For the first time in fifty years, the Grammys were held once more at the Madison Square Garden with its honored host James Corden. This year was the 60th show full of diversity in its presenters, performers, and most importantly, the craft of each and every one in that room. As well, the Time’s Up movement was represented this time around by white roses adorning the clothes of various artists.
Kendrick Lamar started off the night with his “This is a Satire” performance while the flag of the United States waved in the background. The entire act oozed a calm anger full of typical Kendrick flare while his quick raps were spot-on bringing light in an artistic way to the hateful realities of the present, interrupted occasionally by comedian Dave Chappelle.
Lady Gaga followed with a touching performance of her song “Joanne” that quieted the audience in awe as the piano went on. She quickly followed with her hit single “A Million Reasons”. Other incredible performances included: Sam Smith with his song “Pray”, surrounded by a hauntingly beautiful choir that complimented his vocals perfectly; Little Big Town and their single “Better Man”, written by Taylor Swift, that was also nominated for two awards in the evening; DJ Khaled and Rihanna took on the stage for the song that took over the radio waves, “Wild Thoughts”; a beautiful tribute shone among the other performances for the lives lost during the Las Vegas shooting.
Some outstanding performances included Bruno Mars taking on the stage with Cardi B to perform “Finesse”, the most recent single off of his 24K Magic album. Bruno Mars is a natural-born performer and that is what he brought to the stage: talent! P!nk joined the stage with a performance of “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”. Usually adorned with theatrical clothes and essence, she kept it simple and stood with a white shirt and jeans, allowing the focus to be on the hard truth that she sang. A beautiful performance of Somewhere by Ben Platt, known for starring in the award-winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen and for his role in Pitch Perfect, among other projects, was received with numerous applause and a standing ovation.
SZA, breaking boundaries with soulful beats and female power, was another to join the stage after also being nominated for various awards for the evening. Finally, near the closing Logic was joined by Alessia Cara and Khalid for their featured hit “1-800-273-8255” for suicide prevention.
During the evening, Latin rhythms greeted the presenters for the “Despacito” performance as they took the stage, announcing proud Puerto Rican heritage as well as praise for the hit single that took over the world. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee then proceeded to take on the stage as well to perform the song—the original. Justin Bieber was unable to attend the awards and was not set to perform alongside the Puerto Rican singers. However! Zuleyka, the Puerto Rican Miss Universe winner that stars alongside Fonsi and Daddy Yankee in the music video set in La Perla, joined the stage.
James Corden then jokingly announced that he had never heard the song before, and it should be on the radio ASAP. Following the Boricua performance, Childish Gambino took on the stage with a rhythmic and eerie tune for his Grammy-nominated single.
Three highlights of the night included the adorable consolation puppies for artists that lost in their categories, the reading of the very controversial book Fire and Fury by various recording artists and Hillary Clinton (!!!), and “we come in peace, but we mean business,” assured by Janelle Monáe with her appearance to present Kesha’s performance as she stressed the importance of the Time’s Up movement. The soulful performance of her hit “Praying” did not leave a dry eye in the room. She was joined by various other artists as they stood together, tall and in solidarity. James Corden’s only reaction after the performance was “wow.” Camila Cabello quickly followed to remind the audience that this world, the nation, was built by dreamers for dreamers, acknowledging her own family’s journey and her Cuban-Mexican heritage. This was a perfect segway for U2’s symbolic performance of “Get Out of Your Own Way” near the Statue of Liberty.
The night was concluded by Bruno Mars taking home the coveted Album of the Year award, thanking those in this category for inspiring him to push himself even farther when making music and dedicating it to those that decide to enjoy listening and dancing to music as much as he enjoys making it.
For the full list of winners, click here.