BY JACKIE O’ROURKE
A&E Editor
On Sunday night, Alicia Keys hosted the 62nd annual Grammy awards. The award
show and ceremony took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and was televised
live on CBS.
Lizzo opened the show with a medley of her songs “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth
Hurts,” accompanied by an orchestra and her famous flute.
Before she stared singing, Lizzo exclaimed, “Tonight is for Kobe,” in reference to the
passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash earlier that day.
“We’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” said
Keys onstage at The Staples Center where Bryant played for most of his career for the
Los Angles Lakers. Boys II Men then joined her onstage to sing their song “It’s So Hard
to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” in tribute.
The first award of the broadcast, Best Pop Solo Performance, went to Lizzo for her
song, “Truth Hurts.”
“That’s it girl. I’m so happy,” said junior Hope Lecours on Lizzo’s win.
Jonas Brothers performed their two new songs, “5 More Minutes” and “What a Man
Gotta Do.” Fans quickly took to twitter once they noticed that Nick Jonas had lettuce
stuck in his teeth during the performance. Jonas himself later tweeted, “At least you all
know I eat my greens.”
Tyler the Creator performed a medley of “Earthquake” and “New Magic Wand”
alongside Boys II Men, from his album “Igor,” which won “Best Rap Album” later in
the show.
“The Tyler the Creator performance was shocking in a good way. It was an outlandish
choice to have him perform,” said sophomore Ryan McHallam.
Dan + Shay took home the award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their
song “Speechless.”
Usher performed a variety of Prince songs in honor of the late musician’s Grammy
legacy. “I was glad to see the Grammys keeping Prince’s legend alive,” said junior
Kristen Prenderville.
Camila Cabello performed her song “First Man,” which junior Kali D’Agostinis
described as “One of my favorite songs from Camila.”
The performance was surrounded with screens playing home videos of Cabello and
her father. Cabello eventually made her way down to the audience where her father was
sitting and ended the performance hugging him.
Hip-hop group Run DMC and rock band Aerosmith performed a duet of Aerosmith’s
classic, “Walk This Way.”
“As a big fan of both rock and rap, I thought it was wonderful seeing those guys onstage
together,” said McHallam.
Ariana Grande performed a medley of her songs “Imagine,” “7 Rings,” and “Thank U,
Next.”
“It would’ve been cool if she didn’t sing something so mainstream because there are
a lot of songs where her vocals are so much better, like “R.E.M.” or “Bad Idea.” But she
was really good and I’m glad she played,” said junior Mickey Pirro.
Lil Nas X performed the smash hit “Old Town Road” for the first time on television
with special guests, Billy Ray Cyrus, BTS, Mason Ramsey, and Diplo.
“I think this performance is pretty solid. I like the presentation and I’m impressed with
him,” said McHallam.
“Old Town Road” won the awards for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best
Music Video.
Demi Lovato performed her powerful new song “Anyone.” This was Lovato’s first
performance since her drug overdose in July 2018. Lovato received a standing ovation
from her peers in the audience.
DJ Khaled, Roddy Rich, John Legend, Meek Mill, and YG all teamed up to perform the
song “Higher” in honor of rapper Nippsey Hussle, who was featured on the song before
he was shot last March, and also in honor of Kobe Bryant. The song later won the award
for “Best Rap/Sung Performance.”
The biggest line-up included Camila Cabello, Gary Clark, Jr., John Legend, Debbie
Allen, Joshua Bell, Common, Misty Copeland, Lang Lang, Cyndi Lauper, Ben Platt, and
the War and Treaty, who contributed to the tribute to Ken Ehrlich, a long time Grammy
producer who recently announced his retirement.
Billie Eilish performed her song “when the party’s over,” accompanied by her brother
Finneas on piano, who was named “Producer of the Year” earlier in the evening.
Eighteen year old Billie Eilish had six nominations; she won Song of the Year, Best
New Artist, Album of The Year, Record of The Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Eilish’s four biggest wins made Grammy history. According to AP, “Not only did she
become the youngest person to win one of Grammy’s top awards – record, song and
album of the year, and best new artist – Eilish is the first artist to sweep all four since
Christopher Cross in 1981.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
