I saw a few MJ connections at the very beginning of the show....
1) Greg Phillinganes was the musical director of the opening number, a tribute to Aretha Franklin....Greg was in MJ's band for years....as far back as the Bad Tour, I believe...the number also featured a smokin' hot (vocally and visually)...
2) Jennifer Hudson, who was prominently featured during the Memorial, dressed in white, singing lead on "Will You Be There"....did you notice her costume tonight? The top had a very MJ-esque style of military eppelets...and then there was the...
3) Brick wall in the "2011 Grammy Awards" screen shot that was shown during commercial breaks that looked like it was straight of the cover of "Off the Wall"...
4) Also noticed that at the end of E!'s coverage of the Red Carpet, Ryan Seacrest said he was "thirsty" and immediately, someone handed him a Coke, which he started to drink and made no effort to hide....it would have made more sense for someone to hand him a bottle of water, I would think....it could have just been product placement, I guess, bought and paid for by Coke, but still....
I'm sad that MJ didn't win a Grammy tonight, even though I didn't understand how "This Is It" even qualified....don't get me wrong...I am thrilled that MJ was acknowledged with a nom even if he didn't win....but the man has been "dead" since mid 2009....it is now 2011....did that seem odd to anyone but me? But if MJ HAD won, I wonder who was there to accept the award?
I was unable to sit down and view the entire show while it was being shown, but it is now on my DVR....I hope to find time to watch it all in its entirety to see if there are any other little clues to be found....but certainly, there was nothing very overt happening as far as MJ is concerned...far less than I expected....
Also wanted to say Happy Birthday to Prince Jackson...is he 14 now? Hard to believe he's a teenager....will Paris be 12 or 13 in April? I'm drawing a blank on both of these kids' ages!
Happy Valentine's Day to all here! Let's celebrate a day devoted to L.O.V.E!
Love you more, Mike!