The Grammys Give David Guetta and Deadmau5 Some Primetime Shine

It’s never been easy to take any real chances with music on mainstream American television. One needs only to look at the uproar M.I.A caused last week by extending her middle finger at the camera during the Superbowl Half-Time Show to get a sense of exactly how uptight we seemingly all are. So it couldn’t have been an easy decision by CBS (one of the country’s top four major networks) to agree to hosting David Guetta and Deadmau5 for a live performance this evening at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. But money tends to have a way of talking, even stodgy network executives, into giving something a chance. So we can accurately surmise that we’ve now hit the tipping point stateside, where dance music represents a revenue stream large enough that it can no longer be ignored.

Towards the end of the broadcast, the event’s host, LL Cool J, spoke about the importance of dancing before handing things over to Chris Brown (tonight’s winner for best R&B album) to virtually hold America’s hand as cameras followed him through a sea of fans waving glow sticks and onto a stage alongside David Guetta.  Rave had stepped into the primetime. Lil’ Wayne made a cameo with the aforementioned duo before things transitioned to The Foo Fighters beginning a medley with Deadmau5 which he finished off with some seriously gritty dubstep.  It all was, quite frankly, kind of awkward. New things aren’t always amazing the first time (sex?) so let’s give it some time and see what comes of this, the first steps in any new direction are usually the hardest to take.

 Fun Fact: Deadmau5 wore three-time Grammy winner Skrillex’s phone number on his shirt at the red carpet.
 

Read about Skrillex's three Grammy wins on Pulse Radio here.

Listen to David Guetta on Pulse Radio.

Listen to Deadmau5 on Pulse Radio.