IT GOT YOU TO LISTEN
By the time the Grammys ended, two performances were clear talkers from the night: One was from Kendrick Lamar, who opened the show with a fiery medley that included members of U2 and comedian Dave Chappelle. The other came courtesy of Kesha, who gave an impassioned performance of her song “Praying,” joined by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, Andra Day, Bebe Rexha and the Resistance Revival Chorus. But plenty of other music filled the night. Some moments that made an impression:
Cardi B: In a rousing Grammy debut, Cardi B delivered a guest verse on Bruno Mars’ “Finesse,” the song a pitch-perfect ode to ’80s funk with a ’90s New Jack Swing vocal. Mars — a longtime Grammy stalwart — played it as a charming ode to classic hip-hop, but everyone seemed to be waiting for Cardi B, who had one of the year’s biggest hits in “Bodak Yellow.” She burst in for the final verse with an insouciance and swagger that made a clear case for her star power. — August Brown Patti LuPone: The Broadway legend brought the house down with her performance of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita.” LuPone originated the role when Lloyd Webber’s musical debuted on Broadway in 1979, and it was no small achievement that the Grammys landed her for its Lloyd Webber tribute. Just this week the actress and the composer ended a feud that began in 1995, when Lloyd Webber fired LuPone from the Norma Desmond role in “Sunset Boulevard” and replaced her with Glenn Close. — Libby Hill Elton and Miley: Elton John and Miley Cyrus teamed up Sunday night, but were the two Technicolor pop stars a match made in Grammy heaven? Not so much. Both were on their absolute best behavior. Or, put less charitably, their performance of John’s “Tiny Dancer” was straight down the middle of the road and never captured what makes them both so magnetic. John ceded most of his 1971 classic to Cyrus, who took lead on the verses as John tickled the ivories. In a bit of comic relief, Cyrus looked like she was on the verge of crawling atop John’s piano. If only. Instead, it was
another reminder that Cyrus’ wild-woman antics are in the rearview mirror as she continues to rehab her image. At least John’s collaboration with Lady Gaga at the 2010 Grammys ceremony showcased the fireworks that make them kindred spirits. — James Reed Harris and Stapleton: Lifetime achievement award recipient Emmylou Harris and Grammy darling Chris Stapleton teamed to honor the late Tom Petty by singing “Wildflowers,” the title track from his 1994 solo album, his second effort away from the Heartbreakers after going solo five years earlier with “Full Moon Fever.” It was a sweet choice. Besides being one of Petty’s most country-influenced songs, a rumination on parting ways with a loved one, “Wildflowers” also closed out last year’s wellregarded album from Chris Hillman, “Bidin’ My Time,” which Petty co-produced and played on. — Randy Lewis Childish Gambino: He’s an Emmy-winning TV creator, writer and actor who has also picked up Golden Globes for his work on FX’s “Atlanta.” He’ll soon be seen in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and heard as the voice of Simba in Disney’s reimagining of “The Lion King.” But Donald Glover, smooth operator? Yep. As Childish Gambino, his stage name as a rapper with machine-gun flow, Glover downright smoldered in his Grammy performance of “Terrified,” a single from 2016’s “Awaken, My Love!” that reveals more soulful shades of Gambino’s music. And he got an assist from pint-sized singer JD McCrary, 10, who reprised his cameo from the album version.