showed that the days of bizarre and boring broadcasts may soon be drawing to a close.