Headline : Grammys 2023: The Best, Worst, and Most WTF Moments

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Remember when the Grammys were boring? These days, we hardly can. The show has been a lot more watchable since a new creative team led by producer Ben Winston took over in 2021, and this year’s telecast was almost shockingly well-done — a tribute to the best of music right now that doubled as a righteous slap in the face of every right-wing culture warrior who had a full-on meltdown the first time they heard “Unholy.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a Grammys show without a few tone-deaf, snoozy, or just plain puzzling choices. But there were a lot fewer of those, and thank the Grammy gods for that. Here are the best, worst, and most WTF moments of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

In the barrage of clever jokes that opened the first Grammys back in the Crypto.com Arena in three years, Trevor Noah credited Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” with inspiring his exit from The Daily Show in December. Maybe that move gave him time to perfect his best awards-show opening monologue yet. He toasted Lizzo as “The most famous flute player since…” before a cheeky “…I’m sure there are others.” In a bit that felt ever-so-slightly indebted to Rolling Stone, he praised Harry Styles: “World’s Sexiest Man. Are you kidding? No competition! Sex symbol of the globe — especially now that they killed off the green M&M.” He told Taylor Swift he loved her song “Anti-Hero,” which of course is about his favorite auntie, Beatrice. And he surprised Adele with a surprise cameo from her hero, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Trevor was on 10, setting the night off to a great start.

The superstar captured the energy of Puerto Rico’s traditional processionals and festivals as he began his opening performance by marching through the audience, trailed by a parade of plena dancers and musicians. He launched into the first few lines of “El Apagón,” his anthemic tribute to Puerto Ricans, before pulling out all stops for the merengue/mambo hit “Después De La Playa.” The stage filled up with dozes of merengue dancers and Dominican instrumentalists from the Dahian El Apechao band, all while cabezudos — or figures with giant heads common in Puerto Rican celebrations — mingled with the crowd, representing icons like Tego Calderón and Ismael Rivera. The performance was one of the liveliest and most energetic of the entire night — and it showcased the kind of Puerto Rican pride and cultural specificity that has defined Bad Bunny‘s record-breaking career.

When Sam Smith and Kim Petras took the stage to accept their Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for “Unholy,” the four-time winner stood several feet behind the mic, giving space for the first-time winner to give a history-making speech. “Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win this award,” Petras said, her face covered in a Madonna-esque veil. In her uplifting remarks, she went on to thank Madonna among the trailblazers who cleared the path to this moment. “I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” she said. “And Sophie especially, my friend who passed away two years ago. Who told me this would happen and always believed in me. My mother. I grew up next to a highway in Germany. And my mother believed me, that I was a girl, and I wouldn’t be here without her and her support and everyone who believed in me to this point.” It was earnest, gracious, and necessary.

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