Let’s be honest - the Grammy telecast always amounts to just a half-hour of winners and acceptance speeches ... and then three hours of performances.

What do you think people are talking about now? Adele being named best new artist or Paul McCartney blasting through “I Saw Her Standing There” with Dave Grohl on drums? Are you wondering what was up with Whitney Houston’s scatterbrained shout-out to Clive Davis, or admiring how Jennifer Hudson topped her Super Bowl appearance? (OK, maybe we’ll be talking about both for a while.)

Did you dare watch it all? Did you fall asleep? Tune out? You missed a pretty strong telecast overall, actually. My best-to-worst ranked rundown of the evening’s performances:

Jennifer Hudson, “You Pulled Me Through” - OK, so maybe there’s some sentimentality behind my placing her first. But as moving as it was to see her “sing” the National Anthem at the Super Bowl (that was prerecorded, of course), it was far more compelling to see her belt - live - this more emotionally wrenching song, with lyrics that speak to her pain. It also didn’t hurt to have her make such a stark, dramatic entrance - and though choirs are an easy go-to touch, here it really worked. Very powerful.

Al Green with Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban, “Let’s Stay Together” - JT ably filled in for the arrested and absent Chris Brown, but when the good reverend hit and held that superb high note, you could hear the whole arena get chills. Urban’s breezy George Benson-esque solo was a surprising flourish as well.

Radiohead with the USC Trojans Marching Band, “15 Step” - “Tusk” for a new age, with an animated Thom Yorke’s vocal delivery matching his backing ensemble’s snap. But did my eyes deceive me or was guitarist Jonny Greenwood the only other member on stage? Not that you’d need the other three guys when you’ve got that much controlled firepower behind you. But for as striking as this was to see, can’t say I’m not a little bummed that Radiohead’s Grammy debut didn’t involve the whole band.

Chris Martin with Jay-Z, “Lost” - The best of the night’s deliberately sparse performances, with Hova’s rhymes beautifully complementing Martin’s plangent piano and vocals.

Sugarland, “Stay” - A very close second in the stark department. Potently sung by Jennifer Nettles, although the black-clothes-on-black-background effect seemed to make her disappear.

Paul McCartney with Dave Grohl, “I Saw Her Standing There” - Simple, straightforward, kickin’ rock ‘n’ roll ... still works perfectly. Grohl seemed to be having the time of his life.

Adele, “Chasing Pavements” - Elegant, beautiful, soulful, with a nice assist from Nettles at the finish. I’d have preferred it for record of the year instead of P&K’s “Please Read the Letter.”

U2, “Get on Your Boots” - I like the new single plenty, and the very “PopMart”-esque visuals were arguably the most eye-grabbing all night. Maybe it would have ranked higher if suspense had built for it throughout the ceremony. As an opener, it was strong but quickly surpassed.

Coldplay, “Viva la Vida” - Proof that they can hold their own in U2’s company, though the Irishmen’s visuals had much more impact. The a cappella conclusion was sweet, though.

M.I.A. followed by Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West and T.I., “Paper Planes”/“Swagga Like Us” - From the sight of a very pregnant M.I.A. (due to drop that very day, she looked like a roly-poly ladybug) and the “Swagga” crew in full Rat Pack regalia (hence the switch to black-and-white and those snazzy tuxedos), this had the infectious energy all hip-hop spots should but rarely do. Seemed like the four rappers were indulging a bit of healthy competition, each one trying to top the last.

Justin Timberlake and T.I., “Dead and Gone” - T.I. flowed heartily, JT sang even more smoothly, and the whole song exuded a classiness the “Rap Pack” portion didn’t quite achieve. Still, Weezy et al had unstoppable, jolting momentum.

The Four Tops tribute with Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, Smokey Robinson and sole surviving member Duke Fakir - “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” ... all finely executed and, well, cute. Nothing wrong with cute. Especially when it’s sung well.

Lil Wayne, Allen Toussaint, Robin Thicke and Terence Blanchard, tribute to New Orleans - Weezy’s part was adequate, tamed and controlled for television, and Thicke was in fine form. But it’s when Toussaint and Blanchard took over that this segment became BIG fun.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, “Rich Woman”/“Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” - Atmospheric, slightly swampy rock ‘n’ roll to prove why they deserved the album of the year trophy as much as Coldplay or Lil Wayne. But after three hours of much livelier performances, this one was merely pleasant.

Carrie Underwood, “Last Name” - A pretty smokin’ performance, pitch-perfect as always. But her poufy gold dress and bronzed legs were a (not entirely unwelcome) distraction. She looked like some wayward daughter of Pussy Galore from “Goldfinger.”

Kid Rock, “Amen”/“All Summer Long” - Better than usual. Looking like a Blues Brother, he dedicated the latter track, his nominated smash, to late Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell. Then he roared through it, strongly enough to remind why Americans from the coasts to the Heartland are crazy about the wild rocker.

The Jonas Brothers with Stevie Wonder, “Burnin’ Up”/“Superstition” - Good thing typically rousing Stevie joined ‘em. The JBs are more than just teen pinups, but their tune alone here would have ranked even lower.

Kanye West & Estelle, “American Boy” - Sounded just fine, Kanye was gratefully tethered to reality and Estelle looked and sounded lovely. But that sparkly jacket ... just too much.

The Bo Diddley tribute with B.B. King, Keith Urban, Buddy Guy and John Mayer - Much too polite. Bo’s best was raw, even torrential. King and Guy are gods, Urban and Mayer first-rate hotshots - but nothing about this wowed me. Something more stirring than a sit-down homage would have been better.

Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl” - Not bad ... but kinda chaotic and not nearly as charming as she can be.

Neil Diamond, “Sweet Caroline” - Everyone sang along, even Jay-Z was left smiling, and I bet Grandma really loved it. But I found it ho-hum, tired and by-the-numbers. Congrats on the MusiCares Person of the Year Award, though, Neil.

Kenny Chesney, “Better as a Memory” - Meh. Good time for a potty break.

Stevie Wonder, “All About the Love Again” - All about end-credits fodder.

Miley Cyrus & Taylor Swift, “Fifteen” - Bland, bleating, boring. The title number is how many years I aged while waiting for this to be over.