The Grammy Awards must have had no idea how lucky they were to choose LL Cool J as their host: The rapper-actor struck exactly the right tone as he honored Whitney Houston without letting her death completely overshadow the ceremony.
Adele dominated Sunday, winning Record of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep" and Album of the Year for "21," as well as four other awards. Before Houston's death, the biggest question of the night was how she would sound after her vocal chord surgery. She put any worries to rest by giving by far the best performance of the night -- as she tends to do. Later, Jennifer Hudson delivered another highlight with a performance of "I Will Always Love You" -- a Dolly Parton song that became Houston's signature hit.
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The three-and-a-half hour ceremony turned the focus repeatedly to a few Grammy favorites -- especially Adele, Paul McCartney, and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl.
The ceremony began with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing the new single "We Take Care of Our Own" -- as had been planned before Houston's shocking death. Then Cool J took the stage and immediately addressed the elephant in the Staples Center.
"There is no way around this. We've had a death in our family," he said. "And so at least for me, for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved -- for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston."
He then began what seemed like an award show first -- a prayer. Stars from Katy Perry to Blake Shelton bowed their heads as he thanked God "for sharing Whitney with us."
Atheists may not have been happy. But the moment felt right.
And then Cool J -- one of the many rappers who Grammy voters saw not-quite three decades ago as a new and confusing force in music -- subtly lightened the mood. After playing one of Houston's memorable Grammy performances, he promised new ones. He said one would come from "Sir O.G. [Original Gangster] Paul McCartney, my homie."
("O.G. Original Gangster" is an Ice-T song from around his "Cop Killer" days. McCartney is one of the most universally beloved figures in music. Rarely have hard-core hip-hop and popular culture blended together so seamlessly.)
McCartney, it turned out, provided two big perfomances: He played once early in the show show, then ended the long night with the medley that closes the Beatles' "Abbey Road." He was joined by Springsteen and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, among others.
Cool J's hosting at first seemed a marriage of convenience -- he stars on "NCIS: LA," which airs on CBS, which also aired the Grammys. But his ability to honor Houston while tactfully keeping the ceremony moving proved a huge asset.
