2012 Grammy Awards' head-turning fashions

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This year's Grammy Awards started on a somber note due to it taking place the day after Whitney Houston's passing. She was mentioned throughout the night and Jennifer Hudson sang a simple yet touching rendition of "I Will Always Love you" in honor of her.

One uplifting performance that changed the mood was from Adele who stole the show. She was awarded six grammies and looked every bit the super star. Nicki Minaj ended the show with a head-scratching number that mirrored some of the wacky red-carpet fashions. But that is the beauty of the Grammy Awards: we get to witness risk-taking styles and defining musical moments. Keep reading for the highlights.

Some of what was worn on the Grammy's red carpet can best be described as wacky aaccoutrements with the sole purpose of entertaining us and making us shake our heads. Some celebs hit the right notes yet not enough to get a standing ovation while some hit such high notes, we uttered "Wow". Those whose low notes caused us to bow our heads in shame got a spot on the Worst-dressed list.

One pair that definitely belong on the TOO CUTE FOR WORDS list is the tiny Brit duo of Ellen correspondents: Sophie and Rosie Grace. Pop icon Cyndi Lauper glammed up her signature fun look with tousled tresses, glam makeup and a suit that screamed "I'm a boss!". Melanie Fiona's glistening skin outshined her maxi dress. She gets the best skin award.

The following group HIT the RIGHT NOTES because their choices reflect their personal style and good taste. Unfortunately they either played it safe or missed the mark just a bit which is why they failed to impress us into awe. In short: we just expected much more than we got.

Top (l. to r.) Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Manuela Testolini & Eric Benet, Common, Esperanza Spalding. Bottom (l. to r.) Corinne Bailey Rae, Kelly Osbourne, John Legend & Chrissy Tiegen, Gweneth Paltrow, Bruno Mars, Marsha Ambrosius, Julianne Hough.

 The WACKY list needs no explanation. Just look at them!

 Top (l. to r.) Bonnie McKee, David Sharpe & PapaHugs Band, Deadmau5, Nicki Minaj. Bottom (l. to r.) Lady Gaga, Zamora, Sasha Gradiva, LaVida Boheme.

The Grammy Awards ceremony is all about the music and memorable performances. If you didn't have a chance to follow us on twitter and facebook, here's a recap HIP-style:

- The first Grammy host in 7 years, L.L. Cool J started with a prayer for Whitney. 

- Bruno Mars belted out a retro tune while doing some fancy James Brown moves. He's good, but damn that man is little! Lol

- Bonnie Raitt & Alicia Keys' collabo for Etta James was well done. Both of these ladies have deep, soulful voices and sang in harmony together.

- Chris Brown wasn't really singing so I couldn't really get hype about his "Beautiful People" performance although I love that song and his set-up (dancing on lighted cubes) was cool.

- Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson sang "Don't You Wanna Stay" with conviction and chemistry.

- Rihanna's performance was HOT! Her singing has improved and I enjoyed her performance more than some other artists who do have vocals. She has "it", however she still needs to work on her voice. The crowd was loving her "We Found Love" act.

- Coldplay was a crowd pleaser and Rihanna helped them out in the beginning.

- I would have loved for them to have let Ms. Ross grace the stage since she was honored with a lifetime achievement award this year. In fact with so many blah acts sprinkled in as fillers, she would have been a great addition to the show.

- Nice tribute to the Beach Boys. Adam Levine looked and sounded great. The rest of the tribute was good too lol.

- Paul McCartney still has it. This Valentine song is touching a part of me; its lyrics and musicality are lovely. 

- Adele's performance is the first that had us JAMMING and clapping and singing.

- Jennifer Hudson honored without emulating Whitney. Thank you! Plus: her flawless makeup and sparkly shoes were fab.

- The cyber world was all up in arms because Don Cornelius and Etta James were not included in the Memoriam montage. They received their own tributes, but people wanted to see them included regardless.

- There was no "soul" or r&b in the so-called Don Cornelius tribute at all (aside from Chris Brown's brief appearance). That was NOT in honor of Don Cornelius' vision. FAIL

- From the beginning, this show was a lukewarm one. Well put together, but the loss of Whitney seemed to cloud the room. Standout performances by Jennifer Hudson, Bruno Mars, Bruce Springsteen and Adele elevated it while Carrie Underwood oversang when it came to the duet with Tony Bennett and Katy Pery failed to impress with her robotic performance. Throughout the night, the sound and accoustics were off and we could see some of the performers pressing their ears as if they couldn't really hear themselves sing. I gave the entire 2012 Grammy Awards a B until Nicki Minaj came onstage.

- What is Nicki doing all these Lady Gaga-like theatrics for? Is this the Billboard or Teen Choice awards? This was not innovating or exciting, just foolish and a desperate cry for attention that ended the show on a negative note and brought the Awards experience down from my original B to a C-.

On the upside: There were some cute moments of camaraderie between the entertainers.

- Performers Alicia Keys and Bruno Mars compared pompadours.

- SuperBowl champions and GIANTS teammates Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham showed that they don't just bring their A-game to football.

- Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj cuddled in the audience.

- Friends Rihanna and Katy Perry stayed close.

Now that we've looked back on the highs and lows of the show, it's time to review the ultimate highs and lows of last night's fashions.

This group of people either need to hire a stylist or fire their present one. The worst-dressed:

 Top (l. to r.) Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz, Taraji P. Henson, Busta Rhymes. Bottom (l. to r.) Rick Ross, Snooki, Robyn.

We saved the best for last. These stars looked like Superstars. They made the red-carpet their personal stage as heads turned. They embraced the Grammy's rock&roll style rule to break outside the mold. All of these choices were sexy and a refreshing look from what we saw from others on the red carpet last night, but also a departure from what we've seen on these stars in the past. They hit the High notes superbly and made it to the Best-dressed list:

Top (l. to r.) Adele, Adam Levine, Kelly Rowland. Bottom (l. to r.) Rihanna, Fergie, Katy Perry.

 -S.M.