Were the Grammys on?

A few thoughts, realizing I'm late to the party itt:

- Chapman/Combs duet was magnificent, and as a defender of the Combs cover from the beginning, I'm so glad to see the response has been resoundingly positive and seems to be putting the "appropriation" criticism to bed; his obvious reverence for her -- mirroring the audience's -- was just a joy to watch. There is a long tradition of covers in country music, and it's undeniably wonderful that reintroduced this legend to a new generation of (country) music fans.
- Joni performance got me teary eyed and was a close second. When she changed up the lyrics, I melted.
- Miley performance kicked ass, and AFAICT, was done completely live without overdubs. Really thought when "Flowers" won that she'd take the Album award, too. Her speech was hilarious and authentic and decidedly Miley.
- Olivia performance was very good and made me realize just what a beast of a song "Vampire" is to sing. Could anyone else in the AOTY category could carry that tune (maybe Miley?)? Super impressed with her and just wish she would have been recognized for what was a phenomenal year and album.
- Lana also robbed but that was more expected.
- Trevor Noah was truly awful. That the Recording Academy needed to note their host was from South Africa as a way of proving how diverse the show was? Possibly worse.
- Travis Scott's performance was...bizarre. Someone will need to explain the chair smashing to me.
- SZA, Victoria Monet, and Lainey Wilson all gave great speeches. It was very cool to see a trend emerge throughout the night of women in their 30s who've clearly been hustling and working their asses off for more than a decade get rewarded, and rightly so (ahem, Jay Z). In earlier years, these awards go to less interesting artists.
- I am always blown away by Oprah. What a magnetic orator and human being. Was Fantasia lip syncing?
- Taylor's one of my all-time favorite artists, but she's always been pretty cringe at these award ceremonies, and last night was especially bad (album announcement, Lana drag, Celine snub, awkward speeches). Midnights is such a weird record for the Academy to select for this award! Felt to me like an award for her "year" than for the album itself.

- SZA, Victoria Monet, and Lainey Wilson all gave great speeches. It was very cool to see a trend emerge throughout the night of women in their 30s who've clearly been hustling and working their asses off for more than a decade get rewarded, and rightly so (ahem, Jay Z). In earlier years, these awards go to less interesting artists.

otm

Very good post, Indexed… agree with everything (more or less)

The "Vampire" perf had an extra dose of ~theatricality~... which maybe should have felt OTT, but I think it worked well for that setting. I've seen so many live performances of that song by now, and never tire of it... but that was also one of the best, I think (searching Threads for reactions afterward, I saw someone write – "I love this like I love 'The Rocky Horror Show'... which, yeah, I get; even though Rocky's not my particular jam)

I'm not a Jon Batiste fan, but I liked gospel singer Ann Nesby who was part of his performance. She was testifying.

Wasn't until toward the end of "Optimistic" that I noticed Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis appeared to be on stage with them