1. Katy Perry bringing her grandmother as her date.
Perry reportedly broke things off with Robert Akroyd, the Florence + The Machine guitarist she was cuddling up next to during both Coachella weekends. Instead of just going stag to the awards show, Perry brought her 91-year-old grandmother, Ann Hudson, as her date, and even gave her a shout-out from the stage while accepting the Spotlight Award. Hudson also attended the 2011 Grammys with her granddaughter, you may recall. Who needs a man when you’ve got your grandma by your side?
2. Miley Cyrus’ shocking outfit.
The 19-year-old pop star looked like the long-lost daughter of Sex & The City‘s Samantha while wearing a stark white blazer — and little else. We can always count on Miley to stir the pot (when she’s not smoking it).
3. Goodie Mob paying tribute to Adam Yauch and Beastie Boys.
The one-legged dancer already won us over during Goodie Mob‘s “Fight To Win”, but the gang’s performance got even better when it transitioned into a tribute to Beastie Boys‘ Adam Yauch, who died earlier this month after a battle with cancer. Even Carrie Underwood couldn’t help from singing along in the audience!
4. Old home footage of Taylor Swift.
Before the country star took the stage to accept the award as Woman Of The Year, we got to see Swift back in the day. We love seeing what she looked like — poofy hair! no makeup! clothes without sparkles! — before she hit it big at the ripe old age of 16.
5. Idols ruled the night.
To borrow a line from Carrie Underwood’s new single, we were blown away by all the performances from former American Idol winners. Kelly Clarkson wowed with her new single “Dark Side”, and Jordin Sparks got us so emotional, baby, with her tribute to her Sparkle co-star Whitney Houston. (Watch it here.) But Carrie was the queen of the night, delivering a powerful performance of her new album’s title track. Everyone bow and worship these these Idols.
