The 49th Annual Grammy Awards aired Sunday, and I must say, I wasn’t impressed. Every year I get excited about the biggest night in music and try to imagine myself sitting front row, taking in the sights and sounds.

This year, however, I was very pleased to be sitting in my bed, curled up and thankful for the ability to channel surf between the telecast and a new “Desperate Housewives.”

The show opened with the much-hyped reunion of The Police, who performed “Roxanne.” Naturally. It was a bore. The reunion, a prominent sign of a comeback attempt, wasn’t as entertaining or prolific as the return of the Fugees a couple of years ago at the BET Music Awards.

The show was hostless, which was a big mistake. Was Chris Rock, who introduced the Red Hot Chili Peppers, not available? Jamie Fox, who presented the first award, awkwardly mistook the audience for those of BET. There was no one to provide comic relief that was much needed throughout the dragging telecast.

There must have been a memo sent to a majority of the performers. I thought I was at a funeral watching the fierce powerhouse otherwise known as Beyonce carefully perform “Listen” without her trademark take-no-prisoners punch. I would’ve preferred to see her dangle from the ceiling and scream “Ring The Alarm” or strut through the audience while chiding “You must not know ’bout me.”

Beyonce wouldn’t be my last disappointment. The Academy obviously sided with the “let’s bash Bush, get death threats and finally deliver a great song” Dixie Chicks. Don’t get me wrong, “Not Ready To Make Nice” would make it on to my top list of songs for 2006, but there is no way in hell it was better than the infectious “Crazy,” by Gnarls Barkley, who without a doubt gave the most creative performance of the night.

What should’ve happened is the Chicks should’ve been awarded Song of the Year (because it is a beautifully written track), Barkley should’ve snagged Record of the Year and although Album of the Year is debatable among many people, as a music lover I think the race should’ve been between Barkley and Justin Timberlake, with Barkley taking home the gold.

Timberlake was robbed of Best Pop Vocal album by John Mayer, because “Continuum” didn’t make the noise on the charts among critics that “FutureSex/LoveSound” did last year.

I’ve complained long enough so I should take the time to address the high points of the show, and I must start with Christina Aguilera. Her ambitious album, “Back To Basics,” might have been ignored, but her brilliant tribute to James Brown wasn’t. Her rendition of “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” was the best of the evening and put Chris Brown’s Usher-inspired dance tribute to the late icon to shame.

What would a Grammys telecast be without multiple artists sharing the stage? John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and John Mayer performed together. They each sung their own song, and somewhat harmonized together. It was what it was. Not bad, not great – just blah.

Great, however, was Mary J. Blige giving a fabulous performance and joining a much more mature Ludacris for “Runaway Love” with Earth Wind & Fire.

Another not-so-great-moment was the much anticipated Grammy Moment, where a contest was held and the lucky winner got the chance to perform with Justin Timberlake. The problem was a great song (Timberlake’s “My Love”) but the wrong winner. Robyn Troup was chosen over the better singer, Africa Miranda. Hmm, sounds like “American Idol.”

Maybe the Grammys will get it right next year. Maybe, but more than likely not.

Gerrick Lewis is the Lantern Arts & Life editor and can be reached for comment at [email protected].