Bruno Mars performs a tribute to Prince; Monty Brinton/CBSAs usual, Sunday night’s Grammy Awards were less about the awards, and more about the performances, as unexpected artists duetted with one another, and artists who perhaps weren’t household names going into the show proved why they were nominated in the first place. Here’s rundown of who sang what:
Adele opened the show with a simple, stark performance of “Hello” — she sang on a darkened stage surrounded by a circle of light.
The Weeknd, introduced by Michael Jackson‘s daughter, Paris, teamed with Daft Punk, in all their robot glory, for “I Feel It Coming.”
Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban teamed for their duet “The Fighter.”
Ed Sheeran performed his #1 hit “Shape of You” with a guitar, a tiny piano and a series of loop pedals that created his backing track.
Country star Kelsea Ballerini and Danish band Lukas Graham teamed for a mashup of her hit “Peter Pan” and their hit “7 Years”
Beyonce, pregnant with twins, sang “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles,” both from Lemonade, on a flower-strewn stage while dressed as a goddess.
Jennifer Lopez, Neil Diamond, Ryan Tedder, Jason Derulo, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, John Legend and host James Corden sang a trainwreck version of “Sweet Caroline” as the entire Staples Center audience joined in.
Bruno Mars performed “That’s What I Like.”
Katy Perry was joined by Skip Marley for a performance of her new single “Chained to the Rhythm,” which she sang on an innovative stage that looked like a house surrounded by a picket fence, onto which images of fire and water were projected. She wore a “Persist” armband, presumably in reference to Senator Elizabeth Warren‘s being censured on the floor of the Senate.
William Bell and Gary Clark Jr. sang “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Alicia Keys and Maren Morris duetted on Maren’s song “Once.”
Adele sang a slowed-down version of George Michael‘s “Fastlove” in tribute to him, but stopped the performance and insisted she start over, while also dropping the F-bomb.
Metallica and Lady Gaga sang the heavy metal legend’s song “Moth Into Flame,” surrounded by dancers and plenty of pyro, but Metallica frontman James Hetfield‘s microphone wasn’t working for the first part of the song. He ultimately went over and sang into Gaga’s mic.
Sturgill Simpson sang “All Around You” backed by the Dap-Kings, the band of the late Sharon Jones.
A tribute to the Bee Gees featured Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Little Big Town and Andra Day performing “Staying Alive,” “Tragedy,” “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Night Fever,” respectively. Barry Gibb, seated in the audience, sang along.
A Tribe Called Quest and Anderson .Paak performed Tribe’s song “We the People,” with snippets of “Award Tour” and “Movin’ Backwards” thrown in. The politically-charged performance featured Busta Rhymes denouncing “President Agent Orange” for “perpetuating evil,” and frontman Q-Tip yelling “Resist! Resist!”
As part of a Prince tribute, his proteges The Time performed their hits “Jungle Love” and “The Bird,” and Bruno Mars, dressed as the late icon, sang “Let’s Go Crazy.”
Pentatonix did an a cappella rendition of the Jackson 5‘s “ABC”
Chance the Rapper and gospel stars Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann sang Chance’s songs “How Great” and “All We Got,” with a snippet of “Blessings” thrown in.
John Legend and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo sang The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” during the In Memoriam segment.
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