Month: April 2022

Billie Eilish has been doing a lot of performing lately: Aside from her ongoing tour, she’s also fresh off delivering a rendition of “No Time To Die” at the Oscars. Tonight, she found herself on a familiar stage, as she and Finneas delivered a performance of “Happier Than Ever” at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Eilish decided to use her performance to honor recently deceased Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins by wearing a shirt with a large photo of him on the front. She sang the song on a set designed to look like an upside-down living room but with water on the floor (or maybe it’s the ceiling?). Before the song’s gigantic climax, Eilish left the room to join Finneas on top/bottom of the house and close out the song with a bang, complete with torrential rainfall. She ended the performance by prominently displaying her shirt, making sure everybody saw Hawkins’ face.

Aside from Eilish, also performing during this year’s show are Lady Gaga, Silk Sonic, Carrie Underwood, J Balvin, John Legend, Maria Becerra, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osbourne, Nas, HER, Jon Batiste, Chris Stapleton, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and Rachel Zegler.

Eilish is one of this year’s most-nominated artists, as she’s up for seven awards: Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Music Video (all for “Happier Than Ever), Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album (all for Happier Than Ever), and Best Music Film (for Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles.)

Watch Eilish perform above and find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

30 minutes into the 2022 Grammy Awards, nothing so show-stopping as Will Smith’s slap has afflicted the show as yet — but Silk Sonic nearly became the talk of the show for all the wrong reasons as they accepted their award for Song Of The Year for “Leave The Door Open.” For a quick moment during their acceptance speech — which was mostly handled by producer/songwriter Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who dedicated the award to his recently deceased mother — the microphone cut off as Anderson .Paak turned his back on the cameras.

As it turns out, he had a decent enough reason for swearing on live TV: The fly on his 1970’s-inspired bellbottom pants was down, almost giving the world a glimpse of what .Paak is packing. Fortunately, he was able to keep everything aside from the curse words contained, keeping the Grammys from accumulating the number of FCC complaints that the Oscars got.

Anderson and his musical partner Bruno Mars got to celebrate winning Song Of The Year just minutes after performing their casino-themed cut “777” — appropriate, as the Grammys were held in Vegas this year. Incidentally, they performed the Song Of The Year for the first time at last year’s awards after mounting a campaign to lobby the show for the opportunity to play. They’re still nominated for Record Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song.

As great as all the Grammys performances are on their own, there’s nothing fans love more than a crossover moment. And, fresh off her own performance of “Drivers License” at the Grammys, Olivia Rodrigo just happened to ready and willing to help BTS kick off a very James Bond-themed performance of their hit single “Butter” at the event. After one member of the world famous boy band, Jungkook, descended into the event from the ceiling, secret agent style, the camera cut to shots of many different members scattered throughout the audience, ready to jump up on stage whenever they get the word.

Yet another member, V (Kim Tae-hyung), was seated next to Olivia in the audience, and lured her into a femme fatale type of role in the group’s 007-style pre-song skit. Whispering in her ear and pulling a card from behind her ear, Olivia played along with a very shocked face, and then the card magically shot up to the member on stage, who plugged it into a super spy machine to kick off the beginning of “Butter.” The moment when V was whispering in her ear was definitely reminiscent of that classic moment in Lost In Translation when Bill Murray whispers in Scarlett Johansson’s ear. Check out a clip of the moment above and fan reactions below.

Variety thinks the moment might’ve been flirting:

Lil Nas X’s hit song “Industry Baby” has clearly become an industry favorite; he and guest rapper Jack Harlow graced the stage at the Grammys to once again perform their No. 1 hit as part of a stirring medley of tracks including “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Dead Right Now.” They previously shook up the world with their colorful rendition of “Industry Baby” at the 2021 VMAs. Nas changed costumes numerous times as news clips of pearl-clutching newscasters played behind him.

Nas and Jack’s juggernaut collaboration is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, while Nas himself has also accumulated an impressive collection of nominations for his debut album Montero. Not only is Montero nominated for Album Of The Year, but the project’s lead single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is also nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Music Video.

That last nomination must certainly rankle Nas’ detractors, who immediately decried the video for its controversial concept. In the video, Nas descends to a plane resembling classic depictions of hell and gives a demonic ruler a lap dance before committing regicide and ascending the throne himself. However, those criticisms couldn’t stop “Call Me By Your Name” from becoming Nas’ second No. 1 record, receiving a Platinum RIAA certification just one month after its release, or receiving three Grammy nominations. Meanwhile, its follow-up, “Industry Baby,” achieved similar success, reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 two months after its release and receiving the Best Melodic Rap Performance nomination.

Watch Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s 2022 Grammys performance of TK above.

BTS have become a regular presence at the Grammy Awards in recent years and that’s not changing this year, as the group got on stage and performed “Butter” during tonight’s ceremony.

Their performance came across like a theatrical scene from a spy movie, with the group members dressed like secret agents and doing spy things like lowering into a room on a rope and contorting around security lasers. They even got Olivia Rodrigo involved as a character in their silent play.

BTS is part of a stacked 2022 Grammys performance line-up that also includes Lady Gaga, Silk Sonic, Carrie Underwood, J Balvin, John Legend, Maria Becerra, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osbourne, Nas, HER, Jon Batiste, Chris Stapleton, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and Rachel Zegler.

The group has a single Grammy nomination this year, as “Butter” is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This is their second straight year earning a nod in the category, as “Dynamite” was nominated in 2021. That was the group’s first Grammy nomination ever, which, even though they didn’t come away with the trophy, was still a major win in itself. It’s also their third consecutive year performing, as they delivered “Dynamite” on last year’s broadcast and joined Lil Nas X on stage in 2020.

Watch BTS perform “Butter” above and find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

J Balvin is on top of the world right now. Just last week, he released two tracks with Ed Sheeran in the thumping “Sigue” and the emotive “Forever My Love,” definitely bringing out the best in Sheeran’s sneaky good Spanish. And while Balvin didn’t win the lone award he was nominated for at the 64th Annual Grammys, he didn’t let that stop him from lighting the Grammys stage on fire. Balvin and Argentine urbano singer Maria Becerra performed their hit, “Qué Más Pues” at the Grammys, before Balvin unleashed another surprise on the audience.

Wrapped in a scarlet red coat, J Balvin opened the tune facing Becerra his confident foil, in a devious dance. She was radiant in her black alligator leather flowy pants, matching top, and elbow-length gloves. For the uninitiated, Becerra is one of the brightest stars in Urbano music and besides being featured on “Qué Más Pues,” she is also set to appear on Camilla Cabello’s upcomoing album, Familía. “Qué Más Pues, is off of J Balvin’s 2021 album, Jose, which was up for the Best Música Urbana Album award, but ultimately lost to Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour Del Mundo.

As the song came to a close, Balvin and his aqua hair with a red heart dyed onto the back of his head, stepped to a second stage and performed his EDM-reggaeton crossover “In Da Getto,” produced by Skrillex. He was accompanied by a full-on army of seated pop-lock dancers and it was as wonderfully over-the-top as you’d expect at the Grammys.

When it comes to which of the Grammy Awards is the most prestigious one, there are arguments to be made, but Song Of The Year is always part of the conversation, as it’s one of the ceremony’s four major awards. Well, now a new song has cemented its place in music history: Winning this year’s Grammy for Song Of The Year is Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open.”

Also nominated for the award were Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile’s “A Beautiful Noise,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” HER’s “Fight For You,” Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA, Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon, Brandi Carlile’s “Right On Time.”

Silk Sonic has a good amount of nominations this year, as aside from Song Of The Year, they’re also up for Record Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song, all also for “Leave The Door Open.”

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Olivia Rodrigo stands to pick up quite a few awards at her first Grammys ceremony tonight. The teenage star is nominated for a whole host of awards, including major looks like Best New Artist, which went to Aroo Album Of The Year for her debut, Sour, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year for “Drivers License,” and then the pop-specific awards like Best Pop Solo Performance for “Drivers License,” which she won, and Best Pop Vocal Album, along with a final nomination for Best Music Video for “Good 4 U.”

Since “Drivers License” has been out for over a year now already, and Olivia has already performed it live several times at major awards shows, she had to do something pretty big to make it stand out tonight. Don’t worry, that’s no problem for this rising star — she kicked off the song by performing inside of an actual car, bringing the song’s cinematic lines to life. Backed by an all-female band, she eventually gets out of the car to deliver some of the song’s more dramatic lines with a twirl or a head thrown back, looking just as at home on the Grammys stage as she’s ever been anywhere else. Watch the performance above.

Well, it looks like Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars’ 2021 campaign to perform at the Grammys as Silk Sonic paid off — again. After sending a politely worded open letter to the Grammys, they performed their massive hit song “Leave The Door Open” at the 2021 ceremony for the first time ever. They must have made a great impression because the Grammys tapped them to perform this year too, this time opening the Las Vegas-based ceremony with their thematically appropriate song “777,” throwing in a little reference to Soho’s “Hot Music (Jazz Music)” as a breakdown.

“Leave The Door Open” is also nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song. Its surprise success in 2020 paved the way for Silk Sonic to release a slew of similarly beloved singles like “Skate,” “Smokin’ Out The Window,” and “After Last Night” ahead of the release of their debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic. The album’s warm reception likewise led to even greater opportunities for the boys including a Las Vegas residency and a placement in the popular video game Fortnite.

Watch Silk Sonic’s 2022 Grammys performance of “777” above.

Silk Sonic is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Only a week has gone by since the music world was received the tragic news about Taylor Hawkins’ death. The Foo Fighters drummer, who was only 50 years old when he died, was with the band in Colombia for a performance when he was found unresponsive in his hotel room. Hawkins was honored in numerous ways since his passing. Coldplay paid tribute to him with a performance of “Everglow” during a tour stop in Mexico. Miley Cyrus shared touching words about him during her set at Lollapalooza’s festival in Brazil. Additional tributes also came from the likes of Paul McCartney, James Corden, and Machine Gun Kelly.

As many continue to mourn Hawkins’ death, there’s now another reason to celebrate his life. Hawkins posthumously won three Grammy awards at this year’s show. He was selected, along with the rest of his Foo Fighters members, in three categories: Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance. The band’s win in the Best Rock Album category was for their 2021 album Medicine At Midnight while their wins in the Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance categories were for “Waiting On A War” and “Making A Fire” respectively.

Foo Fighters’ wins at this year’s award show increased their Grammy award total to 15, which makes them the most awarded band in history. Foo Fighters have also won the Best Rock Album award on five occasions which is more than any band in history.

The Grammys are also planning to honor Hawkins at tonight’s award show. Jack Sussman — CBS’ executive vice president of specials, music, and live events — told Variety, “We want to figure out what is the right thing to do that is respectful to everyone involved. We’re patient. We’ll be planning right up until the very end.”

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.