There was a good hour where you wondered “What were the producers thinking?” but for the most part, the 2019 Grammy Awards were incredibly entertaining. Especially considering the lack of awards handed out on the telecast and its 3-hour and 40-minute or so runtime.
You can find out all of the major category winners here, but here’s a look at some of the best and worst moments of the telecast.
Best: Production Design of “Havana”
Camila Cabello’s “Havanna” feels like it’s been out forever (August 2017 qualifies thanks to Grammy rules) but Ricky Martin doing a cameo and some sick dancers helped freshen it up a bit. What really worked was the opening shots of a stacked, four apartment room set. Gorgeous.
Best: Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez and Jada Pinkett Smith
I mean, come on. Sure, it went on a little bit long but that’s an iconic photo for the ages.
Worst: Jennifer Lopez leading the…Motown tribute
Um, yes, Alicia Keys, Smokey Robinson and Ne-Yo joined her but…why was Jennifer Lopez front and center for a Motown tribute? J-Lo is an incredible performer but this made little sense. And at some point, it turned into just a Jennifer Lopez number you might see at her Vegas residency. Yikes.
Best: St. Vincent and Dua Lipa
Can these two icons collaborate again, please? Can they tour together? Can we get a mashup album? Their mix of Lipa’s “One Kiss” and Vincent’s “Mass Deduction” was sexy, slick and, most notably, cool as hell. Some of us are still obsessing over it.
Worst: Diana Ross
Ms. Ross is an icon, but the intro video felt like a promo for an upcoming tour and “The Best Years of My Life,” while appropriate, might not have been the best song to keep the energy up in the room. And “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” was almost a bizarre cliche of her own cliche? And ending with a euphoric “Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me!”? OK, there are diva rules and then there are cringe-worthy ones.
Best: Introducing new female artists
You might not have known H.E.R., Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlisle or Chloe x Halle before watching the Grammys but there’s a good chance you added them to your Spotify list or downloaded some of their music afterward. All four artists delivered incredible performances that helped make the 2019 Grammys uniquely memorable.
Worst: One award in the first 30 minutes
The performances are the best part of the Grammys, but the awards featured some notable nominees this year and got almost completely lost. There was one award handed out in the first 30 minutes with the second not presented until over 20 minutes later. There needs to be more balance. Especially for a telecast that went over 3 hours and 45 minutes. Maybe we didn’t really need that J-Lo Motown tribute?
Best: Janelle Monae
She dropped the mic (literally) and gave a performance of “Make Me Feel” that had everyone talking. It featured a nod or two to Prince (one of her nominated album’s creative inspirations) and some of the sexy dancing the Grammy stage has seen in years (Cardi B’s number, later on, seemed tame in comparison). Monae was so transcendent even Lady Gaga was going nuts in the audience watching her.
🙌🏽 @LadyGaga IS LIVING for @JanelleMonae's performance #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/oSAgHDkj6u
— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) February 11, 2019
Worst (and sort of Best): Alicia Keys
Listen, this isn’t her normal gig. But, her stories just slowed down the show a bit too much. She was more memorable than L.L. Cool J and less annoying than James Cordon, but that’s faint praise. Now, when Keys got behind the piano for a medley it was obviously great, but it was almost an unnecessary performance considering the needs to get out a ton of awards and the goal of ending the show on time (spoiler: it didn’t).
Worst: Post Malone’s fog machine
I mean, it wasn’t that Post Malone was bad. But damn, that fog machine almost gutted his performance. You could barely see him. And there was clearly a fan there. Couldn’t someone turn it on?
Best: Dolly Parton
The tribute to Dolly got off to an OK start (Katy Perry, sheesh), but Miley Cyrus and Parton almost ripped the roof off Staples when they began to duet on “Jolene.” And when Little Big Town joined her on stage? Simply beautiful. Parton is 73-year-old and is still transfixing with a voice that history will find hard to duplicate. At this point, no one should be able to get enough of her.
https://twitter.com/mileyccharts/status/1094781015820783616
Worst: They cut off Drake
It appears the director thought Drake was done after winning Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan,” but the show awkwardly cut away right when the mega hip-hop star said, “But…” Considering the Canadian Hip-Hop artist had just delivered some moving commentary to young artists on not judging their success on awards it was beyond offputting.
Best: Lady Gaga performing “Shallow”
It might not have been what you expected but it was Lady Gaga performing “Shallow,” not her character Ally from “A Star is Born.” She hit every note and gave an interpretation that was simply her own. The audience might have thought something was “off” but it was gutsy on her part and still scored.
Worst: Rushed final two awards
That could not have been the plan. Having host Alicia Keys come out and rush through Record of the Year and Album of the Year could not have been what the producers intended. Sure, the show went longer than intended, but there must have been special presenters on hand to give out two of the most prestigious awards in music. Did the telecast director panic and throw Keys out there to make sure it happened faster without having to introduce more people and allow for witty banter? Inquiring minds want to know.
