After a year of meditating on the last 10 years of the Grammys every few months and realizing just how bad it is time and time again, the Grammys went out and put together their best night in a LONG time. The continued snubbing of Beyonce for major categories aside, the details of the wins will be a factor of time and how they age. So let’s just focus on the performances. 11 acts took the stage last night, and this is how I felt about the results.
11. Mary J. Blige Dressed Big But Felt Small
Hold your fire, I know that there’s one performance that most people agree was the worst and we will definitely get there. But ask yourself this, did you even remember that Mary J Blige performed? One of the queens of 2000s R&B certainly deserved a chance in the spotlight, but what she did with it turned out very underwhelming. Much of the Grammy’s responsibility is to continue to pay respects to artists who served as influences and inspiration for the stars of the modern day, but this performance felt like the equivalent of ABBA being nominated for Album Of The Year.
10. Harry Styles Gets Dizzy In His Own House
Let me start this out with an acknowledgment, there are a lot of rumors going around that the spinning stage the performance was delivered on was spinning the complete opposite way than all the choreography had been planned for. If that’s the case then the strange malaise of the dancers and lack of attitude from Harry is more than explicable. All the planning and work that likely went into the performance falling apart would be difficult for anyone to tough through and he did it like a professional. But compared to so much else in the night this was just one of the most lifeless and uninteresting displays. Who to place the blame on isn’t quite clear at the moment, but judging purely off of results this was probably the night’s biggest letdown from one of its biggest stars.
9. Jay-Z Can’t Save DJ Khaled’s Finale
This performance felt like it could only have come from DJ Khaled, in a bad way. Despite all the talent involved and the grandiosity on display the defining motif of the show’s conclusion was DJ Khaled himself screaming at you about how important and big it all is without doing anything to back it up. The lone highlight was a long appearance from Jay-Z who returned to the Grammys stage after a pretty significant absence, but all I can say is that I wish he was playing a better song because even his unmistakable talent wasn’t enough to save this.
8. Luke Combs Does His Job, And Not Much Else
Long ago the Grammys realized that if they’re going to insist on the telecast being nearly 4 hours long, not every performance can be constant fireworks. Thankfully we have moments like Luke Combs down-to-earth earnesty. Even if it wasn’t particularly exciting and it didn’t quite fill the very big shoes Chris Stapleton wore in this exact same spot last year, it was still pleasant. In another worse year for the Grammys this would probably have landed closer to the middle, but in a year where many stars brought their A-game, it was still nice to see Combs gentle reservation.
7. Stevie Wonder And Smokey Robinson Fill A Role Well
Speaking of Chris Stapleton, he was back this year to join two legends in the type of performance the Grammys absolutely adore. The combination of artists old and new plus the fusion of genres that you would never sensibly conceive of, that’s Grammy bait. Even if the combination of Stapleton with these two feels weird at first they did at least have some chemistry. What they have a lot more of however is talent and that was on full display as they rattled off some classics that have desperately needed life breathed into them for a while. It was better than DJ Khaled’s all-star slump of a finale but didn’t quite have the hype to match the great hip-hop celebration later in the show.
6. Lizzo Tells Us What Time It Is
In a performance that I suspect many will call the best of the night, Lizzo delivered ‘Special’ and ‘About Damn Time’ with the same level of infectious intensity she always brings. In a normal year, this could be THE highlight of the night, but all things considered, it was an enjoyable step in the march of high-energy performances that will define the night for years to come. Part of this definitely has to do with how meek of a song ‘Special’ is, though she does her best to bring a bit more intensity to it live. But also Lizzo’s most memorable moment of the night will always be her acceptance speech, so this performance slips to the middle of a strong pack.
5. Steve Lacy Introduces Himself, Literally
Despite being a beloved figure for fans of many different artists for over a decade, Steve Lacy has had the kind of year, or more specifically the kind of hit where he felt the need to introduce himself to everyone during his performance. His live rendition of ‘Bad Habit’ played things very straight but it was still an absolute highlight. He delivered a consummate performance both vocally and with his world-class instrumental talent on board and somehow made a song that everyone is probably sick of due to overplay sound fresh and exciting all over again.
4. Brandi Carlile Just Plain Rocks
This one doesn’t take much explanation, Brandi fucking killed it. She tore the roof off the arena with a roaring rendition of one of the best indie folk songs of the past few years. After an adorably charming introduction from her wife and children, she got up on stage and showed everyone exactly why she racked up so many nominations. This was kick-ass and there’s no other way to put it.
3. 50 Years Of Rap Come Together For One Show
This one is impressive for its magnitude alone. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of rap the Grammys decides to go in on volume, grabbing as many names from the genre’s history as they could. It started off slow and ended on a bit of a strange note, but in the middle, there was just one killer performance after another. Highlights include Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Public Enemy, Method Man, and Black Thought who played both rapper and narrator for the show. While it wasn’t perfect it was a massive tribute to a genre that the Grammys ignored and undersold for way too many years and like LL Cool J said during the intro of the segment, this is only a start.
2. Bad Bunny Starts The Show Off Right
Nailing the intro to an award show is hard. There’s an implication to do it big but you don’t want to give up the night’s biggest stars. Bad Bunny walks that fine line between being one of the biggest music stars on the planet, and yet someone that many people watching the Grammys might not be all that familiar with. After his performance, they should be. He absolutely lit up the stage with a medley of tracks from his new album that hit one after another. With a lively band backing him he brought the energy from start to finish getting the entire audience at home and the entire crowd in the arena itself rocking. You didn’t have any time to take a deep breath before Bad Bunny came in and injected his infectious energy into everything.
1. Sam Smith & Kim Petras Do Something Unholy
Who else could it have been?
Remember when the Grammys had genuine intrigue? Kim Petras does. After an SNL performance that felt like it didn’t live up to the spectacle of the song, the pair finally delivered something worthy of being called unholy. After a weird introduction from Madonna that I’m not entirely comfortable with, the pair took the stage for a number that was evocative and erotic at all the right moments. Though Kim also had THE moment of the night when she accepted the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Song, this song was the definitive performance. It was a combination of the intensity that defined the night with the grandeur that the song deserved. Plus Ted Cruz hated it, so it must be good.
