AMAs '09: Best/Worst Performances

JANET JACKSON?
Janet, in a fawn-colored suede get-up we can only describe as Sexy Daniel Boone, opened the show with a fast-moving medley of some of her greatest '80s and '90s hits — ''Control,'' ''What Have You Done for Me Lately,'' ''If'' — before segueing into ''Make Me,'' a brand-new track from the upcoming greatest-hits comp Number Ones. Proof she was singing live for real through all those dance moves? She sounded genuinely breathless. A final song, the hopeful 1997 life-after-death dance hit ''Together Again,'' couldn't help but evoke thoughts of her late brother. Grade: B+

DAUGHTRY
The American Idol season 5 finalist turned radio-rock pro Chris Daughtry turns out a serviceable if not exactly galvanizing take on his mid-tempo chest thumper ''Life After You.'' Grade: B-

SHAKIRA
Shades of ''Hollaback Girl'' in the spirit-squad intro and a cappella call-and-response, plus ''Single Ladies'' black leotards for the backup dancers. Still, Shakira makes new Timbaland-helmed single ''Give It Up to Me'' her own Colombian-caliente party starter. But sorry hip-hop fans; no Lil Wayne guest spot, as per the album version. Grade: B

KEITH URBAN
He kissed a girl, and he liked it. Country?s reigning Aussie turns out a tight, rollicking version of his country-crossover hit ''Kiss a Girl'' — and of course we all know which Oscar-winning redhead he smooches on his own time. Life is good, isn't it, Keith? Grade: B+

KELLY CLARKSON
Strings make it extra-classy! Clarkson's torchy, slow-burn ballad gets the orchestral treatment. Though the usually unimpeachable season 1 Idol champ sounds uncharacteristically shaky (nerves? bum earpiece?), she brings it home for the final notes. In the end, an off night for one of the strongest natural talents in the business. Grade: B-

JAY-Z AND ALICIA KEYS
A little Sinatra-redux swing from Alicia to kick things off, then the Hova bounding onstage in Ray-Bans and a white dinner jacket to go with that white baby grand — this must be the hip-hop anthem of the year, ''Empire State of Mind.'' Even Reba McEntire's smiling! Together, the pair garner the biggest applause of the night so far. Grade: A-

BLACK EYED PEAS
Current hit ''Meet Me Halfway'' kicks off the BEPs? victory lap (they being the indisputable chart champs of the year and all). An ambitious — if not note-perfect — vocal run from Fergie, and we're off to a chaotic ''Boom Boom Pow,'' with final segue into a mash-up of Nirvana?s ''Smells Like Teen Spirit'' (sacrilege? Pretty much!) and Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock?s 1988 nugget ''It Takes Two.'' As for will.i.am in goofy Elvis wig and high tops, with key-tar? Because he can, friends. Because he can. Grade: C+

RIHANNA?
What's braver than wearing a horizontally bandaged jumpsuit in HD? A pop superstar taking on two of the rock-iest cuts from her new album Rated R — ''Wait Your Turn'' and ''Hard'' — for her first live televised performance since her assault in February. Is it a little messy? Sure, and we don't pretend to understand the Spinning Wheel of Death. But she looks like she's genuinely loving it — and in the end, that energy's infectious. Grade: B

CARRIE UNDERWOOD
The lady is a vamp — she's country, sure, but ''Cowboy Casanova'' puts some serious rock in that twang, even though she spends the first half seemingly reluctant to let it rip. Once she does, Carrie wins the vocal prize of the night so far — and the gold star for white satin hot pants too. Grade: A-

LADY GAGA
The look is L'Eggs Control Top Gone Wild, but the action doesn't get truly next level until she lights the stage on fire — literally. After careening through new single ''Bad Romance'' like a panty-hosed bat out of hell (a compliment, swear), Gaga shatters the glass surrounding her unjustly imprisoned piano and segues into an incendiary take on The Fame Monster's heart-wracked power ballad ''Speechless,'' writhing across the keys like the banshee offspring of Tori Amos, Elton John, and ''November Rain'' Axl Rose. Grade: A-

MARY J. BLIGE?
It may not be the most thrilling performance of the night — no pyro, no hot pants, no Lycra booby-bands — but the queen of hip-hop soul keeps it solid on ''I Am,'' the soaring mid-tempo ballad from her upcoming album. Show the kids how it's done without gimmicks, MJB. Grade: B+

JENNIFER LOPEZ
You don't get to be a top-earning actress without a good sense of theater, and J.Lo bounds onstage like the reigning heavyweight champ with a full-on boxing-ring set-up (including Mr. ''Let's get ready to rrrrumble'' himself, Michael Buffer). But is new single ''Louboutins'' a TKO? Not so much. At 40, La Lopez still has the moves (not mad at the man-made — literally! — staircase), but the track itself lacks an inspired hook, or even a sensical lyric. All in all, a shoe bomb. Grade: C

WHITNEY HOUSTON?
The voice that hit those impossible notes on ''I Will Always Love You'' may be gone now — her take on ''I Didn't Know My Own Strength'' starts out more sing-song than soaring — but Whitney still digs in, even when she falls back on oddly punchy vocal tics. But she has to pause before the final phrase for the crowd's wild, extended applause, so who are we to nitpick? Grade: B

ALICIA KEYS
It's rare to see Keys onstage without her, you know, keys, but this largely piano-free take on new single ''Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart,'' while not fully capturing the Prince-ly magic of the song's insidious hook (due perhaps to her also-uncharacteristic participation in some serious choreography), still sells it. And at the end, she gives the people what they want: Alicia at the ivories, bringing it all home. Grade: B+

EMINEM AND 50 CENT
They look like they're dressed for a frigid tailgate party (beanies and hoodies and puffies, oh my!), but old friends 50 and Eminem deliver the latter's ''Crack a Bottle'' with a growing fierceness, and only seem to be getting started when the Lil Wayne/Kayne/Em collaboration ''Forever'' is done. In a determinedly pop-centric evening, it's as if they belong on a different show altogether. Grade: B

TIMBALAND
There's a reason dude's a behind-the-scenes talent — not exactly burning up the screen with his stage presence, that Timbaland. The super-producer turned solo artist kind of sounds like the Swedish Chef (bork bork bork!), and ''Morning After Dark,'' featuring the lovely if excessively goth-ified ladies Nelly Furtado and SoShy, wallows too deep in its inexplicable Twilight-meets-Blade visual vibes. Grade: C-

GREEN DAY
Possibly the tightest three-piece playing stadiums these days, but somehow this AMAs stage does Berkeley's pop-punk pride no favors. Rousing power ballad ''21 Guns'' never quite lifts off, despite Billie Joe's best put-your-lighters-up efforts. Perhaps the trio would rather be somewhere a little less...diva-riffic? Grade: B-

ADAM LAMBERT?
In his much-anticipated first televised post-Idol performance, Glambert fully nails the rock wail, but holy crotch-thrust, what is up with all that face-to-groin contact? While Adam struggles mightily to overcome a tetchy sound system, too much of his ''For Your Entertainment'' rendition plays like high-camp dinner theater — and Paula Abdul's ''Cold Hearted Snake'' video wants its concept back, Mr. Shinypants. Grade: C-