Watch Grammys 2021 performances (Burna Boy, Harry Styles/Dev Hynes, Taylor Swift/Aaron Dessner, more)
The 2021 Grammys are a wrap. You can see the full winners list, and here’s a roundup of of the performances…
Harry Styles opened up the main show with a performance of “Watermelon Sugar,” and as a nice surprise, he had Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) on bass! Dev also music directed and wrote arrangements for the performance.
.@Harry_Styles delivers a flawless performance of “Watermelon Sugar” at the #GRAMMYs. https://t.co/PAkeLt3UpM
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2021
Billie Eilish and Finneas (who won two awards, including Record of the Year) followed Harry with a dimly lit performance of “Everything I Wanted.”
.@BillieEilish and @Finneas perform “everything i wanted” together at the #GRAMMYs. https://t.co/rCbUOckj1C
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2021
Billie was followed by Album of the Year nominees HAIM, who did a rockin’, no-frills performance of “The Steps” (which was up for Best Rock Performance but lost to Fiona Apple).
https://twitter.com/MikeAdamOnAir/status/1371253624278503424
Black Pumas were up next with a performance of “Colors.”
After the ceremony aired an interview with DaBaby about his rapid rise to fame, he did a re-imagined version of his hit “Rockstar” (which was up for Best Melodic Rap Performance but lost to Anderson .Paak) with a choir, an electronic violinist, and soul singer Anthony Hamilton. Roddy Ricch showed up for his verse, too.
.@DaBabyDaBaby performs “Rockstar” live at the #GRAMMYs. https://t.co/ooOndjI7Dl
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2021
Roddy Ricch also came out later in the night for his own performance, a medley of “Heartless” and “The Box.”
Latin trap stars Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez followed DaBaby with a neon-lit performance of their collab “Dákiti.” Bad Bunny also won Best Latin Pop or Urban Album.
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez during performance of Dakiti on Grammy Awards. #GRAMMYs https://t.co/M9katq1wwb
— Access Bad Bunny (@AccessBadBunny) March 15, 2021
DaBaby also came back on stage to join Dua Lipa during her medley of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now.” Dua, who won Best New Artist in 2019, was up for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance, all of which she lost, but she did win Best Pop Vocal Album.
Dua Lipa is not from this planet #GRAMMYs https://t.co/oQ5Yo7EYm9
— Chicks in the Office (@ChicksInTheOff) March 15, 2021
After releasing the song earlier this month, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak brought their new collaborative project Silk Sonic to the Grammy stage to perform the vintage soul of “Leave The Door Open.”
Bruno and Anderson also took part in a tribute to the late, legendary Little Richard, with a faithful medley of two of his most classic songs: “Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” Read more and watch more clips here.
https://twitter.com/AustinKellerman/status/1371266683474694149
#GRAMMYs: Tributo de Bruno Mars e Anderson .Paak ao Little Richard. https://t.co/eHdHVp9EFw
— Rock Fandom BR (@rockfandombr) March 15, 2021
Album of the Year winner Taylor Swift brought the “cabin in the woods” feel to the Grammys, beginning her set lying alone on top of what appeared to be grass and singing “Cardigan,” and then it was revealed that she was actually on top of a cabin, and inside the cabin The National’s Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff were seated with acoustic guitars. Taylor joined them, picked up her own acoustic, and went into “August,” and then the trio ended the medley with “Willow.”
.@TaylorSwift13 delivers dreamy performance of "Cardigan," "August," and "Willow" at the #GRAMMYs. https://t.co/E9CEkvMlc6
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2021
After Silk Sonic’s Little Richard tribute, Lionel Richie paid tribute to the late Kenny Rogers by performing Kenny Rogers’ hit “Lady” (which Lionel wrote). “I miss you Kenny, I miss you man,” he said at the end.
Tonight at the #GRAMMYs, @LionelRichie honors the late great @_KennyRogers with "Lady."
Keep watching this beautiful tribute on @CBS. pic.twitter.com/IQQWduI2lI
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 15, 2021
Brandi Carlile paid tribute to John Prine by performing his song “I Remember Everything,” which won Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song this year.
https://twitter.com/NoInstante_n10_/status/1371275766516887559
As the Grammys wrapped up the ‘in memoriam’ section, Brittany Howard sang the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with assistance from Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
https://twitter.com/BanterFC5/status/1371275560417177600
Mickey Guyton, who was the first Black woman nominated for a Best Country Solo Performance Grammy (but lost to Vince Gill), performed her song “Black Like Me.”
Best Country Album winner Miranda Lambert performed “Bluebird.”
https://twitter.com/MikeAdamOnAir/status/1371276968591826952
Maren Morris performed “The Bones” from her 2019 album Girl with help from John Mayer.
Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B did a totally over-the-top performance together, and you can read more about that one here. Megan also took home several awards.
https://twitter.com/AustinKellerman/status/1371286018972868610
https://twitter.com/StallionOnChart/status/1371288361013542914
Lil Baby gave a powerful performance of his protest song “The Bigger Picture” with a speech from Tamika D. Mallory and Killer Mike performing part of Run The Jewels‘ “Walking in the Snow.” Read more about it and watch more clips here.
https://twitter.com/itswiseguyy/status/1371293867060953089
Post Malone (who was nominated for Album, Song, and Record of the Year) performed the title track of Hollywood’s Bleeding.
https://twitter.com/MikeAdamOnAir/status/1371289196804063236
Doja Cat (who was nominated for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and more) performed her hit “Say So.”
https://twitter.com/MikeAdamOnAir/status/1371295952867299341
BTS didn’t win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande did), but they did perform.
#BTS perform their smash hit “Dynamite” at the #GRAMMYs. https://t.co/xDPxHK8Vzt
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2021
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The pre-show Premiere Ceremony began with a Marvin Gaye tribute with Afro Peruvian Jazz Orchestra, Alexander Desplat, Anoushka Shankar, Bebel Gilberto, Camilo, Gustavo Santaolalla, Grace Potter, Gregory Porter, John Beasley, Kamasi Washington, Kierra Sheard, Ledisi, Lupita Infante, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Mykal Kilgore, PJ Morton, Regina Carter, Säje, Sarah Jarosz and Thana Alexa performing “Mercy Mercy Me,” which turns 50 this year.
https://youtu.be/6wbt4eQ6zek
Lido Pimienta also did a vivid, stunning performance of “Eso Que Tu Haces” off her excellent 2020 album Miss Colombia, which was also up for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album (but lost to Fito Paez).
https://youtu.be/-SdgsLeaVkU
Blues veteran Jimmy “Duck” Holmes (who was up for Best Traditional Blues Album but lost to Bobby Rush) performed “Catfish Blues” during the pre-show, backed by his band.
https://youtu.be/puOVp1DFjP4
Terri Lynne Carrington + Social Science (whose Waiting Game was up for Best Jazz Instrumental Album but lost to the late Chick Corea) performed “Trapped In The American Dream” during the pre-show.
https://youtu.be/lGC-sO60ezg
Rufus Wainwright (whose Unfollow the Rules was up for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album but lost to James Taylor) gave a very cool performance of “Devils and Angels (Hatred).”
https://youtu.be/gmW4TqOybzA
Poppy (who was up for Best Metal Performance but lost to Body Count) tore it up with a performance of “EAT.”
https://youtu.be/wN4f5SYdGi4
Afro-fusionist Burna Boy won Best Global Music Album for Twice As Tall (and seemed genuinely stoked during his acceptance speech), and then he took to the “stage” to give a genuinely awesome performance. He did a medley of “LevelUp,” “Onyeka,” and “Ye,” with a backing choir, traditional African musicians and dancers, and a rock band with an orchestra, and all kinds of epic backdrops.
https://youtu.be/Cmz5fRI0pWY
Stay tuned for more performances. Full winners list HERE.