USA TODAY International Edition
Here’s what you may have missed on Grammy night
Every Grammys ceremony has its performances that will endure as shining moments in the artists’ careers. And then there are the duds – the sets the Grammys would just rather let fade into memory. So who earned the right to perform at music’s biggest nigh
We recap the memorable moments, the good and not-so-good performances and the red-carpet standouts.
Dolly Parton tribute: Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Miley Cyrus, Maren Morris and Little Big Town
How they did: Worthy of Dolly’s presence
Thank goodness for Dolly, teaching the younger girls how it’s done, with a tribute in which every segment was better than the one before. Katy Perry and Kacey Musgraves kicked off the performance, trading vocals on the least-showy song of the set, “Here You Come Again,” before Parton stormed the stage, serving vocals basically as strong as the women half her age around her. To take on her immortal hit “Jolene,” she was joined by her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, doing a perfect imitation of Parton’s twang. Next came a haunting take on “After the Gold Rush,” made famous by Neil Young, with Parton, Cyrus and Maren Morris singing over a bare-bones accompaniment that briefly dropped out for a thrilling moment of three-part a cappella harmony. Little Big Town emerged next for Parton’s new song for the “Dumplin’ ” soundtrack, “Red Shoes,” giving her a few minutes to show off just how strong her voice still is. By the time the set ended with a feel-good group singalong of “9 to 5,” Parton had persuaded us to just hand over the rest of the evening to her.
Janelle Monae, “Make Me Feel”
How she did: Actually worthy of performing the night’s Motown tribute
Finally, some life. Monae brought one of her Prince-iest songs to the Grammys and did the Purple One proud with her electric guitar and flawless choreography – though she owes the perfect moonwalk she busted out halfway through the performance to Michael Jackson. A break from the relatively bland performances that came before her, Monae transitioned from “Make Me Feel” to a snippet from “PYNK” and ended with a stunning scene of elevated tiers of dancers that somehow never distracted from Monae performing below.
Alicia Keys, “Songs I’d Wish I’d Written” medley
How she did: Makes us want a whole cover album
Alicia Keys gave viewers a valid reminder of the artistry that got her to this level of music fame in the first place. Keys showed just how many songs sound just as good, or in some cases better, when she’s the one performing them. She also graced Grammy viewers with maybe the purest moment in the night when she started playing a sweet snippet of Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up,” only for the camera to cut to Mai in the audience, looking absolutely overjoyed.
St. Vincent and Dua Lipa, “Masseducation” and “One Kiss”
Easily the hottest moment of the show
Dua Lipa and St. Vincent are two artists who know exactly what they’re doing – and, in a rare moment, the Grammys knew exactly what they were doing by pairing them up. Both women are subjects of intense attraction among their fan bases, and they both wield their sexuality like swords, making their duet exactly as erotic as their fans could have hoped as they mirrored each other’s movements wearing matching blunt bobs.
Cardi B, “Money”
How she did: Take all our money, Cardi
Leave it to Cardi B to deliver a set that was really just a string of instantly meme-able moments – which sounds like a criticism but is truly a compliment, considering how amazing she is at playing this game. Her stripping off her purple velvet cape. Her descending the steps in a showgirl fantasy of a set, surrounded by body-suited dancers. Cardi and realizes that her visuals, instantly ready to be memed, GIFed and disseminated on Instagram, are far more indelible.
Brandi Carlile, “The Joke”
How she did: Definitely not a joke Honestly, Carlile is a treasure. While higher-profile stars badmouthed the awards or chose to skip them entirely, realizing that they’re already too famous
to need the kind of exposure the Grammys can provide, Carlile took a different route, seizing her status as the awards’ most-nominated female artist, appearing in commercials for the Recording Academy and a bevy of pre-Grammys events, plugging LGBT rights whenever she could. She’s a difficult character not to root for, and watching her perform “The Joke” felt like a triumph, as well as an example of the Grammys learning from last year’s mistakes and giving their top female nominees airtime.
Travis Scott, “Stop Trying to Be God” and “No Bystanders”
How he did: Too many bystanders The set badly needed to lose its whole first minute, in which Travis Scott entrusted the vocals of “Stop Trying to Be God” to vocalists James Blake and Philip Bailey, who tried and failed to give Scott the imaginative opening he presumably wanted when he invited them. Things picked up when the set transitioned to “No Bystanders,” a raucous highlight from Scott’s 2018 “Astroworld” album that the Grammys gave an appropriately chaotic live treatment.
Diana Ross, “The Best Years of My Life,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”
How she did: As fabulous as she is “Thank you for celebrating my birthday!” Diana Ross declared midway through her performance, to cheers – and again, at the end of her final song. Does it matter that her birthday is in late March? When you’re a diva, every day can be your birthday if you declare it so.
H.E.R., “Hard Place”
How she did: No longer anonymous, and it’s well-deserved
Who is H.E.R.? That’s a question that many viewers likely went into the Grammys still asking, after the R&B singer’s surprise windfall of nominations this year. Wearing her trademark dark circular glasses, the singer delivered a succinct lesson on why she deserves to be performing on the Grammys stage tonight, hitting all the marks with “Hard Place.”
Lady Gaga, “Shallow”
How she did: Off the deep end For Gaga fans hoping for a high-drama set, that’s what she delivered. Starting her performance at maximum intensity, though, meant there was nowhere for her to build, and by the time the song got to its famously wordless climax, all there was left to do was over-sing.