{"id":23,"date":"2011-02-13T20:00:36","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/02\/the-opening-number-a-religious-experience.html"},"modified":"2011-04-06T20:40:23","modified_gmt":"2011-04-07T00:40:23","slug":"the-opening-number-a-religious-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/02\/the-opening-number-a-religious-experience.html","title":{"rendered":"The Opening Number: A Religious Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

The opening of the GRAMMYs was truly a religious experience. \u00a0Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, and Martina McBride singing Aretha Franklin songs? \u00a0Yes, please! \u00a0More of that!<\/p>\n

\n

Christina Aguilera, following her controversial Super Bowl performance, showed again why she has one of the best voices in pop (For the record, I enjoyed her Super Bowl appearance, but maybe that is because I had Fergie to compare it to). \u00a0Speaking of Super Bowl national anthem controversy Jennifer Hudson brought it like she always does. \u00a0She should never sing to a track, ever<\/strong>. \u00a0Easily my favorite American Idol stand-out yet. \u00a0You go Jennifer!<\/p>\n

\n

Perhaps the biggest winner in the opening bout was Florence Welch, the English songstress and front lady of Florence + the Machine. \u00a0Easily the least known lady on stage, and sticking out like a sore redheaded thumb, she showed that she belonged with the superstars on stage. \u00a0I can only hope this will cause many to check out her fantastic 2009 record Lungs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The best thing about the opening number was that it showcased how Aretha’s timeless classics transcend genre. \u00a0All five female singers performed in their own distinct style, yet never seemed out of place within the songs.<\/p>\n

\n

That alone is perhaps the greatest tribute to Aretha.<\/p>\n

Click here to follow the Prophet of Pop on\u00a0Twitter<\/strong><\/a> or\u00a0on\u00a0Facebook<\/strong>!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The opening of the GRAMMYs was truly a religious experience. \u00a0Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, and Martina McBride singing Aretha Franklin songs? \u00a0Yes, please! \u00a0More of that! Christina Aguilera, following her controversial Super Bowl performance, showed again why she has one of the best voices in pop (For the record, I enjoyed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[74,76,81,73,77,79,80,20,75,78,82],"class_list":["post-23","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-aretha-franklin","tag-christina-aguilera","tag-florence-and-the-machine","tag-grammys-opening-number","tag-jennifer-hudson","tag-martina-mcbride","tag-martina-mcbride-grammys","tag-super-bowl","tag-who-is-florence-welch","tag-who-is-yolanda-adams","tag-yolanda-adams"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Opening Number: A Religious Experience - The Prophet of Pop<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/02\/the-opening-number-a-religious-experience.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Opening Number: A Religious Experience - The Prophet of Pop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The opening of the GRAMMYs was truly a religious experience. \u00a0Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, and Martina McBride singing Aretha Franklin songs? \u00a0Yes, please! \u00a0More of that! 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