The 59th annual Grammy’s was a very eventful night, to say the least. From a star-studded red carpet to tear-jerking performances, the Grammy’s had viewers captivated from the start. To begin the show, Grammy’s host, James Corden, came out riding the metaphorical struggle bus. He tripped and fell down the golden stairs, lost his shoe, threw in a little dance number, and rapped about the upcoming performances and appearances of the night. Whether the tripping and falling was planned or not, Cordon had the audience laughing and proceeded to name almost every “iconic” artist in attendance during his rap. Also during the rap, and throughout the night, a few shots were fired at newly inaugurated president, Donald Trump.
Starting the awards show off, Chicago’s own, Chance the Rapper, scored Best New Artist, winning his first Grammy. In his acceptance speech, Rapper said, “Glory be to God. I claimed this victory in the name of the Lord, I want to thank God for my mother and my father who supported me since I was young.” The rapper also picked up wins for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance, taking home a total of three Grammys.
Beyonce was a hot topic of the night, stunning the crowd as she gracefully performed “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles”, while pregnant with twins. Senior Kelsey Borbek says, “Of course Beyonce slayed another performance. While she had to eliminate her usual intense choreography, she was able to keep up with her flawless vocals.” Introduced by her mother, Tina Knowles, Beyonce dedicated her performance to her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, making this segment truly a family affair. Borbek says, “and once again I was brought to tears.”
Next up on the “most memorable moments” list is the jaw-dropping acceptance speech given by the band, Twenty-One Pilots. Jaws weren’t the only thing dropping during their speech. As lead singers, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun got out of their seats and walked up on stage, they both took off their pants and proudly accepted their award for Best Pop Duo. The guys did explain why they stripped down for their speech saying that before finding fame in the music world, he and Josh were watching the Grammys from home together with friends — in their underwear. Joseph explains, “As we were watching we noticed that every single one of us was in our underwear. Josh turned to me, and he said, ‘If we ever win a Grammy we should receive it just like this.’”
An awards show, hosted by James Corden, wouldn’t be successful without at least mentioning his famous “Carpool karaoke” segments. In between performances, Corden brought out a big cardboard car and invited iconic audience members to sing Neil Diamond’s famous song, “Sweet Caroline.” Along for the ride were stars like Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Neil Diamond himself, and Beyonce’s daughter, Blue Ivy, also made an appearance.
To cap the night off, on-stage performances were given by Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Maren Morris and Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, Lady Gaga and Metallica, The Weeknd and Daft Punk, John Legend and Cynthia Erivo, Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin, Ed Sheeran, and Adele. Bruno Mars amped up the energy in the room by performing his latest single, “That’s What I Like,” and also paid tribute to Prince by performing “Let’s Go Crazy” while wearing a purple sequined suit. Ed Sheeran stepped on stage with just his sound boards and guitar and performed his latest hit, “Shape of You.” Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin ended the night by performing “How Great is Our God” and “All We Got” with the assist of a huge background gospel choir.
The most talked about performance was Adele’s tribute to George Michael. Not only did Adele take home five shiny awards, but she also performed George Michael’s famous song, “Fast Love”. While performing, Adele had a little mishap and dropped the F-bomb exclaiming how she, “didn’t want to mess this up for him.” She then restarted and powerfully completed her performance. After accepting her awards for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, Adele apologized for swearing during her initial performance. Adele also praised Beyonce during her acceptance speech saying, “I adore you. You move my soul everyday … I adore you and I want you to be my mommy.”
