Hola What’s Hot Fam,
Comedian, producer and political commentator Trevor Noah hosted the 66th annual GRAMMY Awards. During this Recording Academy curated show, performers and attendees represented a range of music genres, talents and backgrounds. From passionate speeches to electrifying performances, here are some of the night’s most notable moments:
1. Tracy Chapman Joins Luke Combs on Stage to perform “Fast Car”
Accumulating mass success for his country cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit “Fast Car,” Luke Combs brought the four time GRAMMY winner to the stage for an honorable duet of the song.
“You got a fast car,” the two sang while strumming their guitars.”Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision.Leave tonight or live and die this way.”
Combs has frequently mentioned how Chapman’s classic held a special place in his heart. For him, the song is tied to memories riding in his dad’s pickup truck as a kid.
2. SZA Gives Emotional Acceptance Speech with Nods to Lizzo and Taylor Swift
After a theatrical performance of her hit songs “Snooze” and “Kill Bill,” SZA returned to the GRAMMY stage to accept her award for Best R& B Song. Introduced by presenter and pop star Lizzo, SZA expressed feelings of disbelief and gratitude to be sharing the same stage with the musician, who she’s been friends with since 2013.
“I came really really far and I can’t believe this is happening,” she said emotionally as her parents looked on from the crowd. The artist also took a moment to acknowledge Taylor Swift in the crowd with an “I love you.”
She hilariously ended her speech with, “I’m not an attractive crier. Have a good night everybody.”
3. Miley Cyrus Gets Celebs on their Feet with Celebratory Performance
“Why you acting like you don’t know this song,” Miley Cyrus called out audience members early in her GRAMMY performance of her hit song “Flowers.”
With nostalgically teased hair and a silver cut-out ensemble, the actress ad libbed throughout her performance with a shout out to herself for a GRAMMY win. Stars like 21 Savage, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Oprah Winfrey and many others seemed to be enjoying the performance as they stood dancing and or singing along.
“Started to cry then remembered I just won my first GRAMMY,” she said before dancing away. Earlier in the night Cyrus won a Grammy for best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers!”
4. Fantasia Gives Chilling Tribute to Tina Turner
In Tina like fashion, Fantasia graced the stage in a shimmery gold leotard after a rhythmic introduction by Oprah Winfrey. With powerful vocals, “The Color Purple” actress sang “Proud Mary” and danced with Dua Lipa along the way.
Before the program ended some fans had already deemed it the best performance of the night.
Fantasia has been nominated for 12 GRAMMYs throughout her career. During the 53rd ceremony, the “When I See You” singer won the categotry Female R&B Vocal Performance for her single “Bittersweet.”
5. JAY-Z Calls Out the Recording Academy For Snubs During Impact Award Acceptance Speech
“When I get nervous start telling the truth,” Jay-z said in the midst of his controversial acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. During his time, he thanked the greats that paved the way for him and highlighted previous GRAMMY boycotts by himself and Will Smith in lieu of what they deemed as snubs.
He even went as far as to let some people know they didn’t deserve to be nominated.
In addition to highlighting the late DMX not being properly awarded, he also noted that his wife, Beyoncé, has more GRAMMY awards than any other artist, but has yet to win in the Album of the Year category. The “Empire State of Mind” artist was joined on stage by his eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, as his wife looked on from the crowd emotionally clasping her hands.
Beyoncé has been nominated for 88 GRAMMYs to date and has won 32 of those awards ahead of this year’s ceremony.
6. Taylor Swift Announces New Album
Taylor Swift accepted her first GRAMMY of the night for Best Pop Vocal Album in recognition of her project Midnights. Swift took the opportunity to not only thank others but to announce the release of a new album to be titled “The Tortured Poets Department.” As promised, the country-turned-pop singer shared the album cover on her Instagram after exiting the stage.
There are 94 GRAMMY categories that acknowledge everything from sound tracks to spoken word projects. Click here to see the full list of nominees or here to learn more about the voting process.