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Monday, February 11, 2019

The Grammy 2019 Performances




Camila Cabello Opened with “Havana” with special guests Ricky Martin, Arturo Sandoval, J Balvin, Young Thug and her real-life family for a dazzling tribute to Latin music.

Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus performed Mendes’ hit “In My Blood.” Shawn was playing the piano as he belted his Grammy-nominated track. He stood up and continued to play the song on his guitar before being joined by Cyrus. The two closed the performance with a hug.

Kacey Musgraves performed her Golden Hour track “Rainbow.” Musgraves was accompanied by a pianist as she performed the touching ballad. The steps behind her were illuminated with various colors to showcase the song's title.

Janelle Monae performed “Make Me Feel.” The performance highlighted her characteristically neo-futurist flare. It featured a slew of dancers, some wearing the pants that were in the “Pynk” music video, and a triangular stage. Monáe ended the performance in the middle of the audience, with trumpeters surrounding her.

Post Malone and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a medley of “Stay,” “Rockstar” and the Red Hot Chili Peppers song “Dark Necessities.” Malone started his set with an emotional acoustic performance of “Stay.” He then lightened the mood with a rendition of “Rockstar” before transitioning into his collab with the Chili Peppers. Malone played guitar with the band for “Dark Necessities” and sang backing vocals. Sadly, 21 Savage, who is featured on “Rockstar,” couldn’t make it to the award show this year because of his deportation case.

Dolly Parton, an eight-time Grammy winner, was serenaded by her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, Little Big Town, Katy Perry, Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves. During the opening with Musgraves and Perry, Parton joined the duo to sing her hit, ”Here You Come Again.”


Next up was a duet between Parton and Cyrus who sang her 1984 song,” Jolene.” Dolly then sang “Red Shoes” from her 2018 album, Dumplin’ – white wearing a pair of killer red stilettos.

At the end of the moving tribute, the artists joined Parton to sing her hit “9 to 5,” written for the 1980 film of the same name that starred Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

H.E.R performed her hit song “Hard Place.” The rendition started simply, focusing on H.E.R.’s vocals and guitar strumming, before a handful of backup singers and violin players took to the stage to join her for the big finish.


Cardi B rocked her hit “Money” in a short flapper-style wig and bejeweled, leopard print bodysuit, bringing the crowd to their feet and eliciting ecstatic cheers from her estranged husband, Offset.

Alicia Keys paid tribute to some of her favorite artists during a musical interlude, showing off her Hazel Scott-inspired keyboard skills by playing two pianos at once, before singing “Killin’ Me Softly” and “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” as a birthday tribute to Lauryn Hill.


Keys then covered Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable,” and played a Coldplay lick from “Clocks,” noting “Who doesn’t wish they wrote this song?” She then sang a bit of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” crooned “In My Feelings” to hubby Swizz Beatz and brought Ella Mai to tears when she covered “Boo’d Up.”

Dan & Shay performed a stripped-down version of “Tequila” with Dan on the guitar and Shay on piano, the latter only leaving his keys to belt one the final note of the song.


Introduced by her adorable 9-year-old grandson, Raif-Henok, Diana Ross brought the crowd to their feet and to tears with her performance of “The Best Years of My Life,” which she crooned in a flowing red gown as her family sang along in the front row. She then got the entire crowd singing and swaying to “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” thanking everyone for helping celebrate her milestone 75th birthday, “Happy birthday to me!” On Ross’ actual 75th birthday, March 26th, nearly 700 theaters will show Diana Ross Live in Central Park, a concert film documenting her stormy two nights of performing at Central Park’s Great Lawn in 1983.

Lady Gaga channeled “Hair Body Face”-era Ally for a performance of the Grammy-winning anthem, “Shallow.” Covered head-to-toe in jewels, with a jewel-covered microphone and sky-high boots, Gaga threw herself around the stage, whipping her hair wildly, but sounded flawless. Mark Ronson stepped in as Gaga’s stage partner, but left the vocals to her while he accompanied on guitar.
Travis Scott’s performance kicked off with an low-key rendition of “Mile High” with James Blake and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey, before Scott jumped in a cage surrounded by rowdy fans to perform “No Bystanders.”

During a Motown tribute, Jennifer Lopez donned feathers and went back in time for a retro glam medley of “Dancing in the Streets” and “Please Mr. Postman,” then revealed a bejeweled leotard for lively renditions of “Money (That's What I Want),” dueted with Smokey Robertson on “My Girl,” and pulled off one last quick-change to end atop a piano as Ne-Yo played.



In her first-ever Grammy Performance, Brandi Carlile performed her Grammy-winning song, “The Joke,” following a glowing introduction by Kelsea Ballerini. She gave a stirring rendition of the song with a full band, a shiny jacket, and gold filigreed lyrics on the big screen behind her,
Beyoncé protégées Chloe X Halle wowed with a soulful, mesmerizing cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s “Where Is the Love.”

St. Vincent and Dua Lipa performed together for the first time, delivering a medley of “MASSEDUCTION,” “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” and “One Kiss.”

Following an “In Memoriam” segment which included tributes to Carol Channing, Joe Jackson, Avicii, Mac Miller, and more members of the recording industry who passed over the last year, Yolanda Adams, Fantasia and Andra Day took the stage to show off their vocals with a rendition of “Natural Woman” in celebration of Aretha Franklin, who died last August.

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