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, the WTF moments — we bring you the 2017 Grammys, condensed into 10 best and worst moments.
1. James Corden’s Opening Monologue
After five straight years of LL Cool J as Grammy host, many yearned for a change of flow. Unfortunately, it came via the flow of James Corden’s bars, a clunky set of eye roll-inducing clunkers and clichés (“With President Trump, we don’t know what comes next”) that made us brace for the worst. The new host eventually settled in — and provided some genuinely funny moments — but this was certainly not one of them.
2. Travolta Strikes Again
John Travolta has had some awkward awards show moments before. This one wasn’t quite as painful as Idina Menzel’s name at the 2014 Oscars, but hey, maybe not everyone’s cut out for presenting at major televised events. In introducing Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood’s performance, Travolta struggled with the TelePrompter, then stumbled to painful ice breakers: “I know what you’re thinking — where did he get all the bling he’s got on?” To be fair, he was wearing three chains, but viewers were more focused on trying to decipher the impenetrable comedic timing.
To cap it off, Urban and Underwood followed with one of the night’s most forgettable, charisma-lacking collaborations.
3. Poor Neil Diamond
About midway through the show, Corden went to the bread and butter — a little bit of Carpool Karaoke, Grammys edition. Out came Neil Diamond, followed by grab bag of other nearby stars — Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and more. Unfortunately, a big part of karaoke is knowing the words to what you’re singing. Aside from Diamond himself, it seemed like no one inside Corden’s pretend car was very familiar with the verses to “Sweet Caroline.”
4. Pentatonix Performs a Motown Classic… for Some Reason
The Jackson 5’s “ABC” is a great song. Pentatonix can do really incredible things with a cappella. But the Grammys’ final-hour peak was not the time for it.
