52nd Annual Grammy Awards celebrates the music of 2009

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards kicked off with a bang as two-time Grammy Award winner Lady Gaga performed the opening with an acapella version of one of her hit singles, "Poker Face." She had back up dancers dressed in military attire who danced perfectly synchronized along with an MC. During the performance one of Gaga's back up dancers tossed her into a pot of fire that read, "Rejected."

Shortly after, music legend Elton John and Gaga came out burnt to a crisp and sat across one another at a connected piano with a keyboard at either end. To go along with the eccentric style, sculptures of human arms stuck out from the top, covering the grand piano. Gaga and John sang a duet to the pop diva's latest single "Speechless" with a combination of John's classic single "Your Song."

Host Steven Colbert officially began the evening and delivered a few comical segments. At one point he removed the new buzz-creating Apple iPad from his coat jacket, reading the nominees for "Song of the Year." from the tablet. "Jay Z, did you not get one of these in your gift bag?" he asked as he teased the music mogul.

As he took out his iPad and asked his daughter in the audience if he looked cool with it, she unfortunately did not approve. As with any situation Steven Colbert, he made the best of it.

Singer Beyonce Knowles won "Song of the Year" for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Producers Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Terius "The–Dream" Nash and Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell accepted the award on her behalf as she got ready for her performance that shortly followed the award presentation.

Beyonce then presented a one of a kind Sasha Fierce performance. With Janet Jackson inspired choreography and marching onstage with soldiers, Beyonce opened with "If I were a Boy." Her performance started out peacefully but later turned rock based with head banging instrumentals and a cover of Alanis Morisette's "You Oughta Know."

Up next was Green Day's performance of their latest hit single "21 Guns," along with cast from the Broadway production of American Idiot. American Idiot is set to open on April 20 at the St. James Theatre in NYC. Later in the night Green Day also won with their latest album 21st Century Breakdown for "Best Rock Album."

Pink, who walked onstage sporting a long white hooded gown removed the garment and revealed a nude colored body suit with white accents. Similar to her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, she began to perform a set of acrobatics. She ended by spinning in a downward spiral towards the audience and sprinkling water over the crowd below.

The Black Eyed Peas delivered a performance of "Imma Be" with rather futuristic robot up dancers. This then transitioned into the hit single "I Gotta Feeling." Front man Will.I.Am finished by screaming, "Welcome to the Future!"

Lionel Richie made the introduction for a tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Richie also highlighted his connection with Jackson by mentioning that the two of them co-wrote the song, "We are the World." The revolutionary 3D performance featured Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson.

Following the Jackson tribute, Jackson's older children Prince and Paris were accompanied by their cousins and walked on stage to thank Jackson's fans and accepted the "Lifetime Achievement Award" on their father's behalf.

The next tribute went towards Haiti. Musician, songwriter and activist Wyclef Jean thanked the United States for all of its support after the earthquake in Haiti. After showing his gratitude, Jean introduced Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige who sang "Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Beyonce won for "Best Female Vocal Performance" for her hit song "Halo." What caught everyone off guard in her acceptance speech was how she referred to Jay–Z as her "husband." The two were married a few years ago but did not make it very public.

Taylor Swift home took the Grammy for "Album of the Year" for her second album Fearless. While on stage, she still stood in disbelief that she was accepting the award. Swift thanked her record label for allowing her to write every song on her album. Thankfully, Kanye West was not in attendance to interrupt her acceptance speech like he did at the MTV Video Music Awards.

She beat out major recording artists including Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band, The Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. At age 20, with all of this success, Swift is living the ultimate fairy tale.

Only time will tell what music will bring in 2010, hopefully it is just as good as 2009. The world can only wait and see until next year.