M.I.A. (and Baby!) Rock the Grammys

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

In what’s sure to be a special memory for the mama-to-be, M.I.A. made a splash at last evening’s Grammy Awards, taking the stage — on her due date! — to perform “Swagger Like Us” with Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I. and Lil’ Wayne.

Starting the evening off in a bold blue Manish Aurora dress, matching Christian Lacroix for Gola sneakers and Erickson Beamon jewelry, the “Paper Planes” songstress changed into shades and an eye-poppingly sheer House of Holland dress for her number.

When asked for her opinion on M.I.A.’s outfits, maternity designer Liz Lange had this to say,

“Any about-to-pop star who performs on her due date gets a free pass in my book!  That said, perhaps this outfit should have gone ‘M.I.A’!  That said, what would have worked for her, in this rat-pack tribute, given how great the guys looked in their elegant dinner jackets, would have been to channel Angie Dickinson in a 1960s-looking little white or sparkly mini shift dress, or a long slinky jersey curve hugging dress.”

Putting her full-term belly on display, the 31-year-old’s performance was well-received by the audience, who couldn’t believe how much bounce M.I.A. still has in her!

M.I.A. and fiancé Ben Bronfman expect their baby — a delivery surprise — any day now.

Click below for two photos of her outfit!

Jason Merritt/Getty

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty

Comments

She cracks me up.
I didn’t know what to expect from her.
She looked great up there.

- Moore on February 9th, 2009

YOU GO GIRL (MOMMY)!

- T on February 9th, 2009

she looked so cute, maybe all that moving and a shaking will help her go in labor soon!

- becky on February 9th, 2009

I love love love love love her. Best celeb mommy there is, and massive talent. She was the only reason I watched the grammys. Too bad they didn’t have her on solo – I was so hoping for that. She’s been slammed for her outfits last night, but I thought the blue crazy thing was great and the sheer polka dot number had me on my feet cheering.

- crimpe on February 9th, 2009

Honestly, that was one of the most annoying performances I have EVER seen, but not because of her. She was adorable, and I applaud her for getting out there! I couldn’t do it, but this’ll be one of those stories her baby’s gonna hear EVERY birthday, much like the one I hear from my mom…”This time 23 years ago, I was MISERABLE.” But when her kid is old enough to understand, that’ll be one they’ll probably be happy to share with friends.

- Ashley on February 9th, 2009

Good for her for performing on her due date, but really…those outfits???? See thru? I think that’s kind of trashy when someone’s NOT pregnant……….let alone 9 months along. Yikes!

- Lis on February 9th, 2009

I love MIA! You go girl, I could have never done any of that on my due date, lol!

- Julie on February 9th, 2009

Really awful music, but MIA definitely rocked. I can’t believe how subtle and bouncy she still is, definitely respect for her performance.

- Philippa on February 9th, 2009

I wasn’t a fan of the outfits but I admire MIA for going out on stage that far along; I don’t think I could perform like that on my due date.

- Ruth on February 9th, 2009

That outfit is ugly, but she is full of energy for someone so far along!

- Bela on February 9th, 2009

she is just about the most adorable thing ever!! i love how she flaunts her beautiful belly around all those men…thats awesome. She seems so proud and she did an amazing job last night. As for her outfits…thats MIA:) thats really the only explanation to give. I met her in austin not too long ago and she has the neatest personality. she is going to make an awesome mommy! That baby is going to get a kick out of this in 20 years. Not alot of kids can say “my mama was jammin out on stage at the grammy’s….on their due date!”

- mamakay on February 9th, 2009

She looks super cute!! Her performace ROCKED!! That baby is sure to be BEAUTIFUL!!! The boys sure seemed to love performing with a VERY PREGNANT M.I.A. I’m sure they took good care of her seeing as all but Jay Z has children!!

- Crystal on February 9th, 2009

Her first dress Manish Aurora looks like wallpaper found in a Danish Bed and Breakfast house. I liked her in the black thing. (kind of reminded me of a black and white ladybug costume.)She still has nice legs and a cute belly. She is a pretty lady.

- mary on February 9th, 2009

its funny i saw it, and thought it was pretty bad… she was out of breath and NEEDED that backing track… but she looked SO cute… lol… AND i mean, for someone who’s been able to meet a PLETHORA of interesting ppl in my own pregnancy, imagine the story she’ll be able to tell her baby…

on the date i was supposed to give birth to u, i performed w/ Uncle Jay, and Uncle Wayne, and Uncle Yeezy, and Uncle T.I.P. i mean.. HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT….

that baby’s got more swagger than ANY of them… lol

- fay on February 9th, 2009

Very interested. In both outfits she looked okay. The performance was great though! So much energy!

- brooklyn on February 9th, 2009

You GO girl!
I honestly LOVE MIA. She is downright adorable. I thought she was so cute in last night’s performance. Of course, I think she’s beautiful! She was so bouncy and full of energy; I most definitely applaud her. I honestly did not think she would make it to the Grammy’s, but she did and I’m happy I got to see her perform. Now I just can’t WAIT for this baby to come!! In a way, I really think it’s a boy. But a small part of me thinks it’s a girl. Either way, he/she will be beautiful just like it’s mama.

- Ariana on February 9th, 2009

I thought that performance with the RAP pack ROCKED. It was probably my favorite of the night (I’ve still got about an hour of the show to watch). So much amazing talent on the stage at the same time.

That said, not a fan of the outfits, but she rocked it. Good for her!!

- Jen K on February 9th, 2009

You go mama! She just rocks. I love her.

- millefleur on February 9th, 2009

“Interesting outfit” kudos for her for getting out there. Since it was noted that it was her due date yesterday..she’s probably trying to get that baby moving by performing on stage..

- jk on February 9th, 2009

I ran into Mia 3 year ago in the women’s bathroom of a club down here in Miami. I was a little bit tipsy and asked her to walk over with me to meet my fiance (at the time b/f). She was so nice and proper. I never did get a picture though, only memories in my head!

- Kristen on February 9th, 2009

My husband had me cracking up during her performance. He said, “If her water breaks while she’s on stage maybe Kanye would go sliding off stage!” We’re not big fans of his..

- jk on February 9th, 2009

M.I.A. is so beautiful. Her outfit, however, is not. I’m sorry, but what on Earth was all that about?! Can’t wait to see her litle beauty though.

- Alex on February 9th, 2009

I loved her performance – I thought she was fantastic. I couldn’t tell what color the polka dots were at first and didn’t like the outfit she performed in initially but like it more as the performance went on.

I told my little ones I didn’t blame her for performing – it may have been a once in a lifetime thing. My 9 year old son said “Now she can go and sit down!” when they finished – LOL!

- Luci on February 9th, 2009

Wow, she has a ton of energy for someone being 9+mo pregnant! Good for her though. Hopefully that baby will be here soon.

- Em on February 9th, 2009

My favorite part was when she opened the song and touched her belly (at 0:21 on the video) – the crowd cheered just a bit more. I just wish she had been given more of a chance to shine throughout the song instead of having it be mostly about the male performers.

- Danielle on February 9th, 2009

Jk – Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! That’s so funny. Don’t worry, I’m not a very big fan of Kanye either!

- Ariana on February 9th, 2009

lol she was great!!!

I did however feel so badly for her during her performance…she didn’t look very comfortable. I kept yelling at the tv during her performance “OH DON’T SKIP AND JUMP!” haha

- ericka on February 9th, 2009

She really rocked it out last night!! I was due yesterday and would love to have been up there doing what she did but don’t think I could have pulled it off. I hope all that jumping and bouncing brought the baby down for her. LOL!!

- Kathleen on February 9th, 2009

I think her outfit made her look like Minnie Mouse, but she rocked it!

- Meredith on February 9th, 2009

this woman can do no wrong in my eyes… i think her outifts are great.
i love how she expresses herself and her creativity.
she is such a free spirit.
bless her new baby… may they inherit their mother’s zest for life.

- fuzibuni on February 9th, 2009

Outfits are sort of outlandish, but she’s got a style that’s all her own, like it or lump it. But I give her props for going out there and rocking it, literally. I honestly don’t know how she was up there giving as much of an energetic performance as the guys. Hell, the guys weren’t moving very much, so she was way ahead of them! I thought she was great during her performance, and very comfortable, nixing any sort of heel for sneakers. I loved that the most…;)

- FC on February 9th, 2009

I could tell being pregnant is not slowing her down from performing at the Grammy’s last night she is one tough cookie lol

- Crystle on February 9th, 2009

Am I allowed to think those outfits and performing on ones due date is kind of tacky… but each to her own.

- anna on February 9th, 2009

I was not really familiar with M.I.A until last night….but I thought she was awesome! It was great watching her on stage with her cute belly and totally bringin it!

- CTBmom on February 9th, 2009

this performance helped me realize how much i like that song and i thought M.I.A. was very much herself, baby on board and all!

- nettrice on February 9th, 2009

Crystal–

Kanye West does not have any children either.

And to all other M.I.A. fans,
My husband is a close friend of Ben Brewer (they’ve been friends since they were kids) and he was told this afternoon that Maya is in labor back home in New York. (they flew back from L.A. after the Grammys) So we should be hearing an announcement shortly. =)

- Noelle on February 9th, 2009

To Anna – Of course you are allowed to think anything you want. But you are in the minority…sucka!! To most of those commenting, M.I.A. was a source of joy and inspiration – her outfits were fun and celebrated an amazing state of being. Do you even remember one thing about those other guys in comparison? What is the saying about well-behaved women? We are not all fragile flowers.

- crimpe on February 9th, 2009

To those who think her outfit was tacky – or not tasteful, here is a quote from Pablo Picasso.

“Ah, good taste–What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness.””

- Tom on February 9th, 2009

I think she’s amazing! She seems like she’s got so much spunk all the time, let alone when she’s 9 months pregnant! I totally commend her for doing what she did.

- alice jane on February 9th, 2009

How was she allowed to travel? I thought you can’t fly past 7 months pregnant in order to avoid early labor or going into labor in the air.

- Lilly on February 9th, 2009

Lilly,

She doesn’t fly commercial…many, many women have flown in private planes while in labor–including Sarah Palin & Pat Summit (head b-ball coach @ U Tenn).

I thought she was AWESOME! I was on cnn.com and I couldn’t believe all the people ripping her apart–saying she was a bad mother, etc. It’s nice to be on a site where the commenters don’t have cranial-rectal inversion!

- Jennifer on February 9th, 2009

Hey, more power to her. I like her stage name hehe

- Mia on February 9th, 2009

Sarah Palin flew commercial after her water had broken (Alaska Airlines)- she concealed her pregnancy from the flight crew. but anyway, congrats to MIA – she looks truly amazing! Best of luck for a smooth arrival!!

- sat on February 9th, 2009

Good for her i wish her the best

- FlashyLifeStyle on February 9th, 2009

I’m not gonna lie, I thought the whole thing was really awesome. The outfit was interesting, but I love how she was wearing reeboks (comfort first).

- Jessica on February 9th, 2009

Noelle-

You’re so right. I forgot about Kanye!! M.I.A. is soooo cool!! I can’t believe she’s 31!! I assumed she was in her EARLY twenties!! She looks incredible!!

- Crystal on February 9th, 2009

She looks so cute!

- Ashley on February 10th, 2009

It’s not exactly true you can’t fly after 7 months. Some airlines will allow you to fly anytime in your pregnancy, even when you’re due or overdue, as long as you have a doctors note saying you’re medically cleared. I’ve never even heard of any airline stopping someone from flying at 7 months, I think the earliest I’ve heard is like 35 weeks. That said, I don’t know if she flys commerical so it may not even be a problem.

- Jess on February 10th, 2009

this is so funny. i love mia. she is hilarious and i loved what she did @ the grammys. she go girl. she didnt let anything stop her and i admire her. she keep rocking it

- paris on February 10th, 2009

According to this January 28th interview, she was prohibited from flying at all and was planning on staying in L.A. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=tavi08s1ddeq6f6

- Jen on February 10th, 2009

The outfits were awful, but she was GREAT! I love MIA, her music and her politics and find her … well, just adorable.

Mmm, Anna, how is performing on your due date “tacky”? Outfits tacky, yes. Although I loved seeing her belly in the sheer black thing with the spots. So big and round and brown. I’ve had a thing about the pregnant belly since I was three and found out someone was actually IN IT, so I was particularly happy about the sheer dress, even though I thought it was hideous.

Anyway, wildly energetic, pretty, smart, with a great head for politics. YAY, MIA!

- Jen DC on February 10th, 2009

i think m.i.a was fabulous and very courageous for what she did. of course people are going to slate her, but she will be heralded by many others as well for taking away that whole “pregnancy is a hideous condition and you must cover up and hide yourself away in shame” mentality so many people seem to have. I liked her outfit (but then again i have similar flamboyant taste) i do sense a hint of jealousy in some of these comments.. how many of you looked so good when you were 9 months pregnat eh….?
by the way i am not a m.i.a fan… just a causual observer

peace

xx

- vedinamusica on February 10th, 2009

Don’t be tricked, y’all….. M.I.A. was just talking about how she has/had to have the baby in LA because she can’t fly. It was just in the Tavis Smiley interview she did around the end of January (I think it was the 28th). She didn’t go to NY to give birth!

- bamboozled on February 10th, 2009

I love MIA, really I do…but that dress is just too crazy. She kind of looks like a Japanese futon! LOL rock on Mrs. Galang!!! <3

- Kimbo on February 10th, 2009

On her due date??? Wow, now that is a level of dedication I could never have.

- Flat Rate Banner Ads on February 10th, 2009

yeah. awsome mommy!!

her baby would be so proud of her!!

- miloskilos on February 10th, 2009

dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmm she look so pretty

- ella babii on March 12th, 2009