Any awards show that opens with a 47-year-old woman dancing in a leotard is sure to please.

Madonna opened the 48th annual Grammy Awards Wednesday night with a live performance of her latest single “Time Goes By.” CBS celebrated “music’s biggest night” with a variety of this past year’s most successful musicians and singers. Among the big winners of the night were Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and U2.

“I love John Legend and the fact that he won two Grammys,” Caitlin Zavorskas, a junior media studies major, said of the “Ordinary People” crooner.

Some single-Grammy winners included Green Day, country star Alison Krauss, and Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Presenters of the night included Stevie Wonder, a pregnant Gwen Stefani, and Ellen DeGeneres. Performers ranged from Coldplay to Paul McCartney to U2.

“I really liked U2’s performance,” Tara O’Connor, a junior occupational therapy major, said. “They had a lot of energy.”

Even though the Grammys were on at the same time as primetime TV staples including “American Idol,” “Lost,” and “One Tree Hill,” most students were able to catch some, if not all, of the ceremony. However, that does not mean every student who watched agreed with what they saw. One student believes U2 would not have won Album of the Year for “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” against the likes of Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey if it was up to the public and not the critics.

O’Connor was not pleased with Madonna’s performance, either.

“She’s too old to be in a cage,” O’Connor said.

“I don’t think Kanye West should have won,” Adam Milavsky, a junior public relations major, said.

West won for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Solo Performance. However, Milavsky does think Kelly Clarkson deserved her two Grammys, for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Album.

Only on the Grammys will viewers ever see U2 and Mary J. Blige perform on stage together, or Jennifer Love Hewitt present an award with the super group the Black Eyed Peas.

Almost every performance and winner is a surprise on the Grammy Awards. This night was certainly no different. For instance, John Legend, who also won Best New Artist, won Best Male R&B Performance over

Stevie Wonder, a legend in his own right. Even “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson beat out seasoned performers Mariah Carey and Gwen Stefani, proving that music’s veteran artists need to move over for the newer, younger generation of prodigies.