The Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS) - General Discussion

[Annber03]

I am, 'cause I want to see U2 being honored :D. But this is a good list of honorees in general - this tribute to Gladys Knight is really nice so far. 

(Love the photos of Gladys as a kid! So adorable!)

[Eureka]

1 minute ago, Annber03 said:

I am, 'cause I want to see U2 being honored :D. But this is a good list of honorees in general - this tribute to Gladys Knight is really nice so far. 

(Love the photos of Gladys as a kid! So adorable!)

With or Without You is probably one of my favorite songs ever and I told my family they better do it justice. Also looking forward to George Clooney.

[Annber03]

Just now, Eureka said:

With or Without You is probably one of my favorite songs ever and I told my family they better do it justice. Also looking forward to George Clooney.

I love that song, too :).

[Lady Whistleup]

While I love Gladys Knight and am glad she's being honored, I wish her songs could have been sung by soul artists. 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Lady Whistleup

[Annber03]

Catching up...

-That story about Clooney stealing Clinton's stationary and using it to make it seem like the president was writing letters to celebrities complimenting them on their performances...that's fucking hilarious XD. I loved the whole roast of Clooney, that was great. 

-"It Takes a Little Time". Holy crap, I forgot all about that song. I liked that song back in the day, now I want to go listen to it at some point tonight. I would've thought Sheryl Crow would've done that song, it sounds like the sort I could've heard her doing. 

-I'd never heard of Tania Leon before tonight, but she sounds like an awesome woman and the segment honoring her was really cool. 

-Loved this opening for U2. Now I want to watch Rattle & Hum. 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Annber03

[Eureka]

24 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Catching up...

-That story about Clooney stealing Clinton's stationary and using it to make it seem like the president was writing letters to celebrities complimenting them on their performances...that's fucking hilarious XD. I loved the whole roast of Clooney, that was great. 

-"It Takes a Little Time". Holy crap, I forgot all about that song. I liked that song back in the day, now I want to go listen to it at some point tonight. I would've thought Sheryl Crow would've done that song, it sounds like the sort I could've heard her doing. 

-I'd never heard of Tania Leon before tonight, but she sounds like an awesome woman and the segment honoring her was really cool. 

-Loved this opening for U2. Now I want to watch Rattle & Hum. 

Totally forgot about Rattle and Hum! I was a little disappointed in the U2 song choices. I know they were focusing on the social justice ones but I wanted to hear one (sans Borat, though that was hilarious) from Joshua Tree, which will forever be my favorite of their albums.

Enjoyed all of the segments, really. I think it was one of the better shows in recent  years.

[Browncoat]

I could have done without Borat (I can always do without Borat), but otherwise it was an enjoyable show this year.  

Edited December 29, 2022 by Browncoat

[Medicine Crow]

As usual, another fabulous show!!

[kib]

A couple of thoughts:

Garth Brooks really brought it on doing "Midnight Train...) I didn't know he had it in him.

RE: Amy Grant's bona fides. If you ever get chance (let alone find the cut) she participated in a Carole King tribute album performing "It's Too Late".  It might be the best cover I've ever listened to. It was flawless.

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, Eureka said:

Totally forgot about Rattle and Hum! I was a little disappointed in the U2 song choices. I know they were focusing on the social justice ones but I wanted to hear one (sans Borat, though that was hilarious) from Joshua Tree, which will forever be my favorite of their albums.

Enjoyed all of the segments, really. I think it was one of the better shows in recent  years.

Yeah, it was kind of an unusual mix of song choices, and I agree that something from The Joshua Tree would've been nice, both because of how significant that album was for their career and because it'd be a nice way to honor the fact that album came out 25 years ago this year. But "Walk On" and "One" were great ways to represent the band, and Eddie Vedder did a nice tribute to them. Especially on "One". 

I liked the Borat segment. The joke about the album on the iPod gave me an especially good laugh :D. There were other jokes during his set that I liked, too, but that's a whole other topic unto itself, so...:p. 

[jah1986]

I always have to set a reminder that this is on. I was very happy for all the recipients, but I was strangely underwhelmed by the performances. I think the best tribute was for George Clooney. I'm not usually a big fan of his but I really enjoyed his section and how moved he appeared by his fathers words.  I've been waiting for Gladys Knight to receive a KCH for many years but I was not moved by her tribute, it showcased how unique her voice really was/is, not many people can sing a Glady Knight song. Loved hearing from Amy Grants kids. Really wish Mary J Blige hadn't been ill, she would have killed her tribute to U2.

Does Sean Penn always talk like that? He seemed sedated or something.

Good show, just not great.

[milkyaqua]

Show was nice but some of the performances were questionable but they usually are.  I think they are trying to show the reach each performer has.

I'm not a Clooney fan (never got the appeal) so did they include his comedy beginnings because I find that folks always seem to pretend he sprouted into an actor when he popped up on ER?

[possibilities]

I loved the Gladys tribute, but thought the one for Clooney was appallingly ego-maniacally aggrandizing. Which I guess just shows I get Gladys and I don't get Clooney. I realize a tribute is supposed to say you're great, but it just felt so wrong the way they were making Clooney sound like some kind of hero... for what? Giving a damn? Playing a lot of roles? Somehow it just felt too self-congratulatory, even though he himself wasn't doing it. 

I honestly don't know why it bothered me so much. I didn't feel that way about any of the other tributes.

I knew nothing about Tania Leone, had never heard of her, but now I want to know more. And I loved the conductor on the SBA orchestral piece.

Did they always have rainbows as part of the honoree regalia? I don't remember that from previous years.

 

[Eureka]

4 hours ago, jah1986 said:

I always have to set a reminder that this is on. I was very happy for all the recipients, but I was strangely underwhelmed by the performances. I think the best tribute was for George Clooney. I'm not usually a big fan of his but I really enjoyed his section and how moved he appeared by his fathers words.  I've been waiting for Gladys Knight to receive a KCH for many years but I was not moved by her tribute, it showcased how unique her voice really was/is, not many people can sing a Glady Knight song. Loved hearing from Amy Grants kids. Really wish Mary J Blige hadn't been ill, she would have killed her tribute to U2.

Does Sean Penn always talk like that? He seemed sedated or something.

Good show, just not great.

I love George Clooney and thought his tribute was very good too. It’s always hard to do the non-musician ones well, imo. I thought the same thing about Sean Penn, he seemed either out of it or supremely unexcited to be there. 

[sugarbaker design]

The show must've gotten a new production team, it was different this year.  It usually followed the simple formula:  celeb comes out, says nice things about honoree, introduces the bio film clip, then other past honorees and celebs do their thing.  I like the different approach.

Moments I loved:

• Vince Gill wiping away the tears after watching the Amy Grant video featuring family.
• The female conductor, during Tania Leon's tribute, bowing.  Now that's a bow.
• Borat was hilarious, talking about Trump's stomach and orange skin.
• George Clooney reaching back to Amal.
• Julia Roberts pointing to herself after saying 'we both know who the funnier one is'
• The Pips
• Dianne Reeves

Two things I didn't like:

• Mary J. Blige not being there.
• Seeing Hunter Biden.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Watching this now and they couldn’t get Stevie Wonder, Elton John or/and Dionne Warwick for “That’s What Friends Are For” number?

SOOOO HAPPY to see the Pips!!

Edited December 29, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[Lady Whistleup]

I really wish they'd honor more dancers. Carmen da Lavallade was the last dancer honored. I wish they'd honor Savion Glover or ballerina Allegra Kent.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I really enjoyed most of it, but really didn’t like Vedder’s performances for U2’s songs.

Nick Clooney’ s words about George brought me to tears. As well as George! I saw him wiping them away. 
 

[Thumper]

I recorded it and just finished watching.  I LOVE Gladys Knight — why Garth Brooks to sing one of her songs??   I also love Garth’s music, but his performances are often so overwrought and “dramatic,” as it was in this show.  

Am not familiar with Tania Leon, so as always with this show, I appreciated the education.  
 

Good show!
 

 

[milkyaqua]

19 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Watching this now and they couldn’t get Stevie Wonder, Elton John or/and Dionne Warwick for “That’s What Friends Are For” number?

I have been just as happy if they'd not included that song period.  You have Patti Labelle and you stick her with that song?

As for Eddie Vedder on U2's songs, I was fine with him doing Elevation but again, you were originally going with Mary J. Blige for One, there wasn't another singer in that genre who could have done it?  I'm wondering how long TPTB knew that Mary wasn't available before asking Vedder to step in.  I mean, if they were going with a last minute replacement was already on the roster, Patti Labelle was there and would have taken it to church.

[Hab]

17 hours ago, Thumper said:

I recorded it and just finished watching.  I LOVE Gladys Knight — why Garth Brooks to sing one of her songs??   I also love Garth’s music, but his performances are often so overwrought and “dramatic,” as it was in this show.  

Am not familiar with Tania Leon, so as always with this show, I appreciated the education.  
 

Good show!
 

 

If I’m remembering correctly, Garth & Gladys are friends. When he received his KCH a couple of years ago she sang one of his songs. 

[ebk57]

Just finished watching this.  I think it was a wonderful show, much better than the past couple of years.  And none of these people are in my most pantheon of stars (I enjoy all of them, including the just discovered Tania Leon), but the show itself was lovely.  So glad the show is back on track. 

[Crashcourse]

I wish they'd chosen someone other than Ariana DeBose to sing "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" because her singing didn't do the song justice, and she seemed to be more interested in showing off in the short dress. 

I did love the Pips on all of the songs.

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Crashcourse

[Inquisitionist]

On 12/29/2022 at 8:37 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I really enjoyed most of it, but really didn’t like Vedder’s performances for U2’s songs.
 

Never been a Vedder fan, and I agree -- his renditions lacked oomph or sparkle.  I also wish there had been more U2 songs in lieu of that awful Borat segment.

[Good Queen Jane]

2023 Kennedy Center Honorees announced: Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick.

[DanaK]

22 minutes ago, Good Queen Jane said:

2023 Kennedy Center Honorees announced: Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick.

Sounds like a great group of choices

[Good Queen Jane]

Wrong thread!

Edited June 22, 2023 by Good Queen Jane

[Crashcourse]

I'm most interested in Dionne Warwick and Barry Gibb.  I'll skip Queen Latifa.

[DanaK]

This year's show will be broadcast by CBS on Wednesday December 27, 9-11pm ET

https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-46th-annual-kennedy-center-honors/releases/?view=108788-the-46th-annual-kennedy-center-honors-will-air-wednesday-dec-27-on-cbs

[Vermicious Knid]

WaPost has a rapturous review of the ceremony.

Quote

 

Everything that’s usually on the menu was present. Hair-raising musical performances. Touching tributes from past honorees. Biographical videos. Amusing bits. Herbie Hancock.

While it was lovely as always, the air was charged. Spontaneous, off-script, offbeat moments elevated the night. Like when the entire crowd of politicos and arts enthusiasts thrust their hands back and forth and swayed to a hip-hop medley honoring Latifah...

Crystal teared up. Warwick teared up. Latifah teared up. Moreno teared up.

Let’s save some time: Pretty much everyone with working tear ducts who spoke teared up.

 

[Browncoat]

Watching now, and wondering why we're having a mini-concert by Gloria Estefan.    Not that I have anything against her, but it wouldn't have hurt my feelings to leave that part out and get on with the actual ceremony/tributes.  

[nokat]

I enjoyed the  Dionne Warwick tribute. The Billy Crystal one went a bit long but was fun.

[Eureka]

I really liked the Queen Latifah one with her family.

[AimingforYoko]

Too bad they had to censor U.N.I.T.Y., that was pretty much the heart of the song.

So who's the next hip-hop artist that could be considered? I can't see Snoop, Dre or Ice Cube. Beasties, maybe.

[BuckeyeLou]

I always enjoy watching the Kennedy Center Honors...a good cross-section of different types of Arts.  I do not know much about Opera, but I enjoyed hearing about Renee Fleming, a lovely person, and an amazing voice.  I grew up a fan of the BeeGees, it must be bittersweet for Barry to be the only brother alive to receive the Honor...a fun ending performance by Ariana DeBose.  And I always get a kick out of seeing 'serious" DC politicians & journalists getting into the music & dancing & clapping along :)

[SingerIslander]

I enjoyed the show from start to finish, and that included some of the segments that celebrated some honorees I didn't know that much about.  The Dionne Warwick segment was great and a very strong start to the show.  It's amazing how gorgeous those songs were, especially the ones written by Bachrach and David, and how perfect her voice was each of them.

I'm a sucker for when the honorees are surprised or get emotional.  I'm also a Bee Gees fan, and I thought having Barry's eldest son Stephen talk about growing up in the Gibb family, and give a nod to both Maurice and Robin, was a very nice touch.  I think Barry wiped away some tears at that moment as well.  

The quality of the performers for every honoree was outstanding.  Such beautiful voices, one and all.  And I enjoyed the comedic bits in Billy Crystal's segment, with Lin Manuel Miranda, and Whoopi's shout-out to Robin Williams.  He should have been there, indeed.  

 

[Bastet]

44 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Too bad they had to censor U.N.I.T.Y., that was pretty much the heart of the song.

I'm watching bowl games so will watch this later, but does this mean they censored "bitch"?  I am normally all in favor of not hearing/seeing that slur - which leaves me repeatedly disgusted - but "Who you callin' a bitch" IS the song!  This is a context in which it should be heard.

[buttersister]

This show is traditionally one of the year’s best—enough to usually record it. Lost count of how many times I’ve watched the Led Zeppelin tribute. So while most of this show was highly entertaining and each had a tear-inducing highlight, the Barry Gibb tribute ending was disappointing. Ariana Dubose is talented but that whole number seemed to be about her performance, not BG and not engaging the audience the way those finales usually do.

How did Dionne Warwick have to wait so long? Kudos for the Queen Latifah tribute. Billy’s was great fun. Renee Fleming’s was stunning. Barry Gibbs wrote great songs, they corralled Sir Paul and Streisand, but fizzled.

[Linderhill]

enjoyed the program but I miss having the biographical portion for each artist.  I always have enjoyed learning more about each of the honorees.  I was also surprised the program ended at 10:30 so we could be subjected to some idiot sitcom when we all know that there was enough material to go the entire three hours. 

[possibilities]

I was struck by the way Jill Biden and Renee Fleming look simiiar and so do Barry Gibbs and Billy Crystal. Never saw them together before.

I enjoyed all the tributes, even though I'm only a fan of some of the honorees.

[paul4295]

2 hours ago, buttersister said:

Ariana Dubose is talented but that whole number seemed to be about her performance, not BG and not engaging the audience the way those finales usually do.

I agree about this.  Ariana Dubose is definitely very talented, but to me she seems like she's always trying too hard.  But I also think that medley did her no favors.  I feel like they crammed too many songs into a short amount of time, and when you add all the dancers, it was just all over the place.  I thought Little Big Town and Ben Platt were great.

Edited December 28, 2023 by paul4295

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was struck by the way Jill Biden and Renee Fleming look simiiar and so do Barry Gibbs and Billy Crystal.

And Rob Reiner is a carbon copy of his father.

Overall, I enjoyed the show.  I always love seeing the honorees' reactions to the performances and tributes. 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Browncoat

[GHScorpiosRule]

I absolutely LOVED the tributes to Billy Crystal and Barry Gibb.

When Whoopi choked up when saying that Robin Williams should also be on the stage to congratulate him-I won't lie-I started bawling. Okay, maybe not ugly crying, but I got chills and more than a tear was sliding down my face.

As for Barry Gibb? LOVE HIM!LOVEHIM!LOVEHIM! He is the SEXAYIST thing about the Bee Gees' Official video of "Stayin' Alive" and then the one with John Travolta.

I got chills and teared up when everyone but DeBose sang their songs. And yeah, fugly crying when I saw Barry wipe away his tears. It was odd to hear Barry's son with an American accent and not an Aussie one. But I guess he was raised in the States? Still-FUGLY crying. I miss Robin, Maurice, and Andy too.

Agree with those that stated DeBose wasn't the right person to sing that medley. And there were only 4 minutes to do, what? 3 songs? And then my dvr cut off-but the end credits were rolling, so peeved. I wish someone else could have done it, and much longer. I remember when N'Sync-back in the day (and it was at either the Grammys or American Music Awards), sang a medley to honor Billy Joel.

I ALWAYS, at parties that have a DJ, request "Stayin' Alive" and mix in some Bollywood moves when dancing to it.

Whaaat?

[Spartan Girl]

Ariana DeBose was spectacular, as was LMM and Cynthia.

Dammit, Robin SHOULD have been there with Whoopi paying tribute to Billy. Sally Field said the same thing last year. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Edited December 28, 2023 by Spartan Girl
Stupid autocorrect

[jah1986]

Another great show! I am familiar with all the honorees, so happy for each of them. Whenever we find out who the honorees will be, I play a little game trying to figure out who will get the final tribute and this year I guessed correctly that it would be Barry Gibb. But I have to say, as great as Ariana DeBose is, something was lacking with her performance, she couldn't seem to get the crowd engaged enough to get out of their seats. 

Cynthia E. killed with "Alfie" I felt sorry for the person having to follow that performance. And "You'll Never Walk Alone" was awesome.

I also loved the comments from Queen Latifah's family, so heartfelt and real.

But, like was already mentioned, I miss the little biographies that used to introduce each honoree. Overall and enjoyable show that I look forward to watching again.

[Crashcourse]

I enjoyed the tributes and performances, but I was most (surprisingly) blown away with Ben Platt's performance of "Nights on Broadway."  He really had the audience and me rocking.

I like Queen Latifah as an actress, but I'm not a fan of hip hop.

Ariana Dubose is just too frenetic and "me me me!" and I can't stand watching her.  It's too bad she was given the honor of ending the show.  

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

 

I enjoyed the tributes and performances, but I was most (surprisingly) blown away with Ben Platt's performance of "Nights on Broadway."  He really had the audience and me rocking.

 

Yeah he was GREAT! Loved everyone grooving in their seats, although I can’t hear that music without being tempted to sing, “Talkin’ it up on the Barry Gibb Talk Show…” Don’t judge me.

Between this and Parade, I think Ben Platt has more than made up for Dear Evan Hansen.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, jah1986 said:

And "You'll Never Walk Alone" was awesome.

OMG, I got the chills!

[bosawks]

14 hours ago, Linderhill said:

enjoyed the program but I miss having the biographical portion for each artist.  I always have enjoyed learning more about each of the honorees.  I was also surprised the program ended at 10:30 so we could be subjected to some idiot sitcom when we all know that there was enough material to go the entire three hours. 

I still think of the one they did for Jacques d'Amboise.

[Eureka]

16 hours ago, buttersister said:

This show is traditionally one of the year’s best—enough to usually record it. Lost count of how many times I’ve watched the Led Zeppelin tribute. So while most of this show was highly entertaining and each had a tear-inducing highlight, the Barry Gibb tribute ending was disappointing. Ariana Dubose is talented but that whole number seemed to be about her performance, not BG and not engaging the audience the way those finales usually do.

How did Dionne Warwick have to wait so long? Kudos for the Queen Latifah tribute. Billy’s was great fun. Renee Fleming’s was stunning. Barry Gibbs wrote great songs, they corralled Sir Paul and Streisand, but fizzled.

I agree about the Gibb finale….underwhelmed with it. It was missing a lot of the energy you usually see in the last musical number of the night.