Songs, not silliness, carry the show

Last night's excellent Grammycast opened with a medley by Prince and Beyonce that made them into a latter-day Fred and Ginger. The two icons, separated by about 20 years of pop music, danced together happily and dizzily from stage to stage and from "Purple Rain" to "Let's Go Crazy." The production emphasized the songs and the singers.

And that was the theme of the entire show: "Sometimes it's just about the music," as Queen Latifah put it during her introduction to Christina Aguilera, who proceeded to belt out "Beautiful."

Surprise, surprise. Instead of being about the breast that roared, CBS's Grammycast was about a series of roaring musical performances.

The 3 1/2-hour show threw off heavy musical vibes from start to finish, moving from strength to strength as it went from Prince to Andre 3000. We saw the White Stripes tear the Staples Center to shreds with a piercing medley performance set to psychedelic blinking lights. We saw Sting, Vince Gill, and Dave Matthews put their hearts, if not their best voices, into "I Saw Her Standing There," to honor the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." And we saw Chick Corea and the Foo Fighters push "Times Like These" from a middle-of-the-road slog with tinkling piano into a screaming rocker.

Did Beyonce steal the night? She certainly raised the bar on her career, as she sang her shapely guts out on "Dangerously in Love." It was a torch song that set her sometimes cool vocals on fire. When she finished, she had a white dove -- and the entire audience -- eating out of her hand.

Or did the night belong to the church of funk, led by the Reverend Samuel L. Jackson? Earth, Wind & Fire sang the opening prayer, Big Boi of OutKast and his dancing men shook the altar with "The Way You Move," and the technicolored George Clinton testified as he wandered into the audience.

There was no question Andre 3000 gave the overplayed hit "Hey Ya!" an eye-and-ear-popping tweak or two, ending with an insurgence of a marching-band horn section. His stage show also featured go-go dancers in Native American-esque skivvies and feathers that were almost as strange as the skirt and knee socks in which Sting sang "Roxanne" with Sean Paul. Just a little schoolgirl plaintively crying out to his hooker-lover.

Thankfully, viewers were not subjected to a nonstop string of Janet Jackson jokes -- once Joan Rivers had finished her "wardrobe malfunction" shtick on the E! red carpet, that is. Ah, the virtues of having many quick introducers, instead of a single comedian-host desperately mining the week's non-events for laughs. Accepting his gold for best male pop vocal, Bosom-gate co-conspirator Justin Timberlake did mention the Super Bowl: "It's been a rough week on everybody," he said. "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys are offended." Such a good boy, that Justin. And he shrewdly brought his mother along last night, just in case we had any doubt.

Jackson's moment last Sunday probably brought some controversy-seeking viewers to the Grammy Awards, but it was the music that kept them there. Of course, there was plenty of cleavage to be found, even if you weren't looking for it. Lil' Kim's dress plunged to her pelvis, and Marg Helgenberger was also flashing plenty of sternum. But no one crossed the line; it was just celebrity business as usual. Ultimately, there was no need whatsoever for the newly christened five-minute telecast delay.

Naturally, there was some heartstring-plucking last night, along with all the guitar. Accepting the President's Award for John Lennon, who won as part of the Beatles, Yoko Ono became uncharacteristically choked up as she restated Lennon's message -- "Come together, give peace a chance, and love is all we need." Warren Zevon's son, Jordan, accepted one of his late father's Grammys, asking us to remember Zevon as an "incredible father." Later, a group of Zevon's friends, including Emmylou Harris and a face-lifted Jackson Browne, sang live background to the recorded Zevon singing "Keep Me in Your Heart."

Patti LaBelle -- replacing Janet Jackson -- introduced a segment dedicated to Luther Vandross, who is recovering from a stroke. At one point, the presentation was marred by a prolonged technical glitch, as Celine Dion tried to launch into "Dance With My Father." But it all came out right when, in a video clip, Vandross vowed to return -- "Remember, when I say goodbye it is never for long" -- and offered a few strong notes as proof.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.