Image via Getty/John Shearer
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. Instead, the show went on. Early in the evening, host Alicia Keys explained the reasoning onstage: “I know how much Kobe loved music. I know how much he loved music. So we’ve got to make this a celebration in his honor, you know? He would want us to keep the vibrations high.”
The tragic news inevitably cast 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 we’re 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 Keys’ opening tribute to Kobe Bryant
When Alicia Keys took the stage on Sunday night, everyone was reeling from the news of Kobe’s passing, and no one knew how the Grammys would handle it. The already challenging task of hosting the Grammys was suddenly even more difficult, but Alicia handled it all beautifully. “To be honest with you, we're all feeling crazy sadness right now,” she acknowledged to the crowd at the beginning of the show. “Because 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. “We're going to make sure that we are celebrating the most powerful energy—the most beautiful thing in the world—the one thing that has the power to bring all of us together: that's music,” she said. “It's the most healing thing in the world.” It’s difficult to imagine a Grammys host handling a situation like this with more grace and poise than Alicia Keys did on Sunday night. We’re all lucky to have her. —Eric Skelton
Worst: Show bogged down with boring performances
With the tragic losses of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in everyone’s minds, the energy in the Staples Arena was low on Sunday night. But like great performers do, opening act Lizzo and host Alicia Keys were sharp on their toes, paying homage to Bryant’s legacy by bringing some well-needed positivity and energy back into the room. Things seemed to be off to a good start, until a number of flat performances by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Camilla Cabello, and the combination of Tanya Tucker and Brandi Carlile sucked the energy right back out of the room. To make matters worse, only a couple awards were announced in the first half of the show, so viewers had no choice but to cringe through a number of misplaced performances. If the Grammys’ job is to conceptualize the world of music over the past year, they could’ve pulled at least 10 budding artists who were more relevant to fill these spaces. —Kemet High
Best: Tyler, the Creator’s 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 evening’s first real jolt of energy, Tyler put on his signature blonde IGOR wig and somehow topped what he’s been doing on tour every night: There was a Boys II Men appearance; Charlie Wilson stopped by; dozens of IGOR clones ran out at one point; there was even a fucking earthquake during “EARFQUAKE.” It easily became one of the most memorable Grammys performances we’ve seen in years.
But Tyler wasn’t 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: Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Tyler to get nominated in the overall Best Album category, since IGOR isn’t even really a rap album?
“I’m half and half on it,” he told reporters. “On one side, I’m very grateful that what I made could be acknowledged in a world like this, but also, it sucks that whenever we—and I mean guys that look like me—do anything that’s genre-bending or that’s anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category, which is—I don’t like that ‘urban’ word. That’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me.”
“When I hear that, I think ‘why can’t we just be in pop?’” he added. “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment,” Tyler said. “Like, oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, let’s give him the unplugged controller so he can shut up and feel good about it. That’s what it felt like a bit.” In closing, Tyler pointed out, “Another half of me is very grateful that the art that I made can be acknowledged on a level like this, when I don’t do the radio stuff. I’m not playing to Target, I’m in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to.” —Eric 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 Aerosmith—and throw in Kid Rock, then enjoying his own “peak”—for a rendition of “Walk This Way.” Twenty-one years later, the subgenre that song gave us has largely vanished, but the Grammys’ programmers wanted to recreate that moment anyway, this time without the generational talent behind “Bawitdaba.” Why? We’d be hard-pressed to answer—or to find anything further removed from contemporary music. Or to argue that the performance sounded good. We’ll 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.—Lucas 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 Ricch and Hit-Boy, “Racks in the Middle.” Nip’s longtime partner Lauren London, along with Nip’s brother, sister, grandmother, and daughter came up to accept his posthumous award. “Nip did it not just for the awards but, for the people,” London said in an acceptance speech that was not televised during the main ceremony. “And God allowed him to speak his truth, give us wisdom and something that we will forever be able to live with.”
Nip’s grandmother, Margaret Boutte, also shared a few words, thanking the fans “for showing all the love that I have felt for him all of his life and will always live in my heart.” And finally, Nip’s brother, Blacc Sam finished the family’s acceptance speech, saying, “Last 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, ‘God meant to give it to that person. If it’s meant to be, he’ll be back here.'”
The salutes to Nip’s 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 Roddy kicked the performance off with a rendition of their newly released track, “Letter to Nipsey.” Meek announced on Twitter that all profits from the new single, which was officially released on streaming platforms today, will go toward Nipsey’s family. As the performance continued, John Legend and DJ Khaled played their Grammy-winning hit “Higher,” which featured a posthumous verse from Hussle. YG also joined friends on stage.
It’s also worth noting that all of the performers were dressed in traditional Eritrean garments, which was an ode to Nip’s 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 Khaled’s acceptance speech for Rap/Sung Performance for “Higher,” he said it best: “This is for Nipsey Hussle. This is for hip-hop.” —Jessica 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 Best Rap/Sung Performance award was bad. There were lots of comments online about how “cute” 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, “Yes, good one!” after struggling to read “Roddy Ricch” off the teleprompter. There has long been an underlying feeling that the Grammys don’t respect hip-hop, and this only confirmed those concerns. They really couldn’t find anyone to do this who actually understands and respects these artists? —Eric Skelton
Best: Ariana Grande’s 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 “imagine,” 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, “My Favorite Things” before transitioning into her own song, “7 rings.” During “7 rings,” 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 Chainz’s pink Trap House design). She finished the performance by singing the first verse of “thank u, next.” Although she appeared to change the words to the song, likely to avoid mentioning Mac’s name, she began to tear up a little. Luckily, she was able to keep it together until the final moment. Overall, Ari’s performance showed a lot of range and versatility. —Jessica McKinney
Worst: No Juice WRLD tribute or shout out
The Grammys often centers around tributes, so it felt like an oversight that the only recognition of late rapper Juice WRLD came via a one-second slide during the In Memoriam section. Juice had never won a Grammy before, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t reached the level of success to be honored at an event like this. Alicia Keys even covered his song at last year’s show, and he had become one of the most commercially successful artists in the world at the time of his passing. His death rocked the music world in December, and many of his fans would have liked to see a tribute (or at the very least, a shout-out from an artist onstage). This was a missed opportunity. —Eric Skelton
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 win five of the six awards she was nominated for, she also became the youngest artist to sweep all four major categories: Record of the Year (“bad guy”), Song of the Year (“bad guy”), 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: “Can I just say, I think Ariana deserves this. Thank U, Next. I think it deserves more than anything in the world.” And if you were still (somehow) doubting her talents, Billie also delivered a memorable performance with her brother Finneas, which you can see below. Something tells us we’re going to be seeing her a lot at Grammys for years (decades?) to come. —Eric Skelton
Worst: Ariana Grande snubbed with zero awards
Ariana Grande was nominated for five Grammy Awards, but walked home empty-handed. Sure, she had issues with the Recording Academy (more specifically, Ken Elrich) the prior year, but they seemed to patch things up, which is why she returned to the stage this year. That being said, it’s a little surprising that her critically acclaimed and massively commercially successful album, thank u, next, didn’t receive a single award. Even Billie Eilish, who beat Grande out for Album of the Year, thought Grande should’ve won in that category. “Can I just say, I think Ariana deserves this,” Eilish said during her acceptance speech. “thank you, next' got me through some s--t and I think it deserves like more than anything in the world… I love you so much. I’m not going to waste your time, I'm really not. I love you. Thank you for this.”—Jessica McKinney