14 DAY TRIAL // They say nothing beats a Beyonce song than a Beyonce live performance, since the star has a very solid reputation for the energetic and highly original shows she always puts on. Last night, at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Beyonce showed one more time why she is considered among the top live performers of the day, rocking the place on a medley of “If I Were a Boy” and Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” as MTV can confirm.
Beyonce marched on the stage to the sounds of the drum, accompanied by military men with covered faces and whose sole mission, as it would turn out later, would be that of standing as if on guard. Dressed in a very short ruffled dress of black leather, she started belting out the first notes of her ballad “If I Were a Boy.” Still, as fans would know, every time she performs live one of her songs, Beyonce always manages to come up with something new, something surprising.
This time, it was “If I Were a Boy” mixed with a cover of the iconic “You Oughta Know.” “In 1995, ‘You Oughta Know’ introduced the world to a then-unknown Canadian angstress named Alanis Morrisette, who was very, very mad at one of her exes and wasn't afraid to shout about it. And at Sunday night’s (January 31) Grammy Awards, Beyonce worked the song into her performance of ‘If I Were a Boy.’ Co-written by Morissette and producer Glen Ballard, featuring guitar and bass from Dave Navarro and Flea (both of whom were in the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the time), the song came out of nowhere in the summer of ‘95, shooting straight to the top of the Billboard Modern Rock chart,” MTV says of Morissette’s song.
Yet no matter how iconic “You Oughta Know” is, Beyonce still managed to make it hers by giving it that special something that makes each Beyonce song so unmistakably unique and brilliant. Unlike other times, when the singer would put on her best and most sinuous dance moves, this time, the song did not allow her to show off her famous hip shakes. Instead, Beyonce rocked out to the sound of guitars and drums, at one point even dropping on the floor on her knees, and going into full rock ‘n’ roll mode, much to the delight of the audience.
To cap it all off, also at the Grammys, Beyonce won a record of six awards, the most ever to go to a female performer in a single night. These were: Song of the Year for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Halo,” Best Female R&B Performance for “Single Ladies,” Best Traditional R&B Performance for “At Last,” Best R&B Song for “Single Ladies” and Best Contemporary R&B “Album for I Am… Sasha Fierce.”
Below is Beyonce performing “If I Were a Boy” with a dash of “You Oughta Know” at the 2010 Grammys. Enjoy.