What makes the Grammys our favorite awards show? Two words: Live performances. We're still trying to catch our breath, but you can keep hitting refresh as Culturemap's Sarah Rufca and Caroline Gallay weigh in on the sights and sounds of music's biggest night.

...............................................

10:32-- Thanks for watching with us! Can't wait 'til next year for Justin Bieber and the Pants on the Ground guy. --Caroline & Sarah

10:28--Taylor, imma let you finish, but Lady GaGa had one of the best albums of all time...

10:15--I'm looking at Lil' Wayne and all I can think is "pants on the ground..." Damn you, American Idol! Technical difficultulties can't obscure a rap performance that great.

10:03--I love me some Lady GaGa, but were I sitting behind her I'd say, spare me the art. I can't see, woman!

9:58--Caroline says: Maxwell makes me want to slow dance. Sarah says: Maxwell makes me want to slow dance naked.

9:45--Dave Matthews Band is giving, for our money,the performance of the night, with no crazy production vales, just a spirited, unlifting song and a genuine sense of community exuded by the artists onstage.

9:40--Why is Adam Sandler at the Grammys? Obviously he didn't know he was coming or he would have done more than throw a blazer over his walk-the-dog outfit.

9:29--I once heard Mary J. Blige say that she doesn't have the most technically perfect voice, but when she sings you can hear her whole soul in it, and that's what people respond to. For this reason the duet with Andrea Bocelli sounded odd to me. Her voice sounded thin next to his, and he sounded emotionally vacant compared to her. The Michael Jackson quintet vibed much better.

9:19--Cutest moment of the night: the unidentified child with Rihanna saying "Nooo thanks!"

9:02--Whatever your opinion of Michael Jackson, his kids seem relatively normal, which is quite an accomplishment considering his own life.

8:56--I check my mail everyday, and I didn't get any 3-D glasses. How are we supposed to watch this Michael Jackson tribute? Have we just had too many glasses of wine? In a mostly unrelated note, Caroline would like to note that Usher is looking gooooooood since his divorce.

8:47--It's official: all Taylor Swift songs sound the same. The guest performance of "Rhiannon" with Stevie Nicks only reminds me how uninteresting Swift's lyrics are. -Sarah

8:39--Caroline is wishing Zac Brown Band (one of her faves) would've gone slightly less patriotic and treated us to "Whatever It Is."

8:26--Anyone else worried Ke$ha might steal poor Justin Bieber's innocence??

8:21--Sarah says of all the songs that don't beg for Grammy attention, Jamie Foxx and T-Pain's (and a host of other people's) "Blame It" tops her list. That being said, it was fun to see Foxx attempt opera and the bombastic, white-tuxed conductor turn out to be T-Pain.

8:11--Stephen Colbert wins a Grammy, daughter thinks he's cool.

8:08--Lady Antebellum: The love the sparkly bolero worn by the girl in Lady Antebellum. The song sounds pretty identical to the radio version, which is good in that they perform at the same level live, but bad in that it keeps it from being really interesting.

8:00--Black Eyed Peas: We envy the members of Black Eyed Peas not named Fergie or will.i.am, as they seem to have little to do and yet are taking it to the bank. Fergie is really good at walking with energy. Aside from that, CBS's technical difficulties marred the performance somewhat.

7:45--Pink: In a beautiful performance, Pink starts off in a full-body white snood and strips to some ribbon and body glitter and performs some aerial acrobatics while singing a haunting version of "Glitter in the Air." Unfortunately the cameramen chose to zoom in on her acrobat helps' crotches instead of watching Pink get submerged in a tank of water so it seemed odd when she reappeared on screen dripping wet. She looked like the sexiest sprinkler we've ever seen.

7:30--Beyoncé: Did Jay-Z do something wrong? We hope not, but the girl-power performance of "If I Were A Boy" and "You Oughtta Know" was strong, sexy, triumphant Beyoncé at her best. Who needs "Single Ladies"?

7:15--Green Day/Cast of American Idiot: The Broadway sound is unexpected for the Grammys, but as a performance this is totally working. Caroline wants some of whatever age-defying elixir Billie Joe is drinking.

7:00--Lady GaGa and Elton John: For Sarah, as an opening number it was somewhat underwhelming, though Elton John was the perfect match for the showy-but-talented GaGa. Where are the pyrotechnics? This is Lady GaGa! Caroline thought it was great as she prefers GaGa's acoustic side.