For the sixth year in a row, Trevor Noah opened the 68th annual Grammys and immediately transitioned into a live performance from Bruno Mars and ROSE with their hit duet “APT.” The show then moved to Noah, who introduced many different artists, actors, and other public figures who were at the event, even throwing some shade at Nicki Minaj between jokes.
After showing people like Jennifer Hudson, Tyler, the Creator, and Justin Bieber; six time Grammy nominee Sabrina Carpenter took the stage to perform her single “Manchild.” A very detailed performance from the 26 year old, dressed up as a pilot, brought out a full-size plane on stage and was surrounded by men in different career fields, such as a nurse, a magician, and a UPS driver.
Noah then took back the mic and introduced Queen Latifa and Docheii to announce the nominees for Best Rap Album, and Kendrick Lamar took that award home for his album “GNX.”
The show then saw performances from all the nominees for Best New Artists, opening with a dreamy performance from The Marias of their song, “No One Noticed.” Then, taking a turn backstage from a Britney Spears-esque performance from Addison Rae of her song “Fame is a Gun.” Then Katseye took over backstage and moved to the front stage with a dance-heavy performance of their song “Gnarly.”
The show then moved to a round B-stage in the middle of the floor, where Leon Thomas delivered a melodic performance of his song “MUTT.” The camera moved to the concessions area of the arena, where Alex Warren is seen at a popcorn cart and comes through the crowd singing his single “Ordinary” with a full orchestra, and is lifted into the air on a small round stage.
This performance then moved to the main stage, where Lola Young delivered a piano version of her song “Messy.” Then, a dreamy gold and silver backdrop for Olivia Dean to perform her song “Man I Need” in a glittery red dress. Lastly, Sombr took the main stage in a mirrorball-esque suit, performing his song “12 to 12” and coming down into the crowd towards the end of the song.
Last year’s winner, Chappell Roan, presented the award for Best New Artist, which Olivia Dean took home. Justin Bieber then took the stage to perform his song “Yukon” in a very minimalistic performance, wearing only a pair of shorts and socks. Saturday Night Live cast member, Marcello Hernandez, and Carol G presented the award for Best Musica Urbana Album, which Bad Bunny took home for his album “Debi TiRAR MaS FOToS” and gave a heartfelt speech about fighting with love, not hate, following recent ICE raids.
During the commercial break, Mastercard premiered the music video for Noah Kahan’s most recent single, “The Great Divide,” and simultaneously announced a North American tour at the end of the video and early presale access to Mastercard users.
Jeff Goldbloom and Lainey Wilson presented the award for best contemporary country album, which Jelly Roll took home for his album “Beautifully Broken.” Lady Gaga then took the stage to deliver an electrifying performance of her single “ABRACADABRA.”
Teyanna Taylor and Nikki Glaser presented the award for Best Pop Vocal Album, which Lady Gaga won for her album “Mayhem.” Bruno Mars then took the stage for the second time to perform his most recent single, “I Just Might,” in an all-red suit on a red heart circle stage. Charli XCX then presented the award for Best Pop Solo Performance, which Lola Young took home for her song “Messy.”
Throughout the night, Trevor Noah kept harassing Bad Bunny about performing at the Grammys. Due to legal contracts, Bunny was not allowed to perform due to his upcoming Super Bowl performance the following weekend. However, after continued heckling throughout the night, Noah started singing a few lines from Bunny’s song “DtMF” and brought a band into the crowd. This eventually got Bunny to sing a line from his song; while there was no full-length performance, it was still a little something to get the crowd going.
Carol King then came out to present the award for Song of the Year to Wildflower by Billie Eilish. Tyler, the Creator then delivered a very tour-resembling performance of his song “Thought I was Dead” and “Sugar On My Tongue,” which featured a real car on stage.
Rapper Q-Tip presented the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to Pharrell Williams. Reba McEntire took the Grammys stage for the first time to sing “Trailblazer” to remember and memorialize the lives lost this year in the music world.
Chad Smith, Slash, Post Malone, and others did a tribute performance of “War Pigs / Luke’s Wall” by Black Sabbath in memory of Ozzy Osbourne and other figures in rock music. Then LaurynHill took the stage alongside others to remember figures in R&B and Hip Hop who passed away this year.
Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr acknowledged genres that weren’t talked about during the live award shows, and introduced Cher to give her the lifetime achievement award and present the award for Record Of The Year.
However, in the process of accepting her Lifetime Achievement award, she forgot she was presenting the Grammy for Record of the Year. Which was won by Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their song “Luther.”
Clipse, Pusha T, Pharrell Williams, and Malice then took the stage to perform their single “Chains and Whips” before the big award of the night, Album Of The Year, for which they are up for “Let God Sort Em Out.”
2023 Grammy Album of the Year winner, Harry Styles, returns to the Grammys to present the award for Album of the Year. Which was won by Bad Bunny for his album “Debi TiRAR MaS FOToS.”
Trevor Noah also announced that this would be the last year he’s hosting the Grammys, as the awards show will be moving off of CBS and transitioning to Disney outlets. Ending the 54-year relationship CBS has had with broadcasting the Grammys.
