It was night of glamour and rebelliousness, of political statements and pure excellence. A night of underwear and carpool Karaoke. The 59th annual Grammy Awards had everything you’d expect and more. Adele even did a re-set of her tribute to George Michael, literally.
After a sleepy opening from Adele with “Hello”, a hit that’s been drilled into our brains through most of 2016, host James Cordon opened with what seemed like more of an Oscar style opening with show style background dancers and pratfalls in which he lost his shoe and AV pack on the stairs. The cool Grammy artist community taught politely.
Highlights:
One Word: Beyonce
Anyone wondering whether Beyoncé’s just-announced pregnancy would take away from her ability to perform as vividly as we’ve come to expect got their answer Sunday night when the singer delivered a stunning rendition of her songs “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.”
Dressed in a flowing gown and elaborate head piece, Beyoncé moved slowly but surely down a long runway surrounded by female dancers, then took a seat in a wooden chair that reclined nearly 90 degrees over empty space — all while she continued to sing powerfully and with palpable emotion in her voice.
Prince Tribute: Bruno
Yes, there was a Prince Tribute and Test The Time were there to do their usual solid performances of “Jungle Love” and “The Bird”. though many of the Millennial’s in the audience didn’t know the words, Morris’ and the boy’s energy just won them over.
No the highlight of the Prince Tribute was Bruno Mars. After tearing hip the stage with his band “The Hooligans”, performing his song “That’ What I Like”, Bruno was back, this time with Prince’s traditional ruffled puffy shirts, a purple sequins jacket and strumming Prince’s cloud guitar. Bruno and his crew tore through a solid rendition of “Let’s Go Crazy” complete with solo’s. Bruno came close to exactly reproducing Prince’s solo’s in the song, but stayed a little bit away. Stunning performance.
George Michael Tribute: Adele
The five Grammy winner of the night, Adele, was back to honor fellow Britt George Michael with a reworking of his 1996 hit “Fastlove”.
Well into Michael’s song, the singer paused and, with a look of sorrow on her face, cussed and said, “I’m sorry for swearing and I’m sorry for starting again. Can we please start again?”
The restart was worth it — Adele went on to nail the song — but when the performance was over, the Grammy winner put her hands over her face the moment the lights went down and shook her head.
A Tribe Called Quest/ Busta Rhymes, Anderson.Paak
When A Tribe Called Quest co-founders Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip landed onstage with Busta Rhymes and new artist nominee Anderson .Paak to pay tribute, Q-Tip gestured toward an empty microphone and dedicated the performance to Phife.
And although the tribute featured Tribe tracks like “Movin’ Backwards” and “Award Tour,” it focused on the new “We the People.”A timely song, particularly in light of recent changes to U.S. immigration policies, its chorus jumped out of the speakers.
But it was the roar of Busta Rhymes that made the biggest impression. Decrying “President Agent Orange,” he and the others crashed through a makeshift wall.
At the end, with the people alongside him onstage, Q-Tip screamed, “Resist! Resist! Resist!”
James Cordon’s gags
James Cordon had fun during the Grammy’s. After his slapstick opening, he did a Grammy “rap,” also during the opening number, in which he called out Trump. He says, “Live it all up because this is the best and with President Trump we don’t know what comes next.” including dressing up as one of the members of DNCE as they presented another presenter.
James also congratulated his parents on their anniversary, but when he came to talk to them in the audience, Heidi Klum was sitting on his Dad’s lap, while his mom was sitting on Nick Jonas’ lap. Love it- I know James got his humor from at least one of his parents, so good for them for being a part of his bit.
Right after Twenty One Pilots accepted their award in their boxers, in honor of having watched the Grammys in their boxers back in the day, James went out on stage in HIS boxers.
He joked, “I told myself that if I ever hosted the Grammys I would do it in my underwear- it’s an amazing coincidence, really.”
Chance The Rapper gives up a BIG Thanks
The proud Chicagoan won three Grammys including Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, and Rap Album of the Year for his gospel rap masterpiece “Coloring Book”, which became the first streaming-exclusive to ever win a Grammy. And to top it all off, he gave one of the best and most inspiring performances of the night, a medley of highlights from the critically acclaimed mixtape, including “How Great,” “Blessings,” and “All We Got.”
“Glory be to God. I claim this victory in the name of the Lord,” he said in his acceptance speech for Best New Artist. “I want to thank God for my mother and my father, who supported me since I was young, for Kirsten, for Kensli, for all of Chicago, and I want to thank God for putting amazing people in my life.”
For a complete list of Grammy winners, look here
