Analysis of the Grammy Awards: the good, the bad and the downright strange

Just like that music's biggest night has come and gone.

Billboard reported that the 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards was the most viewed since 2001. The show was watched by 26.5 million viewers, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen. That's 3 percent more than last year.

There's been a lot of commentary on Sunday's show. Here is a roundup of the good, the bad and the downright weird events of the night. Let's take a look at which performances sizzled, and which fizzled. As for the winners, well, Esperanza Spalding crushed the dreams of all Bieber fans.

PERFORMANCES

The evening kicked off with Yolanda Adams, Martine McBride, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch paying tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The women put together a musical medley, with each singer taking a shot at some of Franklin's biggest hits like Respect and Think. The performances were beautiful, but poor Christina Aguilera cannot catch a break. After her National Anthem fumble at the Super Bowl, the pop star tripped on the Grammy stage.

Rumors were circulating pre-Grammy Awards that Rihanna was suffering from laryngitis. You would never think so by the way she belted out during her performance with Eminem. Then Dr. Dre came on stage to perform his new single I Need a Doctor with Skylar Grey. The song was so powerful and catchy that it will be stuck in your head until you actually think you need a doctor yourself.

Another highlight was Cee-Lo's over-the-top rendition of his song Forget You with Gwyneth Paltrow. Channeling his inner Lady Gaga, Cee-Lo took the stage donning a colorful, feathered and bedazzled ensemble. His outfit alone made this performance a highlight of the night. Then Paltrow joined him for the duet reminding the world that she succeeds at everything she does.

When Justin Bieber took the stage to sing his song Never Say Never he showed the world what Bieber-fever is really all about. This was one of the most anticipated performances of the night, and rightfully so. The 16-year-old Canadian sensation owned the stage. This kid was definitely born to be a pop star. He later joined Usher to sing, OMG and the reaction was just that - oh my God.

The Grammy Awards had two special guests this year: Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger. The legendary rockers each took the stage for a heartfelt performance. Even though times may be a-changing for Dylan, his performance of Maggie's Farm accompanied by Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers truly captured the beauty of acoustic music. Jagger sang Everybody Needs Somebody to Love in honor of the late Solomon Burke. Jagger traded in Burke's soul tones for his own rocker spark. With a career like his, though, Jagger can pretty much do whatever he wants at the Grammy Awards.

Onto the less impressive performances of the night including, those of pop stars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

Lady Gaga has spoiled her viewers with baffling live performances. Dare we say that the eccentric star's performance at the Grammy Awards was just too normal? She performed her new single Born This Way. Putting all Madonna references aside, this performance was flat-out boring compared to everything else she's done. Yes, she did hatch out of a shell, but that doesn't mean she was born again. Lady Gaga herself has set the bar so high, yet she failed to up the ante.

Another underwhelming performance was that of Katy Perry. Her fun, pop, performances were traded in for her ballad Not Like The Movies, during which footage from her wedding played in the background. It's a beautiful song, but the video was a little too much. It felt as if the whole world was intruding into her personal life. She somewhat rescued the performance by doing an abbreviated version of Teenage Dream. It was good, but nothing we haven't seen before. She should have performed Firework. Actress Nicole Kidman, loved it though. The camera spotted her jamming along to Perry's hit song.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO ...

Arcade Fire most certainly deserved to win the award for Album of the Year for The Suburbs. The Canadian rockers have been around for years now and it's good to see them finally getting the recognition they deserve. Up against Eminem, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry it seemed like the rockers only had a slim chance of winning. They proved that the Grammy Awards are not always as predictable as they seem.

Just when everyone thought they had figured out an awards show pattern the Grammy Awards threw a curveball. As of Sunday evening, the whole world now knows who Esperanza Spalding is. The sad thing is, though, that she's now better known as the musician who stole the award for Best New Artist from Justin Bieber. Up against some of the year's hottest musicians, like Bieber, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence & The Machine, Spalding, the ultimate underdog, snagged the title.

However, the night belonged to the country music band Lady Antebellum. The band went home with the awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Best Country Song and Best Country Album. Kudos to the band.