I enjoy the GRAMMY Awards mostly for the spectacle, but here are five great performances that I hope are recognized tonight (a few of these will be awarded during the pre-show ceremony):

1) BEST R&B PERFORMANCE

“Something” – Snarky Puppy with Lalah Hathaway (in which Lalah Hathaway harmonizes with herself, but don’t sleep on the band!)

2) BEST RAP ALBUM

Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City – Kendrick Lamar (a toss-up; with Drake, Jay-Z, Kanye, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, easily the most stacked category this year)

3) BEST IMPROVISED JAZZ SOLO

“Stadium Jazz” – Donny McCaslin, soloist (will be difficult to top Terence and Wayne, though, and I’m not sure Mark Guiliana shouldn’t have been nominated for his drum solo on the same record)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKgvNKHCBdM

4) BEST TROPICAL LATIN ALBUM

Corazón Profundo – Carlos Vives (another head-scratcher of a category name, but I’m a sucker for vallenato)

and last but not least…

5) BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

“Mirrors” – Justin Timberlake (the truth? J.T., Timbaland, J-Roc, and James Fauntleroy should have gotten a nod for Song of the Year, because it’s one of the best pop songs of the last decade; by the way, Adam Blackstone took it to another level for the live show)

Enjoy!