The 2021 Grammy Awards take place on Sunday night, featuring performances from BTS, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, HAIM, and the live debut of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic.
Other performers included Harry Styles, Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, Brittany Howard, Chris Martin, DaBaby, Lil Baby, and John Mayer.
This year’s ceremony took place under strict COVID-19 protocol from the Los Angeles Convention Center. All of the scheduled performers appeared on site, while other venues were used to announced the winners of each category. The audience was imited to performers, nominees, and a small number of their guests.
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Harry Styles
Harry Styles kicked off the Grammys with a rendition of his smash Fine Line single “Watermelon Sugar”, which later won Best Pop Solo Performance. Joining the shirtless former One Directioner was Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange, who also directed the performance.
Billie Eilish
A year after straight bossing the Grammys by sweeping the top categories, Billie Eilish returned to the socially-distanced stage for a performance. She sang the thrice-nominated “Everything I Wanted”, which went on to win Record of the Year.
MISS BILLIE EILISH CAME AND DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO WITH THIS PERFORMANCE #GRAMMYs https://t.co/lwLH3qzTlT
— mara BLONDILLIE BREAKDOWN (@idleavealone) March 15, 2021
HAIM
HAIM took the Grammys stage on Este Haim’s birthday with a performance of “The Steps”, their Best Rock Performance-nominated song. The sisters put on an instrument-switching show, with the birthday girl holding down the bass as Danielle and Alana alternated between drums and guitar. “The Steps” is from Women in Music Pt. III, which was also nominated for Album of the Year.
Para los fans de HAIM
Así sonó “The Steps” 😎🔥🔥🔥#GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/IY4zprmjEp
— La Mega 107.3 FM (@LaMega107) March 15, 2021
HAIM KILLING IT AS ALWAYS
pic.twitter.com/bMZyZdDMFk— esme folklorian (@wonnderIand) March 15, 2021
DaBaby
DaBaby and Roddy Rich celebrated their pair of nominations for “Rockstar” (Best Melodic Rap Performance and Record of the Year) by crushing it on the Grammys stage. Backed with a choir of elderly folk giving it their all, a killer violinist, and the help of singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton, the performance definitely had some Kanye “Jesus Walks” vibes. With their rhinestone-studded white outfits and intense energy, however, DaBaby and Roddy definitely made it their own.
🎤 A performance de DaBaby feat. com Roddy Ricch no Grammy Awards 2021.
A violinista parece muito a Ariana Grande. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/LG6MCCKQsU
— Tô Assistindo! | Snyder Cut ✯ (@ContAssistindo) March 15, 2021
. @RoddyRicch and @DaBabyDaBaby performs their #1 hit “rockstar” at the 2021 #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/0DEm9PrRi6
— RICCHGANG💙 (@RoddyRicchStats) March 15, 2021
Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny brought a nightclub to the Grammys with a neon-hued performance of “Dákiti” with Jhay Cortez. The track off El Último Tour del Mundo was brought to life with a vivid lighting; at one point they seemed to be walking through a tunnel made out of purple parentheses. Bad Bunny won for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album for YHLQMDLG; he was also up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside Dua Lipa, J Balvin, and Tainy for “UN DÍA (ONE DAY)”, as well, but lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me”.
Dua Lipa
Returning to the Grammys after winning Best New Artist two years ago, Dua Lipa presented a violet-hued performance of the Record of the Year-nominated “Levitating”. First singing in front of a green screen that felt like a more funded version of her early quarantine performances, Dua transitioned to a multi-stepped stage once DaBaby came out for his remix verses. She wasn’t done, though, as after tossing aside her jacket, she went into her other Future Nostalgia hit, “Don’t Start Now” — making her one of the first artists of the night to deliver a two-parter, doing it with such fire we wish there was a third. Although she lost Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Pop Solo, she did take home Best Pop Vocal Album for Future Nostalgia.
📹 | @DUALIPA performing “Levitating” with @DaBabyDaBaby at the 2021 #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/Rvxev5nBMT
— Dua Lipa Hungary (Backup) (@dlipahungary) March 15, 2021
Taylor Swift
Six-time nominee Taylor Swift created a woodland fantasy on stage for her three-song performance. Joined by Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, the pop star delivered a trio of songs “cardigan”, “august”, and “willow”. With each song, she entered a new section of her forest fantasy, and you can watch it all unfold below. Later in the evening, Swift captured Album of the Year for folklore.
Silk Sonic
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak made their live debut as Silk Sonic during the Grammys, delivering a throwback performance of “Leave the Door Open”. Channeling ’70s singing groups with perfect soul, the duo got on the stage after Mars tweeted out a request for an invite.
In Memoriam Tributes with Silk Sonic, Lionel Richie, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, and Chris Martin
Silk Sonic returned during the In Memoriam segment, paying tribute to Little Richard with a stunning performance “Good Golly, Miss Molly” that saw Anderson .Paak slamming the drums and Bruno Mars acting like he was possessed by the late icon. Lionel Richie also appeared to honor Kenny Rogers with a performance of “Lady”, followed by Brandi Carlile doing a solo acoustic version of John Prine’s final song, “I Remember Everything”. The segment closed with Brittany Howard being joined by Chris Martin on piano to sing Garry and The Pacemakers’ “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Confira a performance completa de Bruno Mars e Anderson.Paak numa homenagem a Little Richard, no #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/s2m2MOMlpz
— No Instante – A informação agora (@NoInstante_n10_) March 15, 2021
Confira a performance completa de Lionel Richie numa homenagem a Kenny Rodgers, no #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/P5TSfhAWDm
— No Instante – A informação agora (@NoInstante_n10_) March 15, 2021
This is the last song our beloved @johnprinemusic ever wrote. It was an unspeakable honor to sing it tonight. Thank you to the Grammys for lifting our hero. Merry Christmas John 🎄
My rendition of “I Remember Everything” is out now. https://t.co/wKdS7SASvH
@recordingacademy pic.twitter.com/703oQO8TZg
— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) March 15, 2021
Confira um trecho da performance de Brittany Howard e Chris Martin em homenagem a mais artistas que se foram no último ano, no #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/hQnSYmadXE
— No Instante – A informação agora (@NoInstante_n10_) March 15, 2021
Maren Morris with John Mayer
John Mayer played guitar for Maren Morris as she performed her smash hit “The Bones” from Girl. This superstar collaboration may have been a meeting of peers, but Morris took center stage in a stunning red dress, belting out the tune as Mayer bopped along and sang backup vocals. Earlier in the evening, Morris won the Best Country Song Grammy for “Crowded Table” alongside Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires as a part of The Highwomen.
I jumped, I screamed, and I even shed a tear at the end. Thank you @MarenMorris and @JohnMayer for the most magical performance I ever could have dreamed of 😭✨ #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/6f3IVAKYOv
— Maren's GIRLs (@MarensGIRLs) March 15, 2021
Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion brought all that Hot Girl ish to the Grammys with their first-ever performance of the smash hit “WAP”. Megan, freshly minted Best New Artist, first opened with the Good News tracks “Body” and “Savage”, before ceding the stage to Cardi for her latest single, “Up”. The two finally came together under a giant stiletto heel dancers’ pole and atop a huge bed for “WAP”. Watch the wild performance below.
É A CAVALONA DO TEXAS! 🐎 Megan Thee Stallion servindo tudo performando 'Body' hoje no #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/7vA7RV1ARc
— TAG Revista (@tag_revista) March 15, 2021
ICYMI: @theestallion performs Savage Remix at the #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/SLJagn3GEN
— theGrio.com (@theGrio) March 15, 2021
Post Malone
Dressed like a millennial Van Helsing, Post Malone came out to perform “Hollywood’s Bleeding” from his Album of the Year-nominated record of the same name. It was a short but intense performance, with Posty hunched over his mike as a circle of gothic priests slowly closed in on him. The choice to perform “Hollywood’s Bleeding” was an interesting once, considering Post Malone was in the spotlight for his Record of the Year-nominated “Circles”.
Lil Baby with Killer Mike
From pretty much any angle — production, message, performance — Lil Baby stole the 2021 Grammy Awards show. Performing his nominated “The Bigger Picture”, Lil Baby opened with a recreation of the death of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot and killed by Atlanta police in a Wendy’s parking lot back in June. It was an intense visual that only got amplified from there, with activist Tamika Mallory appearing to lead a protest and call on President Joe Biden to help fulfill the American promise for all its citizens. That wasn’t the only surprise, either, as Killer Mike appeared to deliver a powerful verse from the RTJ4 track “walking in the snow”.
Artists have a history of using their Grammys appearances as a platform to call for social change, and Lil Baby’s performance will certainly go down as one of the most memorable examples. The rapper also shared a behind-the-scenes video of the performance immediately after it aired.
#LilBaby addresses police brutality in his powerful #GRAMMYs performance pic.twitter.com/eOWpkP9Fmk
— Mike Adam (@MikeAdamOnAir) March 15, 2021
Doja Cat
Doja Cat may have been shut out of the Best New Artist and Best Solo Pop Performance categories, but that’s in the past, and she won the future with her more-than-modern performance of “Say So”. As sharp flashes of blue light swept across the stage, DC rapped and sang in a futuristic black body suit, bedecked in a pony tail so long it could’ve belonged to a horse. As of this writing, Doja Cat’s “Say So” is still up for Record of the Year.
.@DojaCat’s full #GRAMMYs performance! pic.twitter.com/MwDOZe3DbP
— Doja Crave (@DojaCrave) March 15, 2021
BTS
BTS may not have taken home their first Grammy in a music category, but the K-pop megastars showed up everyone with their finale performance. Unable to attend the Los Angeles event due to COVID-19, they built a complete replica of the Grammys stage in Seoul, South Korea, from where they delivered a typically fantastic performance of “Dynamite”.
— 브리이에² (@briller613_bts) March 15, 2021
