While “WAP” and “The Bigger Picture” are very different songs with very different aims, they both served as strong reminders that these artists don’t need to cater to an outdated value system. The New York Times - Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Lindsay Zoladz and Caryn Ganz • 26m. Thank you for reading TIME. Billie Eilish won five awards, and swept the four major categories. Here’s how we rank the 23 performances from the evening, from worst to best. “This is really embarrassing for me,” she said. Gary Clark Jr.!) It looked like fun, anyway. CARAMANICA, “This Land,” by the Texas blues-rocker Gary Clark Jr., confronts hostile neighbors with property rights. “Why,” she cried into the microphone as she accepted her first televised award, for song of the year. Here are the best five and the worst three performances of the 63rd Grammys: BEST “Rockstar (feat. The song greets looming mortality with pragmatism. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy), LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: (L-R) Billie Eilish and FINNEAS accept the Record of the Year award for 'Everything I Wanted' onstage during the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The band added Vegas embellishments to the basics of Prince’s arrangements, Usher did the lead singing and some Prince moves, Sheila E. added percussion and FKA twigs only danced: lithe and precise, but merely ornamental. Worst: The Record of the Year spotlights These weren’t necessary and slowed the show down significantly. After Aerosmith plodded through “Livin’ on the Edge” — though Tyler playfully dragooned Lizzo for an impromptu audience singalong — Joe Perry fumbled his indelible opening riff for “Walk This Way.” Run-D.M.C. “Megan, girl… I was gonna write a speech about how you deserve this but then I was like, ‘There’s no way they’re going to choose me,” she went on, calling Megan “unstoppable.” “You deserve it,” she said. GANZ, Television cameras and headphone listening were merciless to Aerosmith, who paired up with Run-D.M.C. Hottest Goths: Brittany Howard and Phoebe Bridgers For the first time ever, all the nominees for Best Rock Performance this year are women, including Brittany Howard and Phoebe Bridgers, who both dressed the part tonight. With her assist on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage (Remix)” and her own win for “Black Parade” as best R&B performance, Beyoncé made history as the winningest woman in Grammy history, with 28 awards. Run-D.M.C. broke through a wall of bricks that looked like a prop from a middle school play. This was the party the Grammys have been trying, and failing, to capture for several years: the power of rock ’n’ roll lunacy, compressed into seven minutes of riffing, screaming and nonsense. Photo / Getty Images. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: Beyoncé accepts the Best R&B Performance award for 'Black Parade' onstage during the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. But it didn’t have to be good: It had to be insane, and on that point, it delivered. The Best and Worst of the 2020 Grammy Awards Billie Eilish won big, Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. And his backstage pressroom interview was frank. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Subscribe for just $18. It was just eight bars, but it made its point completely. 15 marzo 2021. the-honolulu. It’s completely possible that these were the artistic choices they wanted. The impression it creates is that the Grammys can only legitimize these upstarts by adding familiar elements like a violin or a chorus line. Grammys 2021 red carpet: Best and worst dressed stars. Brandi Carlile, left, and Tanya Tucker presented best comedy album. She was not the only artist to break a record: with Taylor Swift’s win for Folklore as Album of the Year, Swift became the first woman to win that particular prize three times over. So it was disappointing to watch them have to assimilate their performances through the lens of white culture. Luckily, perhaps due to social distancing, the emphasis on this type of Grammy Moment was severely cut back—and instead, the producers let real collaborators and friends take the stage, allowing their chemistry to flow. Steven Tyler side-skedaddled over to Joe Perry and dragged his scarf-draped mic stand around the Staples Center. It is all richly deserved: “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” redefines teen-pop stardom, as Jon Pareles wrote in his review of the album. JON PARELES, It’s conventional wisdom at this point that the Grammys are more of a concert special than an awards show, but presenting the trophy for best comedy album on a night where only nine awards were given over nearly four hours was absurd. joined in for colliding vocals, overenthusiastic turntable scratching, incoherent solos from Perry and audience-participation high jinks from Tyler. News Opener Publishers 6 mins ago. From the best to the worst dressed, here are all of the red carpet styles you need to see from the 2020 Grammy Awards. The spotlight was particularly meaningful this year: music venues have been some of the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic’s economic impact. Sure. Above the stage, a portrait of Nipsey was set next to one of Kobe Bryant, another hometown hero. They even got to announce winners for different categories, a role usually reserved for artists. Swift and Beyoncé were just two of the women who completely dominated the evening’s Grammys. And a trio of country music stars—Miranda Lambert, Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris—proved, in a series of solo performances, just why the Country Music Album category was all women this year. Eilish (working with her producer brother, Finneas O’Connell) digs her shapely talons into the conflicts that throb in our minds like her meticulously constructed tracks: anxiety and confidence, love and terror, fairy tales and reality. And that stops right now.” He issued a challenge to the Recording Academy to make radical changes in the next year, and urged his fellow artists and executives to be part of the evolution. The Grammys were filled with a lot of hits and misses, here's who wore what. Here are the best and worst musical moments from the show: Grammys 2021: Beyoncé makes history with most wins, Billie Eilish wins second record of the year 20. Tyler, the Creator brought a refreshing looseness to the Grammy stage. Instead, he attempted the magic act of making memeability translate to network television, and he more or less pulled it off, relying on an intricate rotating set where each door led to another layer of winks and smirks: BTS, underutilized but still electric, did its “(Seoul Town Road Remix)”; Mason Ramsey and Billy Ray Cyrus kept their SEO alive; and Diplo pretended to play a banjo, adding about as much as he did to the success of “Old Town Road” in the first place. Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. On the other hand, if ballads are the key to keeping CBS viewers tuned in, skipping over album of the year nominee Lana Del Rey, whose “Norman ___ Rockwell!” was full of modern-day, lightly subversive torch songs, was extra foolish. At 18, she’s the youngest person to win album of the year. — a recent Grammy darling for her old-school musicianship — who made the surprise attack. His best rap album acceptance speech was pointedly warm. Stars like Doja Cat and Dua Lipa opted for plunging gowns at the Grammys - but what on earth was Miley’s little sister Noah Cyrus wearing? It’s what he’s known for; he was back for the show’s “Fame” finale. This year, the audience was essentially stripped down to the stars themselves, giving the performances the feel of sparsely-attended opening acts—and as a result, the reaction shots were even more awkward and entertaining than usual. It’s not that, in isolation, any of these belted slow songs were especially bad, but between Camila Cabello, Billie Eilish, Demi Lovato, H.E.R., Tanya Tucker and Alicia Keys, the repeated down moments were just too down for a show that can already feel interminable. By signing up you are agreeing to our, The 2021 Golden Globes Were Always Going to Be a Disaster, Underwater Noise Pollution Is Disrupting Ocean Life—But We Can Fix It. and music students … and that would be just fine. Her song “Sometimes” started, like so many others on the show, as an unadorned piano ballad about overcoming obstacles; a mini-orchestra joined her. And while the National Independent Venues Association has worked hard to procure pandemic relief funding for the hundreds of businesses around the country that rely on the allure of live music to pay the rent, many of these historic venues remain in danger. Miranda Lambert, tumbler in hand, swayed to Maren Morris’ “The Bones,” while Bad Bunny animatedly sang every word to Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.” Rev up the GIF-making machine. The Grammy Awards are usually a time for music’s greatest stars to flaunt their creative sense of style on the red carpet. For the close-watchers and “Road” completists, there was the empty chamber, featuring a green slimy skull, where Young Thug should have been, and rather than detracting from the unity, his absence just gave us all a chance to breathe amid the MDMA explosion. (Poor Jim Gaffigan, and also every smaller artist in a genre category whose life would’ve been made by accepting a Grammy onstage.) The Best and Worst of the 2021 Grammy Awards. The Grammys—and the music industry overall—have long been criticized for misogyny and for undervaluing the contributions of female artists. Usher sang and FKA twigs danced during the Grammys’ Prince tribute. COSCARELLI, FKA twigs learned pole dancing to make her video for “Cellophane,” adding it to an already impressive movement vocabulary. The arrivals at the 63rd Grammy Awards were a bit of a bust, mostly because the coronavirus crisis virtue signalers have crushed the best part of these events — the red carpet. BEST: Mariah Carey. Country singer Maren Morris stunned in a lilac gown. (The late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti holds the all-time record with 31 Grammy Awards. Here’s how we rank the 23 performances from the evening, from worst to best. “Aye yi yi,” she started her second, for best new artist. Home/Music Updates/ All the 2021 Grammys Performances, Ranked From Worst to Best. “Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. The 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday were going to take place in the shadow of a scandal: the removal of the Recording Academy chief Deborah Dugan 10 days before the event and the stinging allegations of misconduct at the nonprofit that oversees the awards that she outlined in a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You have 3 free articles left. Anderson.Paak and Bruno Mars egged each other on to corny crooning heights; the Haim sisters faced each other in a triangle, tossing their hair back and banging out “The Steps” as if in a living room jam session. Please attempt to sign up again. First to shut down, they will also be last to reopen, due to ongoing restrictions around indoor group gatherings. DaBaby was joined by a string section and a schmaltzy chorus; Megan Thee Stallion performed a tap routine on a Copacabana-like set; Roddy Rich was accompanied by a harp. A collection of Los Angeles rappers paid tribute to Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant. 1 / 16. Billie Eilish took home Record of the Year for “Everything I Wanted.” Megan Thee Stallion became Best New Artist, won twice for “Savage” and performed a high-octane medley—joined by Cardi B, having a blast. With her Best R&B Performance win for “Black Parade,” Beyoncé broke the record for the most Grammy wins by any female, as well as any artist period. In the end, the Grammys were Billie Eilish’s night. The 2021 Grammys were never going to be normal. Misty Copeland took part in a long, confusing performance of “I Sing the Body Electric” from the 1980 movie “Fame.”, responding to the basketball star’s death, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” redefines teen-pop stardom, controversies that have been engulfing the Recording Academy, explores complex intersections of carnality, power and devotion, Of course I wanted to sing,” she wrote on Twitter. Host Trevor Noah emceed the nearly four-hour event with an admirable insistence on staying energized. Subscribe for just $18. Even Billie Eilish herself was shocked to win the evening’s final award, the vaunted Record of the Year, for her soft ballad “Everything I Wanted.” Eilish was last year’s big winner, taking home not only the well-earned Best New Artist designation in 2020 but also sweeping Album, Song and Record for her debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go and hit track “Bad Guy.” It seems that this year, the voters were eager to maintain their support for her work, even outside of an album cycle. “For years we’ve allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us. Crowd reaction shots have long been a vital part of Grammys telecasts: whenever the video of Blue Ivy shushing Beyoncé and Jay-Z is made into an NFT, it will be sold for millions. And on “WAP,” Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B twerked in tandem, surely setting the new high mark for ass shaking at a Recording Academy event and undoubtedly provoking many a strained living room conversation across the country. See photos of their red carpet looks. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy), LOS ANGELES - MARCH 14: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion performing at THE 63rd ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS, broadcast live from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 14, 2021 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+. Or at least the Grammys are finally seeing them. Please try again later. PARELES, In a show that included no shortage of tear-jerking and maybe too many musical/visual/emotional whiplash moments, the tribute to the Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed last year, at least had coherence on its side. Saturday night, however, Sean Combs received the Salute to Industry Icons Award at the Clive Davis and Recording Academy’s Pre-Grammy Gala, and Diddy did not mince words. The host Alicia Keys was tasked with responding to the basketball star’s death on air; she chose to make a statement about “respect” after what she called “a hell of a week,” too. Here are the show’s highlights and lowlights as we saw them. Beyoncé now has 29.) And if things don’t change, Diddy’s predictions were dire: “We have the power. Here are the worst Grammy wins. ​It’s been a long time since a phenomenon as talented, authentic, complex and delightfully of the moment as Billie Eilish took over the Grammys​. COSCARELLI, I’ve complained before about the preponderance of ballads at the Grammys and this year was no exception. Backed by the Roots, Clark blasted its blues-reggae riff, snarled the lyrics and played the kind of overdriven solo that drew screams from the audience. Dua Lipa, also a winner for her album Future Nostalgia, amped up the evening’s energy early on with a sparkling performance of her own. But as the song built, suddenly H.E.R. You have 2 free articles left. “Of course I wanted to sing,” she wrote on Twitter, but she took what she could get. Subscribe for just $18. Post Content. Everyone seemed to be yelling, record-scratching and guitar-soloing in the wrong key, at the wrong tempo, in the wrong decade. Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton reminded Grammy viewers that they are a couple. We've rounded up the best and worst dressed celebrities at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Lil Nas X kicking off “Old Town Road” at the Grammys. © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. Ranking The 2021 Grammys Best To Worst Dressed Stars Kevin Mazur/Getty Images By Darian Lusk / March 14, 2021 11:44 pm EDT / Updated: March 15, 2021 3:59 am EDT You have 1 free article left. Unlike the Oscars or the Golden Globes, history has shown that Grammys outfits aren’t always formal rather an opportunity for artists to let their music shine through their look - and that means just about anything goes. The Best, Worst, & Most WTF Looks At The 2021 Grammys Halle Berry's Backyard Red Carpet Moment Is Pure Fashion Magic 11 Mini Skirts To Strut Around Town In This Spring Long COVID's Burden on Patients and Their Caregivers, video of Blue Ivy shushing Beyoncé and Jay-Z, The Best, Worst and Most Head-Scratching Moments of the 2021 Grammy Awards. But the crowd was grinning and dancing, swept up in some magical blend of nostalgia and Tyler’s frontman charisma. “Tonight is for Kobe!” she proclaimed at the start, then launched into her screaming, rasping, sobbing, pealing “Cuz I Love You,” in a monumental black dress. (See: former Recording Academy President Neill Portnow’s statement in 2018 that women needed to “step up,” and Lipa’s response while accepting her prize a year later.) Kevin Winter/Getty Images For The Recording Academy, Camila Cabello performed a ballad called "First Man. JOE COSCARELLI, There were only the faintest hints of skepticism at the Grammys on Sunday, only the mildest acknowledgment of the controversies that have been engulfing the Recording Academy for the past two weeks, and really, the past two years. Roddy Ricch)” by DaBaby. The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards toggled between an outdoor set-up around the Los Angeles Convention Center populated with small tables of stars, and an indoor performance stage for the show’s set pieces. He received a lot from the Grammys last night, but he gave much more. Into the void steps Dua Lipa, the English-Albanian singer who for years has steadily been building an unimpeachable set of musical and visual aesthetics that position her as pop’s new center. (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images), CBS via Getty Images—2021 CBS Photo Archive, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on March 14, Roddy Ricch performs onstage during the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California and broadcast on March 14, 2021. This powerhouse vocalist arrived at her first-ever Grammy Awards in 1991, wearing a simple, elegant, rhinestone-edged, black, mini dress, and went home with two awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. But the night also included triumphs for first-time Grammy winners like Lizzo, who kicked off the show with a jubilant performance, and Billie Eilish, who swept the big four categories for the first time since Christopher Cross in 1981. Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the best and worst performances from the 2021 Grammy Awards — from Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa to Taylor Swift, TK and more — starting with one of our favorites of the evening… Harry Styles opened music’s biggest night with a … We decide what’s hot. Nominate any performance you want as the worst thing to ever grace the Grammy stage, and we guarantee you it won't top Nicki Minaj's "huh?" Lipa has said she is aiming for a career like Madonna’s; this performance was a clear step in the right direction. The biggest names in music gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night for the 62nd annual Grammys Awards. Here are the best and worst moments. Grammy Awards 2021: The best and worst dressed stars on the red carpet. Read full article. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy). The 63rd annual Grammy Awards promised to be different: There was a new executive producer at the helm for the first time in decades; a new host; and a new challenge — assembling a pandemic awards show that didn’t feel like a video conference. Instead, they took place in the aftermath of tragedy: the death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash at 41. On Sunday, that insult to musicians was compounded when Dave Chappelle won for the third straight year in the category — it’s not like they were giving a new face some shine — and then compounded once again by the fact that Chappelle, who might’ve at least given a speech to remember, did not even show up. That was a long time ago. Seeing artists who actually want to be onstage with each other was a welcome relief. ", Tucker and Carlile performed an understated “Bring My Flowers Now.”. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. The TV debut of Megan and Cardi’s monster smash “WAP” couldn’t have been more salacious or compelling—and the breakdown at the song’s end, indebted to New Orleans bounce, showed how these songs can be refracted through other styles that aren’t classical music or Broadway.