The sixty-third Grammy Awards were a little bit different this year. There was no live audience, so artists performed on the stage for each other. Despite this, the Grammy stage was filled with some of the best performances that made you want to shake it from your couch. Host Trevor Noah, also filled the evening with jokes juggling between awards, performances and pre-recorded segments.  

Performing for the first time at the Grammys, Harry Styles kicked off the event with “Watermelon Sugar” sounding better than it ever has before and also won the Best Pop Solo Performance. Followed by Grammy record-breaker, Billie Eilish performing her record of the year nominee and winner, “Everything I Wanted,” alongside her brother, Phineas. 

Dua Lipa’s performance was nothing less than spectacular. Her performance began with “Levitating,” featuring DaBaby and ended with “Don’t Stop Now” which was nominated as record and song of the year. The British pop singer filled the stage with pink glitter, 70’s dance moves that made you want to dance on the spot. Her album “Future Nostalgia” won Best Pop Vocal Album. 

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak made their debut as Silk Sonic on matching auburn suits while they performed “Leave The Door Open.” The song was a homage to smooth 70’s R&B. They returned later in the night for the In Memoriam segment, paying tribute to rock & roll legend, Little Richard. 

The In Memoriam Segment, went on to pay tribute to all the musicians we lost last year. Lionel Richie performed Kenny Roger’s “Lady,” and Brandi Carlile performed John Prine’s “I Remember Everything.” Chris Martin and Brittany Howard closed the tribute segment by performing “I’ll Never Walk Alone” in memory of Gerry Marsden. 

Taylor Swift proved that quarantine might have not been so bad after all. Not only did her performance look like something straight out of a fairytale with a wooly homebound aesthetic, but also “Folklore” took Album of the Year. Her performance was a mixture of “Cardigan” and “August” along with “Willow” from the second quarantine album, “Evermore.”

This year’s Grammy awards did a great job at putting independent music venues in the spotlight by making them a part of the event. Since the pandemic has shut down live music, this year’s Grammy’s were also presented by people who work at long-running clubs and theaters: the Station Inn in Nashville, the Troubadour and the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, the Apollo Theater in Harlem.