The 60th Annual Grammy Awards went down at NYC’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday night and the star-studded event brought tears, cheers, and several politically charged moments from some of music’s biggest names.
Even though a few of our faves failed to bring home trophies, there were plenty of mesmerizing moments that had us on our feet.
Check out the rundown of the moments that made this year’s Grammy Awards worth watching:
Kendrick Lamar brings the house down with powerful opening performance.
Kendrick Lamar was nominated for seven Grammy Awards this year and he opened the show like he had already won them all. His powerful performance featured Dave Chappelle, Bono, and The Edge and pulled no political punches. He started off in front of American flags and dancers dressed in military clothing. Later his posse donned hoodies before he fake shot them dead in a dramatic finale after spitting lyrics to “XXX”,”DNA,” and “King’s Dead.”
READ MORE: Kendrick Lamar gets political during the Grammys and it’s EXACTLY what it needed to be
Childish Gambino sings his face off.
Donald Glover, who confirmed he still plans to retire his stage name, Childish Gambino, took the stage to perform “Terrified” and showed the world he can hit the high notes just as well as he can create his hit show Atlanta. At the end of his amazing performance he was joined by his Lion King costar, J.D. McCrory, who went to-to-toe with the superstar in the vocal department.
Pink proves she doesn’t need any tricks.
Just in case you thought Pink was best-suited for circus-style fetes while singing at awards shows, she proved all she needs is one mic to shut the stage down. The singer skipped her usual high-flying antics and opted for a scaled-down performance of her song, “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” in jeans and a T-shirt, backed by a lone ASL interpreter and her voice was flawless.
Janelle Monae and Kesha serve a meaningful #MeToo moment.
Janelle Monae gave a stirring speech that made it clear that the women of the music industry will not be silenced. “We come in peace, but we mean business,” she said.
She offered her personal support to Kesha before bringing her up to sing her revenge song to Dr. Luke, “Praying,” while surrounded by several other artists including Camila Cabello, Andra Day and Cyndi Lauper. By the time the song was over, Kesha dissolved into tears and hugged her famous friends on the stage.
Rihanna came to slay.
When Rihanna hit the stage at the Grammy Awards to perform “Wild Thoughts,” she was armed with some serious moves and some dangerous curves. We were too mesmerized with RiRi’s moves and then Bryson Tiller and DJ Khaled hit the stage. Then Khaled tossed out the brag of the night. “They said I would never perform at the Grammys. They played themselves,” he said.
Cardi B held her own.
The self-proclaimed “trap Selena” did her thing when she hit the Grammy stage alongside Bruno Mars to perform their hit, “Finesse.” She rocked a colorful, two-piece ensemble and danced her butt off while delivering her verse, proving the Grammy stage may be exactly where she belongs.
Celebs reading Fire & Fury was #ShadeGoals
The politically charged Grammy Awards night wouldn’t have been complete without a few jabs at the POTUS and several stars were on deck to do just that. Snoop Dogg, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Cher, and Cardi B read passages from Michael Wolff‘s best-selling book, Fire & Fury, in a pre-taped segment that was set up as a faux audition for Best Spoken Word Album at next year’s show. The best part: Hillary Clinton serving up one final helping of shade. Too good.
SZA breaks it all the way down.
Although SZA‘s fashion choices were questionable, there was no doubting her superstar status when she started singing “Broken Clocks.” The TDE-backed beauty showed off her unparalleled vocal control and gave us chills with her effortless delivery. Even though she didn’t bring home any trophies, she certainly won the world’s attention.
Blue Ivy lays down the law.
While the Carter family has every reason to be annoyed (apparently they all got all dressed up for nothing since Hov bought home none of the seven awards he was nominated for), they still managed to give us one of our favorite moments of the night, courtesy of Blue Ivy. Beyonce and Jay-Z‘s adorable daughter caught our eye from the crowd when the 6-year-old seemed to shush her mom and dad during Camila Cabello‘s speech honoring Dreamers.
Logic stands up for everyone.
Before the rapper ended his performance of his suicide prevention anthem, “1-800-273-8255,” Logic took time to share some wise words with the world. His heartfelt speech showed support for women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups.
“Black is beautiful. Hate is ugly. Women are as precious as they are stronger than any man I have ever met. And unto them I say stand tall and crush all predators under the weight of your heart that is full of the love they will never take away from you,” he said.
“Be not scared to use your voice especially in instances like these when you have the opportunity. Stand and fight for those who are not weak but have yet to discover the strength that the evil of this world has done its best to conceal. To all the beautiful countries filled with culture, diversity, and thousands of years of history—you are not shitholes.”
POLL: What was your favorite Grammy moment this year?