There were about separate performances, some of which were fantastic and some of which made us wonder if we were living in a fever dream ( don’t worry, we ranked them all here ).
Here is everything else you missed, for those of you who couldn’t stay awake to watch the whole thing.
1) Kobe Bryant tributes
LA) Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, along with his – year-old daughter Gianna and several others, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning . Many of the entertainers assembled in the Staples Center for the Grammy Awards struggled to find the right tone while also grappling with the sudden loss. Host Alicia Keys addressed it all right out of the gate: “We’re all feeling crazy sadness right now,” she said, as “we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe built.” She then brought out Boyz II Men for an a cappella verse of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Throughout the night, Bryant’s No. 27 jersey was included in several performances, including during “Old Town Road” and “Walk This Way.” He was also mentioned and featured on-screen during a Nipsey Hussle tribute.
2) Nipsey Hussle tributes
Rapper Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot last spring at age , , leaving the hip-hop and Los Angeles communities stunned. Since then, tributes have flowed in, and the Grammys made space for some of that as well. DJ Khaled, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, YG and Meek Mill appeared together for a tribute that included the song “Higher,” even playing Hussle’s verse on a screen. Later, that song won best rap / sung performance, and the slain rapper’s family came onstage along with Legend and Khaled, who dedicated the win to Hussle.
“I want to thank all of you for supporting this and for lifting Nipsey’s name up, ”Legend said. “It’s terrible we had to lose him so early. We thank his family for being here tonight with us; Thank you for allowing us to use his legacy and to lift it up in song tonight. ”
He added:“ We’ve seen so much tragedy today and last year, and so much has gone on. But let’s love each other, let’s love our families, let’s hold each other tight. ”
3) Billie Eilish’s sweep
Teen pop phenom Billie Eilish always seems effortlessly confident, but even she appeared overwhelmed when she won best new artist, record and song of the year for “Bad Guy ”And album of the year for“ When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? ”- the top-selling album of . She’s now the only woman and youngest artist to win all four major categories; the only other artist to do so was Christopher Cross in 1981. When she and her brother Finneas O’Connell (also her co-writer and producer) picked up the album trophy, – year-old Eilish protested: “Can I just say that I think Ariana deserves this?” (In the audience, Ariana Grande waved off the praise.) By her fourth award, Eilish simply said “thank you” and left the stage.
4) All the performances
As is always the case With the Grammys, the many, many performances ranged from the good to the bad to the ugly . Let’s begin with some positivity, because there was a good bit to go around.
Most surprising this year was that many large set pieces actually worked, a reverse of the usual trend. First, Tyler, the Creator, with Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men, put on a dizzying show with dozens of look-alikes, rows of burning houses behind him and a frantic lights show – all while mixing songs from his latest album into fascinating new shapes. Even more maximalist was Lil Nas X’s rendition of “Old Town Road” with – deep breath – BTS, Mason Ramsey, Diplo, Billy Ray Cyrus and Nas. Like, the first Nas, the one who made “Illmatic.” It was dizzying, exciting and entertaining. On the other hand, the Nipsey Hussle tribute by Meek Mill, YG, John Legend, Kirk Franklin and DJ Khaled felt both respectful and touching.
There were also solo performances that took our breath away, including Gary Clark Jr. and the Roots’ furious rendition of “This Land,” Demi Lovato’s tearful ballad and the lady of the evening, Billie Eilish, soulfully singing the piano-driven “When the Party’s Over.”
But we can’t talk about the music without talking about the big numbers that failed to even get off the ground. The show connected with a bizarre tribute to Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, in which everyone and their mother performed “I Sing the Body Electric” from the s movie “Fame.” In attendance: Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Gary Clark Jr., Ben Platt , Joshua Bell, Lee Curreri, Common, Lang Lang, Misty Copeland and dancers from the Debbie Allen Dance Company. But unlike during “Old Town Road,” these artists weren’t performing together, just next to one another. And speaking of performers clashing, the worst moment in the evening came courtesy of Aerosmith and Run-DMC, whose rendition of their hit “Walk This Way” was barely audible at best and embarrassing at worst.
5) Tyler, the Creator’s speech and performance
Not only did Tyler, the Creator, have the most jaw-dropping performance of the night , which included about 30 clones and a house on fire, but he also had the most memorable speech. He was the first artist to get the gentle “get off the stage, please, but seriously now” music as he thanked his mom, collaborators and producer Pharrell Williams, who he said “allowed me to be comfortable with myself and has opened up doors that you guys could not imagine. ”
Backstage, Tyler was candid as he spoke about his disappointment with black artists being placed in rap categories even when they have“ genre-bending ”work . “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment. Like, ‘Oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, let’s give him the unplugged controller so he could shut up and feel good about it,’ ”he said. “Another half of me is very grateful that the art that I made can be acknowledged on a level like this, when I don’t do the radio stuff. I’m not played in Target. I’m in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to. ”
6) Zero mention of the Deborah Dugan controversy
After former Recording Academy president Neil Portnow got in hot water for his comment about how women needed to “step up” if they wanted to win Grammy Awards, the organization hired its first female CEO, Deborah Dugan. That imploded last week , as Dugan was abruptly placed on administrative leave and then filed an explosive lawsuit that alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment. There was, unsurprisingly, zero mention of the controversy. But pop singer Dua Lipa, before she presented best new artist, alluded to the music industry’s gender imbalance: “I have to take this opportunity to say that there are so many stellar female producers, artists, songwriters, engineers. And if you’re in the business, and you’re hiring, raise your sights to the amazing, talented women out there, because we all deserve a seat at every table. ”
7) Norman ‘Freaking’ Rockwell
Lana Del Rey may not have taken home any awards , but she was indirectly responsible for some of the more amusing moments of the evening. Her album and song by the same title were up for a few awards, which was as problematic for the FCC-regulated CBS as it is for a family newspaper, as it contains a harsh expletive: “Norman F — ing Rockwell.” The Washington Post opts to dash out a portion of the offending word. That doesn’t work when speaking, however, so CBS chose to alter the title. With good cause, Twitter lit up every time a voice-over mentioned “Norman Freaking Rockwell.”
8) Big parent energy
Watching the Grammys can be a surreal experience for those of us of a certain age, but we noticed some nice nods to moms and dads during the awards show. Of course, there was Camila Cabello’s rendition of “First Man,” performed against a backdrop of home videos of her and her dad, which she sang while directly looking at… her father, Alejandro Cabello. Then she decided to walk off the stage and right to her dad, who was wiping away legit tears from his eyes as his daughter sang her song for him. Later, Ariana Grande had her own dad tribute, changing the lyrics in “Thank U, Next” from “I’ll be thanking my dad / ‘Cause she grew from the drama” to “I’ll be thanking my dad /’ Cause he’s kinda awesome. ”And then Tyler, the Creator’s overjoyed mother ran up onstage with him, sobbing and wrapping him in a big hug after he won best rap album. “That’s my mom, if y’all wondering,” he said.
9) Demi Lovato’s tears
The Grammys marked the first live performance by the pop singer since she nearly lost her life to a drug overdose in mid – 2019. It was going to be an emotional experience regardless of what she performed. That she chose “Anyone” – a song she wrote four days before that harrowing experience, which includes the lyrics “I feel stupid when I sing / Nobody’s listening to me” – hinted that she was ready to face her demons onstage. Her emotion was palpable, as she began crying when she started singing, forcing her to restart the song. But the room remained silent as she belted out the cathartic lyrics, and everyone eventually jumped to their feet when she finished.
13 Bonnie Raitt’s brief appearance
Note to the Grammys: When the angel-voiced and very underrated songwriter Bonnie Raitt agrees to perform, can you give her more stage time than just a chorus? Raitt sang a few beautiful lines from “Angel From Montgomery” by way of paying tribute to John Prine (seated a few rows away in the audience), who wrote the song and recently won a Grammys lifetime achievement award. Give Raitt a whole song! And also, give John Prine more airtime!
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