How will we remember the 2017 Grammys? A lot of it will have to do with what Adele won and what Beyoncé didn’t win. As for everything within the power of the night’s two leading ladies, both absolutely crushed it, delivering riveting performances that highlighted both their godly greatness and their earthbound humanity.
And lots of other people were there, too! Through the tributes, the team-ups — we bring you the 2017 Grammys, condensed into 6 best moments
4. Bruno Mars Plays Prince
It’s impossible to replace Prince, but Bruno Mars did his best. Following The Time’s performance, the similarly-diminutive showman soared beyond his stature and replicated the Purple One’s onstage swagger over a standout “Let’s Go Crazy” cover.
5. Lady Gaga-tallica
The Grammys are a big production, and when you have big productions on live television with people singing into microphones, it’s a good idea to, you know, make sure the mics work. Lady Gag-tallica got off to an awkward start, but once it kicked in, we all knew Gaga could’ve killed it as a metal frontwoman in some alternate universe where “Heavy Metal Lover” was more than a footnote in her sneakily genre-defiant catalog (who else could hold their own alongside Metallicaand Tony Bennett?) And let’s not forget the band, either. Metallica tearing through its 2016 single “Moth Into Flame” with blistering precision is nothing new, but James Hetfield working through microphone difficulties while going toe-to-toe with Gaga at the mic certainly was. Was it schmaltzy? It contained choreographed moshing, so yes, but for the sort of genre-blending, only-at-the-Grammys fare the Recording Academy so clearly craves, Gaga and Metallica delivered. And seriously — how could Gaga and post-Black Album Metallica be their best selves without hamming it up?
6. Let’s Hear It For Activism
Tribe, Perry and others who turned their political messages into high-profile performances will dominate the post-Grammy conversation, but let’s not forget the smaller bits of activism that made their way into the evening. Paris Jackson protested the Dakota Access Pipeline and Laverne Cox called out #StandWithGavin, support for 17-year-old Gavin Grimm in an upcoming Supreme Court Case on transgender rights.
a powerful #GRAMMYs call to action by @Lavernecox for @GrimmGavinE #StandWithGavin pic.twitter.com/AFXn82tPDe
— Challenger (@bakedinapie) February 13, 2017
