HOWEVA! I was slightly disappointed with the quality of these live performances. Take the Pussycat Dolls, for example. Yea, they’re hot and they had polls and some seriously sexy dance moves…but somewhere in the beginning of “When I Grow Up” Nicole Scherzinger’s voice did something funky and she sounded like a little boy goin’ through puberty. You know, like the Jonas Brothers, who were also unimpressive.

And, yes, I’m a huge Annie Lennox fan — how can you not rock out to “Walking on Broken Glass”? — and she totally deserved the Award of Merit. But something about her live performance of “Why” last night just didn’t hit the spot. (I’ll tell you who did tho… Justin Timberlake when he introduced her! Sweet Jesus.)

Despite those misses, though, there were some seriously memorable performances last night. So here are (in my opinion and in no particular order) the Top 5:

1. Christina Aguilera – Even though I’m pretty sure she lip-synced part of “Genie In a Bottle,” homegirl can sing! And more than that, she can put on an amazing show! Her medley of her greatest hits brought me back to middle school…loved it!

2. New Kids on the Block – Talk about flashback…these guys are still hot! I don’t care what you say! Little Joey is still adorable, Donnie is still a badass (with a nice ass), Jordan is still sexy…and no one remembers the other two…who were also awesome! OH OH OOOOH OH!!

3) Beyonce- Ah, Beyonce, only you could pull off wearing a leotard at the AMAs and look sexy. Normally, I find Beyonce’s voice whiney and annoying, but last night she really rocked it with her latest single, “Single Ladies”! And that girl can move…

4) Sarah McLachlan and Pink- Unlikely duo, yes. Bad duet, no. Despite the fact that they performed “Angel” which I now permanently associate with battered animals, the girls sounded amazing! They sound just as good live as they do on their records, and that’s saying a lot these days.

5) Alicia Keys- I absolutely adore Alica Keys! She closed the show with “Superwoman” and brought out Queen Latifah (where the hell has she been?) who gave a shout out to our new pres, and some opera singer no one knows (to show her appreciation for all kinds of music, I’m guessing?) Whatever the reason, it was great and Miss Keys sounded phenom!

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