Eminem might have failed in his campaign to win any of the Big Three Grammys, but his performance at the 2011 awards show helped propel the 10PM half-hour to the highest ratings of the evening.
Although a final rating for the show will not be available until the 11-11:30PM portion is calculated, the early word on the ratings suggests a slight increase from last year’s numbers. And the Eminem segment, which included a “Love the Way You Lie” collaboration with Rihanna and an anticipated pairing with his mentor Dr. Dre on “I Need a Doctor,” ranked as the biggest draw in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
Preliminary data shows the 10-10:30PM portion, which featured Eminem’s performance, ranking at an 11.1 rating with 28.26 million viewers. Other performances in that segment included Katy Perry’s pair of songs and a quick acoustic take on “Jolene” from John Mayer, Keith Urban and Norah Jones. The segment also benefited from the announcement for “Best New Artist,” which featured the ever-popular Justin Bieber in the race for a key Grammy. Esperanza Spalding won the award.
From a performance perspective, Bieber, meanwhile, drew the largest audience. Though his segment’s rank was second in the night for the adults 18-49 demo (10.9), the 9-9:30PM portion drew viewership of 29.30 million. Beyond the Bieber, Bieber-Jaden Smith and Bieber-Usher performances, the only other performance was the beginning of the Mumford & Sons number. Awards distributed in the segment included Lady Gaga winning for vocal album and Muse winning the best Rock Album prize.
The ratings took a slight drop from 9:30-10PM (10.8 with 28.41 million viewers); that segment featured the rest of the Mumford & Sons-Avett Brothers-Bob Dylan performance, the Lady Antebellum medley and the Cee-Lo Green/Gwyneth Paltrow collaboration.
Viewership took a fast tumble following the 10-10:30PM segment. At 10:30, the numbers dropped to a 9.9 with 25.31 million viewers for Mick Jagger and Barbra Streisand. Drops are always expected for late segments, but it is clear the veteran performers did not significantly combat that trend. Ratings were not yet available for the final segment, which included the Rihanna-Drake and Arcade Fire performances.
Earlier in the night, the show opened fairly slowly with a 9.0 and 26.32 million viewers from 8-8:30PM. That featured the Diva tribute to Aretha Franklin. Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, Muse and Bruno Mars-BoB-Janelle Monae earned a 10.0 with 27.75 million viewers from 8:30-9PM. Though that rating was somewhat low given the high number of performances, the group of performers does deserve credit for spiking the rating significantly from the opening half hour.
Mick Jagger has still got game. No, he’s not going to outdraw the current pop culture artist, but he’s been there, done that for a bit longer than others have been on the performance stage and the stage of life.
Mick Jagger was the highlight….he brought down the house. He still has it going on.