Hours before the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards were set to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night, the world was hit with devastating news: Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash.
The awards show was about to kick off in the house that Kobe quite literally built, and thousands of his fans were already on their way to the arena to pay respects to the legendary player. Because of this, there were whispers online from fans who argued that the Grammys should be canceled or postponed.Ā Instead, the show went on. Early in the evening, host Alicia Keys explained the reasoning onstage: āI know how much Kobe loved music. I know how much he loved music. So weāve got to make this a celebration in his honor, you know? He would want us to keep the vibrations high.ā
The tragic news inevitably castĀ a dark shadow over the ceremony, but there were some highlights that did in fact keep vibrations high. And, of course, this is the Grammys weāre talking about, so there were some low points as well. The Complex Music staff put together a list of the five best (and the five worst) moments of the 2020 Grammys.
Best: Alicia Keysā opening tribute to Kobe Bryant
When Alicia Keys took the stage on Sunday night, everyone was reeling from the news of Kobeās passing, and no one knew how the Grammys would handle it. The already challenging task of hosting the GrammysĀ was suddenly even more difficult, but Alicia handled it all beautifully. āTo be honest with you, we're all feeling crazy sadness right now,ā she acknowledged to the crowd at the beginning of the show. āBecause earlier today, Los Angeles, America, and the whole wide world, lost a hero. And we're literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built."
After a moving speech, Alicia brought out Boyz II Men for a short musical tribute, then reminded everyone of the important role music plays in moments like this. āWe're going to make sure that we are celebrating the most powerful energyāthe most beautiful thing in the worldāthe one thing that has the power to bring all of us together: that's music,ā she said.Ā āIt's the most healing thing in the world.ā Itās difficult to imagine a Grammys host handling a situation like this with more grace and poise than Alicia Keys did on Sunday night. Weāre all lucky to have her. āEric Skelton
Worst: Show bogged down with boring performances
Best: Tyler, the Creatorās performance and first Grammy win
Tyler, the Creator has been telling people about his dreams of winning a Grammy for 10 years now, and he made the most of his big night when it finally came. Providing the eveningās first real jolt of energy, Tyler put on his signature blonde IGOR wig and somehow topped what heās been doing on tour every night:Ā There was a Boys II Men appearance;Ā Charlie Wilson stopped by; dozens of IGOR clones ran out at one point; there was even a fucking earthquake during āEARFQUAKE.ā It easily became one of the most memorable Grammys performances weāve seen in years.
But Tyler wasnāt finished. He also had a Grammy to win. Shortly after his performance, Tyler took the stage with his mother to accept the award for Best Rap Album. Onstage, he graciously accepted the Grammy, but during a post-award interview, he addressed the elephant in the room: Wouldnāt it have made more sense for Tyler to get nominated in the overall Best Album category, since IGOR isnāt even really a rap album?
āIām half and half on it,ā he told reporters. āOn one side, Iām very grateful that what I made could be acknowledged in a world like this, but also, it sucks that whenever weāand I mean guys that look like meādo anything thatās genre-bending or thatās anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category, which isāI donāt like that āurbanā word. Thatās just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me.ā
āWhen I hear that, I think āwhy canāt we just be in pop?āā he added. āHalf of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment,ā Tyler said. āLike, oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, letās give him the unplugged controller so he can shut up and feel good about it. Thatās what it felt like a bit.ā In closing, Tyler pointed out, āAnother half of me is very grateful that the art that I made can be acknowledged on a level like this, when I donāt do the radio stuff. Iām not playing to Target, Iām in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to.ā āEric Skelton
Worst: Aerosmith and Run-DMC's performance
As the millennium drew to a close and rap metal reached its crescendo, MTV saw fit to reunite Run-DMC and Aerosmithāand throw in Kid Rock, then enjoying his own āpeakāāfor a rendition of āWalk This Way.ā Twenty-one years later, the subgenre that song gave us has largely vanished, but the Grammysā programmers wanted to recreate that moment anyway, this time without the generational talent behind āBawitdaba.ā Why? Weād be hard-pressed to answerāor to find anything further removed from contemporary music. Or to argue that the performance sounded good. Weāll never know who else may have taken this slot. But whoever the Academy considered would have made more sense than this combination, at least if it wanted to look like it was in touch with music in 2020. āLucas Wisenthal
Best: Nipsey Hussle winning multiple Grammys and honored with tribute
Nipsey Hussle was honored at the 2020 Grammys in a major way. The night kicked off with the late rapper being awarded for Best Rap Performance for his collaboration with Roddy RicchĀ and Hit-Boy, āRacks in the Middle.ā Nipās longtime partner Lauren London, along with Nipās brother, sister, grandmother, and daughter came up to accept his posthumous award. āNip did it not just for the awards but, for the people,ā London said in an acceptance speech that was not televised during the main ceremony. āAnd God allowed him to speak his truth, give us wisdom and something that we will forever be able to live with.ā
Nipās grandmother, Margaret Boutte, also shared a few words, thanking the fans āfor showing all the love that I have felt for him all of his life and will always live in my heart.ā And finally, Nipās brother, Blacc Sam finished the familyās acceptance speech, saying, āLast year bro was nominated and it meant the world to bro. When it was given to somebody else, we looked at each other and the whole team and said, āGod meant to give it to that person. If itās meant to be, heāll be back here.'āĀ
The salutes to Nipās life and legacy did not stop there. Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, Roddy Ricch, YG, and John Legend took the stage midway through the ceremony to perform a beautiful tribute to the late rapper. Meek and RoddyĀ kicked the performance off with a rendition of their newly released track, āLetter to Nipsey.ā Meek announced on Twitter that all profits from the new single, which was officially released on streaming platforms today, will go toward Nipseyās family. As the performance continued, John Legend and DJ Khaled played their Grammy-winning hit āHigher,ā which featured a posthumous verse from Hussle. YG also joined friends on stage.Ā
Itās also worth noting that all of the performers were dressed in traditional Eritrean garments, which was an ode to Nipās heritage. The moving tribute ended on an even more powerful note with two large images of Nipsey and the late Kobe Bryant standing side by side. During DJ Khaledās acceptance speech for Rap/Sung Performance for āHigher,ā he said it best: āThis is for Nipsey Hussle. This is for hip-hop.ā āJessica McKinney
Worst: Sharon Osbourne fumbling through the Best Rap/Sung nominees
The Grammys have always had a soft spot for forcing weird pairings and collaborations that barely made any sense, but even by their standards, having Sharon Osbourne present the BestĀ Rap/Sung Performance award was bad. There were lots of comments online about how ācuteā it was to see her fumble through the names of artists like Lil Baby and Gunna, which is likely what the Academy was looking for. But the whole thing felt gross when she mispronounced the name of winner DJ Khaled (twice!) and made weird remarks like, āYes, good one!ā after struggling to read āRoddy Ricchā off the teleprompter. There has long been an underlying feeling that the Grammys donāt respect hip-hop, and this only confirmed those concerns. They really couldnāt find anyone to do this who actually understands and respects these artists? āEric Skelton
Best: Ariana Grandeās performance
Ariana Grande shut down the Grammys stage with a medley of hits off of her Grammy-nominated album, thank u, next. She began with her single āimagine,ā which is believed to be a song about her late ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller. She later performed a stirring rendition of the original 1965 record, āMy Favorite Thingsā before transitioning into her own song, ā7 rings.ā During ā7 rings,ā Grande showcased her strong choreography and growth as a live-performance artist. The performance was noticeably more hip-hop and R&B than past performances, from the dance routines to the pink set design (which was inspired by 2 Chainzās pink Trap House design). She finished the performance by singing the first verse of āthank u, next.ā Although she appeared to change the words to the song, likely to avoid mentioning Macās name, she began to tear up a little. Luckily, she was able to keep it together until the final moment. Overall, Ariās performance showed a lot of range and versatility. āJessica McKinney
Worst: No Juice WRLD tribute or shout out
Best: Billie Eilish's big night
Every year, we ask: Who won the Grammys? This year, the answer is obvious: Billie Eilish. Not only did the 18-year-old singer winĀ five of the six awards she was nominated for, she alsoĀ became the youngest artist to sweep all four major categories: Record of the Year (ābad guyā), Song of the Year (ābad guyā), Best New Artist, and Album of the Year (WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?). And she did so with class. Accepting the award for Album of the Year, she made a point to tell the crowd that she thought fellow nominee Ariana Grande should have won instead:Ā āCan I just say, I think Ariana deserves this. Thank U, Next. I think it deserves more than anything in the world.ā And if you were still (somehow) doubting her talents, Billie also delivered a memorable performance with her brother Finneas,Ā which you can see below. Something tells us weāre going to be seeing her a lot at Grammys for years (decades?) to come.Ā āEric Skelton