The 13 Grammys Moments Everyone Is Talking About

bruno mars grammys
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The 60th annual Grammys, music's top honors, came at a soul-searching moment for the entertainment industry, which is still digesting various sexual misconduct scandals and a country trying to come to terms with the systemic injustices that shape culture. Unlike awards shows like the Oscars or the Golden Globes, however, the Grammys put an emphasis on performances, which means there are plenty of crazy moments to make small talk with your coworkers a little less painful Monday morning. Remember: This is the same awards show that prompted Cee-Lo to dress up as an angry Ferrero Rocher and named Marc Cohn the best new artist of 1992, over Boyz II Men and Seal.

This year's awards, hosted by James Corden, certainly didn't disappoint. Read on for the most memorable moments of the night:

CBS used IBM Watson to analyze red carpet trends

In an effort to update the red carpet experience for the 21st century, CBS recruited IBM's Watson to make sense of the latest fashion trends. Does that mean the computer was dishing out Joan Rivers-style burns of the latest style disasters? Not quite. Instead, the supercomputer used its AI capabilities to analyze photos and provide users with similar looks. If this is what our robot overlords are up to, we should be safe from a Terminator-style uprising for a while. Sadly, IBM Watson was not able to explain Tyler, The Creator's leopard print hair -- maybe next year.

Kendrick Lamar, U2, and Dave Chappelle gave a star-studded opening

The show kicked off with a star-studded, politically charged opener. Kendrick Lamar wasted no time taking the stage to perform a medley of "XXX" -- with brief appearances by U2's Bono and The Edge -- "DNA," and his lyrics from Jay Rock's "King's Dead." Comedian Dave Chappelle interjected between songs: "I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America."

Ed Sheeran won Best Pop Solo Performance but skipped the show

When he picked up the Best Pop Solo Performance Grammy for his hit "Shape of You"
-- defeating Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, and P!nk -- Ed Sheeran sent Gary Clark, Jr. and Jon Batiste to pick up his award and say thanks for him. In a year when when stars like Drake, Kanye West, and Taylor Swift also skipped out on the ceremony, it definitely says something about the "coolness" of the Grammys that even Ed Sheeran couldn't be bothered to make an appearance this year.

Childish Gambino brought out Simba for a slow jam

Actor, writer, singer, and rapper Donald Glover has become an award show staple in the last few years, and his performance of the Awaken My Love! album cut "Terrified" was a welcome break of R&B heat in a ceremony that could use a little more sweat. To really sell the track, he also brought out J.D. McCrary, who will play young Simba in The Lion King remake that will also feature Glover, to provide some killer backing vocals. If this is what The Lion King will sound like, sign us up.  

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Subway Karaoke got derailed by cranky New Yorkers

James Corden didn't exactly get a ton of chances to crack jokes -- the Grammys are always more about the performances than the host -- but he did get one opportunity to goof on his signature bit, Carpool Karaoke, by climbing aboard New York City transit with Sting and Shaggy for some Subway Karaoke. Unsurprisingly, the (obviously fake) New Yorkers in the bit weren't into the the trio's attempt at serenading them during their commute. Doesn't matter how famous you are: People on the train wanna listen to their podcasts.

James Corden handed out puppies to comedians who didn't win Grammys

In an unsurprising turn of events, Dave Chappelle won best comedy album for The Age of Spin/Deep in the Heart of Texas. That meant Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, and Kevin Hart were going home empty-handed -- kind of. Gaffigan had declared the obvious earlier in the evening, so to assuage the losing comedians' grief, Corden, ever the generous and odd host, handed out consolation puppies. Rough night? No, ruff night. (Very sorry, we won't be winning any comedy Grammys in the near future.)

Shaggy performed with Sting, because why not?

The Grammys are known for insane performances that make you say, "Yep, those are two artists that exist." While Shaggy and Sting apparently have an album coming out soon, that still doesn't quite explain why they were given so much stage time to perform Sting's 1987 track "Englishman in New York." (Especially when an artist like Lorde wasn't even given an opportunity to perform by herself.) They could've at least done "It Wasn't Me" instead.

Country artists paid tribute to Las Vegas shooting victims

Despite battling some sound issues, Brothers Osborne, Eric Church, and Maren Morris managed to turn in a moving tribute to the victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and other recent gun deaths that have taken place during concerts. It was an odd choice to have them cover an Eric Clapton song -- why not have country singers play a country song? -- but they still managed to give the moment the necessary gravitas.

Kesha delivered a powerful rendition of "Praying"

Joined by Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Bebe Rexha, Julia Michaels, and Andra Day, Kesha gave a rousing performance of her hit "Praying." Said Janelle Monáe, as an introduction: "Just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us." The women stood together to pay homage to the #MeToo movement and Time's Up initiative, both of which have reverberated throughout the entertainment industry as a way to call out pay inequality, discrimination, harassment, and abuses of power. As the song ended, Kesha hugged her comrades, audience members wiped tears from their eyes, and Corden called it an incredibly powerful and relevant performance.

Celebs auditioned to narrate the Donald Trump tell-all book

As Corden pointed out, the Grammys have a bunch of weird, often overshadowed categories. Example: Best Spoken Word Album, which honors audio books and other forms of storytelling. Several politicians have won the award -- including Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama -- but we have a feeling we know someone in D.C. who... probably won't be so lucky. Since President Donald Trump isn't really into literary arts, Corden thought it would be nice if he helped the guy out by getting big names to at least read a book about him. Cue DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and Trump's old pal, #CrookedHillary, reading passages of the explosive exposé, Fire and Fury.

Nikki Haley, the current ambassador to the United Nations, hated it.

Someone in Bruno Mars' crew was wearing a surgical mask

James Fauntleroy wins unofficially for Fashion Accessory of the Night.

Chris Stapleton and Emmylou Harris paid tribute to Tom Petty 

Grammy winner Chris Stapleton and the legendary Emmylou Harris paid tribute to the late Tom Petty with a cover of "Wildflowers." It wasn't exactly the most dynamic way to pay respect to the rock legend, but it also served as a way to segue into the "In Memoriam" segment, so it made sense. By this point in the show, you were probably starting to fade a little bit anyway. It's understandable.  

Bruno Mars won Album of the Year and Record of the Year

Going into the ceremony, the narrative seemed to be that the Grammys would be a showdown between hip-hop's two generations: the young Kendrick Lamar's fiery, defiant DAMN vs. the older Jay-Z's self-reflective, therapeutic 4:44. Instead, the two biggest prizes of the night -- Album of the Year and Record of the Year -- went to R&B traditionalist and Super Bowl halftime MVP Bruno Mars and his 2016 record 24K Magic. The 32-year-old singer hit the stage at the end of the night in sunglasses to pay tribute to his fellow nominees -- it had to sting for Jay-Z, who didn't win a single one of the eight awards he was nominated for -- but Mars also spoke about his own humble beginnings as cover artist. It was the type of aw-shucks story that the Grammys clearly couldn't resist.

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