If anything can be said for Sunday’s 61st Grammy Awards, it’s that the show was long.
Clocking in at more than three-and-a-half hours, it was packed with performances representing pop, rock, hip-hop, and country.
To see who won what, click here. Here’s a look at some of Grammy night’s highs and lows:
Who Runs the World?
The Grammys put women front and centre this year, starting with Alicia Keys – the first woman to host the show in 14 years. Keys missed her cues a few times and occasionally messed up a word she was reading off teleprompter, but she was refreshingly positive and kept the show focused on what it should be about: music.
Overall, Grammy night was all about the artistry and power of women. Most of the televised categories had female winners (including Lady Gaga, Kacey Musgraves, H.E.R., and Cardi B.) and some of the night’s best performances were by women (like Janelle Monáe and Brandi Carlile).
Drake Gets Cut
A lot of Grammy winners had their acceptance speeches cut short, so it wouldn’t be fair to suggest producers singled out Drake because he seemed to be dissing the Grammys. Still, the timing of the decision to cut his mic seemed like sour grapes. Then again, if Drake doesn’t believe winning a Grammy is such a big deal, he should have stayed home.
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Working Together
Some Grammys night collaborations were fun to watch, like Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus belting out “In My Blood” and Ricky Martin joining Camila Cabello on stage for “Havana.” But, the pairing of Post Malone and Red Hot Chili Peppers wasn’t as much fun for viewers as it seemed to be for them.
Age Is Just A Number
Diana Ross, who is about to turn 75, was cheesy as always but showed the young ones how to command a room and pull an arena full of people together. Likewise, 73-year-old Dolly Parton impressed with a medley of songs and great female artists at her side while Smokey Robinson, 78, reminded us of his smooth vocals with a mere moment at the mic.
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Motown, JLo-town
There’s no doubt Jennifer Lopez is talented but she seemed like an odd choice to perform the Motown medley. It came off as way more Vegas than Detroit. And please, enough with the shots of Alex Rodriguez looking on admiringly. We get it, they’re a couple.
Remembering Aretha
Yolanda Adams, Andra Day and Fantasia were spectacular in their tribute to Aretha Franklin. Somewhere, the Queen of Soul was smiling.
Shawn’s Night
It was disappointing that Canada’s Shawn Mendes didn’t get to collect his first Grammy on Sunday night (he was up for two) but at least he got to bask in the Grammy spotlight with a performance of “In My Blood.” The 20-year-old sounded better than ever and his arms-baring shirt had a lot of people talking.