If you happened to miss the Grammy Awards last Sunday, first off, big mistake. Second off, lucky for you, we have you covered. Per usual, the Grammy’s were full of daring red carpet looks, touching performances, and several cut off speeches (Drake was not all too happy). There was plenty of controversy surrounding this year’s show, as one of the biggest acts in music, Ariana Grande, chose not to attend due to a feud between her and producer Ken Ehrlich (who was later called out by other celebs on twitter – yikes). Those who were in attendance, however, put on a night to remember for music fans everywhere. It was hard to narrow this list down to a mere 5, but here’s a look back at some of the most memorable moments from the superbowl of music:
(Image from hollywoodreporter.com)
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Alicia Keys Shredding 2 Pianos at Once
A benefit to having a musician host the Grammys as opposed to a comedian? They get a chance to perform too. Lucky for viewers, this year’s Grammy host was one of the most naturally talented performers of all time. Not only do we love her for not wearing a speck of makeup on stage (and still looking flawless) but she also killed it performing a medley of 8 songs, including 1 of her own, Empire State of Mind. Alicia Keys just has one of those voices that sounds exactly as good live (maybe even better, honestly) than it does on her albums. The best part of her act was the fact that it began with her tickling the ivories of not one, but two pianos at the same time. Same Alicia, same.
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Shawn and Miley Giving Us All the Feels Â
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Sorry Post Malone and Red Hot Chili Peppers, this performance takes the cake for our favorite collab of the night. How could you not love this combo! We love to see Miley on the rebound from her slightly terrifying Bangerz days, and Shawn is the perfectly handsome and sweet Canadian no one can resist the urge to fall in love with. Oh and did we mention his shirt was sleeveless? Special thank you to his stylist for some major arm muscle action. They sang a duet of his hit single, In My Blood, which started out stripped down on a piano and ended with sparks flying (sadly we mean in the form of a special effect, not between the two of them – Miley’s engaged). Their voices sounded great together, which is good news, because they announced on Sunday they have a collab coming out on Miley’s next album. The song will be called Playboy, and we can’t WAIT.
H.E.R’s Performance
Ok maybe this is slightly biased because we love H.E.R., but her performance truly felt like one of the most powerful of the whole night. Accompanied by a chorus and her own electric guitar, she performed Hard Place from her recent EP (which won best R&B album). She’s musically gifted, as this performance made clear, but she’s also cooler than all of us – she didn’t take off her sunglasses the entire night. Epitome of badass. Take one look at the performance and you’ll see why H.E.R. is an up and coming new artist who will likely turn out more hits in the year to come. If you’re thinking of giving her music a listen, check out her collaboration with Daniel Caesar on Best Part. You won’t regret it.
The Coolest Girl Gang Appearance of All Time
This is it. The absolute best moment of the night. We were happy enough that Alicia Keys was hosting, but only a few short minutes into the show she welcomed a couple of lady friends to join her on stage, one of whom was casually MICHELLE OBAMA. While each guest (the other women who are also entirely notable included Lady Gaga, Jada-Pinkett Smith, and J.Lo) spoke to the audience about what music means to them, Michelle began to speak by taking a single breath into the microphone and the audience erupted in applause that lasted for a solid minute. Like those Grammys audience, we were elated to see our queen again, but it also made us miss our favorite First Family. Obama – thoughts on the 62nd Grammy Awards?
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Childish Gambino’s Precedent Setting Win Â
Although Donald Glover was not in attendance to receive his awards, we imagine his speech would’ve been heartfelt and enlightening – and for a right reason – his song This is America was the first rap song to win the Song of the Year and Record of the year categories. In light of a recent statement from Ken Ehrlich that claimed a problem in the hip-hop world was the root of music diversity problems, this one felt good. Sure the song slaps, but it also has a deeper meaning that fans of Childish Gambino know is often apparent in his work. His producer Ludwig Goransson, who accepted the recognition on his behalf, said the song “Calls out injustice, celebrates life, and reunites us all at the same time”. That’s exactly what music should do.