Held on Sunday February 12th, 2017 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the 59th Grammy Awards were a chaotic, captivating show that reiterated the power of live television to entrance audiences and most definitely satisfied the expectations of viewers. The stars stunned audiences from their initial arrivals on the red carpet to their cinematic performances.

Host James Corden greeted a live audience of twenty-six million viewers, the largest since 2014. Corden opened the show in his typical hilarious manner by stumbling down the staircase, and delivered a short rap as his opening monologue. While several found his hosting enjoyable, others complained that Corden distracted from the central facet of the night, the artists.

Soon after, Adele opened up the performances with her hit single “Hello,” and in contrast to last year when she was plagued by audio issues, the performance went on without a hitch. Her second performance, a tribute to George Michael, was a different story. At one point she halted her performance and restarted declaring that she couldn’t “mess this up for him.” Nonetheless, she proved her strength as a singer/songwriter later in the night by scoring the top three awards, record, song, and album of the year. Adele’s acceptance speech dedicated a considerable amount of time to her fellow nominee, Beyoncé, in a manner that several found touching and heartfelt.

On the topic of Beyoncé, she delivered a stunning performance that was nothing short of perfection, with elaborate cinematographic elements, and masterfully executed practical effects. Several other artists lit up the stage with stunning performances, including numbers performed by Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Metallica, Chance the Rapper, and Bruno Mars.

As with any other public event in recent times the Grammys were not without their fair share of politics. The most explicitly political performer was A Tribe Called Quest who performed “We the People” and the proceeded to chant “Resist, resist, resist.” Katy Perry took a more subtle approach, performing a piece that some considered to be related to the public’s susceptibility to “fake news,” and ended her performance with the Preamble of the United States Constitution lighting up behind her.

DHS Response

Here’s what DHS students had to say about the Grammys:

“Rigged didn’t care to watch.” – Talia Noïque

“Adele’s performance was very touching, and clearly took a lot of effort.” – Casey Taylor

“Adele’s shout out to Queen B was hands down the best part.” – Junior

“I think it was really disappointing. The ones that should have won didn’t win. Heck, they weren’t even nominated.” – Ganeev Ahluwalia

“I loved it. Probably one of the best awards shows I have ever watched, almost perfect.” – Senior
All in all the 59th Grammy Awards, though far from perfect, made for an entertaining night of picture perfect moments, stunning performances, and touching speeches. Though perhaps some of the nominees may disagree, for the audience this was a night that did not disappoint.