The Time’s Up and #MeToo movements took centre stage at the 2018 Grammy ceremony in the form of white roses. Nearly every celebrity either wore or carried a white rose this evening, in solidarity for all the people who have come forward with their stories of sexual assault and harassment. This, paired with the speeches made throughout to evening—not to mention Kesha’s performance—made the 2018 Grammys both impactful, important, and entertaining. Below, the biggest moments from the evening:
Kendrick Lamar and U2’s opening performance. Lamar opened the show with his song “XXX,” alongside a barrage of dancers clad in American military uniforms. Midway through, U2 came in and sang their portion of the song. Interspersed between Lamar’s set (which include the titular song from his album, Damn,), Dave Chapelle offered sharp, comedic commentary that felt both poignant and necessary.
Watch @KendrickLamar open the #GRAMMYs with @U2& Dave Chapelle https://t.co/HZyYEpfKFC pic.twitter.com/L2LOPjSjfZ
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 29, 2018
Lady Gaga saying, “Time’s up” during her performance. She said it right after finishing “Joanne” and going into “Million Reasons.” It was the first mention of the movement during the actual Grammys broadcast. Her performance in general was also spectacular: She sounded beautiful and wore literal angel wings.
Watch Lady Gaga performing “Joanne” and “Million Reasons” at #Grammys pic.twitter.com/hLhomBLY90
— Lady Gaga Charts (@charts_lady) January 29, 2018
When James Corden called himself out for not being a diverse hosting choice. We love a person who knows how to self-deprecate!
Alessia Cara winning Best New Artist. “I want to encourage everyone to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot,” she said during her acceptance speech. It was a well-deserved award, seeing as how “Stay” was the best (and most timeless) pop song of 2017.
“You think I’d have the speech thing down, but I absolutely don’t.”
Congrats, @AlessiaCara on winning Best New Artist! #GRAMMYs https://t.co/OyeqoIm0wu pic.twitter.com/AFpZulk0zD
— billboard (@billboard) January 29, 2018
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s performance of “Despacito”. It was energetic, lively, and so much fun. This song seriously never gets old—it’s a bop for the ages.
. @LuisFonsi‘s ‘Despacito’ is the first foreign-language hit to receive #Grammy nominations for both record and song of the year in 30 years https://t.co/Eou3TRdKtq #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/5rVwLVZneq
— Variety (@Variety) January 29, 2018
JD McCrary’s show-stopping appearance in Childish Gambino’s performance of “Terrified.” He’s not even 10 years old and has vocals that roar through Madison Square Garden. The future is so bright for him.
Childish Gambino’s Grammy performance. pic.twitter.com/JeuFNjILOW
— Only Hip Hop Facts (@OnlyHipHopFacts) January 29, 2018
Pink’s surprisingly still performance. She sang “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” with virtually zero bells and whistles—which means, yes, her signature acrobatic tricks were nowhere to be found. But guess what? It was just as incredible.
Pink’s power vocals took center stage with “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” at the #GRAMMYs https://t.co/iy5WVuty5f pic.twitter.com/SWgnsJDX5H
— billboard (@billboard) January 29, 2018
Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s “Finesse.” This is going to be the song of the year, and their performance tonight was chock-full of ’90s fashion, technicolor theatrics, and choreography galore. It singlehandedly saved the evening.
Bruno Mars and Cardi B absolutely KILLED their performance of “Finesse” at the #Grammys tonight! pic.twitter.com/EDuMtSowT0
— The Pop Hub 👄 (@ThePopHub) January 29, 2018
Rihanna, DJ Khaled, and Bryson Tiller’s super-sultry rendition of “Wild Thoughts.” Rihanna was the star of this performance, naturally, serving face, choreography, and a pink look from the gods. Why can’t she perform at every awards show?
When you open your third eye and realize “Wild Thoughts” is a Rihanna song. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/1cSVKSoC34
— The FADER (@thefader) January 29, 2018
Janelle Monae’s speech introducing Kesha: “We come in peace, but we mean business. For those of you who would try to silence us, we have two words for you: Time’s up,” she said right before Kesha took the stage.
Kesha’s #MeToo moment. She sang “Praying,” alongside several female artists, including Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Andra Day and Bebe Rexha, in an act of solidarity that brought everyone to tears and set Twitter on fire.
Kesha – Praying @ 60th Grammy Awards Performance #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/OS5xRF1HPV
— snap: thedjjei (@thedjjei) January 29, 2018
Camila Cabello’s brief speech about “the dreamers.”“Tonight in this room full of music’s dreamers, we remember that this country was built by dreamers, for dreamers, chasing the American dream,” she said.
. @Camila_Cabello showing her support for the #dreamers, and introducing @U2 at the #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/zllxMAQgEy
— Mike Adam (@MikeAdamOnAir) January 29, 2018
“1-800-273-8255”: Logic, Alessia Cara, and Khalid performed their hit song, which is about suicide prevention and mental health awareness. It ended with Logic giving an empowering speech as dozens of people who’ve presumably struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts stood next to him and held hands.
LOGIC 2020 pic.twitter.com/Xw1JMguRHd
— Dylly Dylly (@HornikGSN) January 29, 2018
Taken from GLAMOUR US. Click here to read the original.
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