2019 Grammy Awards Primetime Live Blog

Many of our favorites including American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia; X Factor USA alum Camila Cabello; current American Idol judge Katy Perry; and former Idol judge Jennifer Lopez and more are set to perform. Click this link for a full list of presenters and performers.  Former The Voice coach Alicia Keys is set to host. 

Most of the awards were handed out in the afternoon at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony this afternoon. American Idol alums Tori Kelly and Lauren Daigle BOTH won two Grammys each in the Gospel/Christian categories. Click this link for the COMPLETE 2019 Grammy Awards Winners List.

Nine awards remain and will be revealed tonight. We’ll be live blogging the remaining awards and performances right here.

The show opens with Camila Cabello performing her hit “Havana” along with  J Balvin and Young Thug, and Grammy winners Ricky Martin and Arturo Sandoval. The stage is set colorfully as if it were a street in Cuba. There’s a dude in a dress dancing with a broom. I’m here for this content, people. The couple dancing the salsa look familiar–have I seen them on a dancing show? Ohh. Ricky Martin is sexy as ever! 

Next, host Alicia Keys takes the stage to the strains of “Superwoman.”  She goes on one of her classic rants about music being love and life and yada yada yada! There will be tributes tonight to Dolly Parton and Diana Ross. 

Next, Alicia introduces her “sisters” Michelle Obama (!!!) Lady Gaga,  Jennifer Lopez,  and Jada Pinkett Smith. Gaga gives a speech about how music led her to her fans and her “Little Monsters.” Jennifer is still Jenny on the block. Music sets her free. Michelle shouts out to Motown and Beyonce. “Music has always helped me tell my story.” Alicia says that tonight “we will be celebrating the greatness in each other!”

And now Shawn Mendes takes the stage to sing his mega hit “In My Blood.” He’s playing a piano that looks as if it’s on fire. But it’s not, of course. He picks up a guitar and walks out into the audience where Miley Cyrus meets him to duet! We’ve got some impressive voice blending going on right here.

Oh LOOK. It’s Devin McCourty and  Julian Edelman from the Super Bowl winning New England Patriots. BRAVE. Some Los Angeles Rams fans boo them as they take the stage. OOPS. They present Best Pop Duo/Group Performance to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper for “Shallow.” Bradley is at the Baftas in the UK. Gaga is crying and out of breath as she reminds the audience how so many folks in show business deal with mental health issues. 

Actress Nina Dobrev is here. She introduces country star Kacey Musgraves who performs her hit “Rainbow.” It’s very pretty! 

The fabulous Janelle Monae is next. She performs “Make Me Feel” bathed in purple and playing an electric guitar. TOTAL Prince vibes right here. “Let the vagina have a monologue” Hee. Janelle totally lets her rainbow flag fly here. Both ways. “Girl you make me…boy you make me…” 

Alicia mentions that she’s been blessed to win 15 Grammys. But she really wanted to win Song of the Year for “If I Ain’t Got You” in 2004. Stevie Wonder read the card in braille…but the Grammy went to John Mayer. “I ain’t got that Grammy” Alicia sings.  But John broke the statue in half and gave it to her. That’s crazy. John Mayer then appears on stage, with his half. That’s the introduction to presenting Song of the Year to the songwriters of “This is America” by Childish Gambino (Donald Glover). He could not be there to accept his award. 

Whoever is writing Alicia’s intros understands the way she speaks. You know, that flowery world-hugging deal Alicia had going on The Voice. Like that.

Next, it’s a collaboration from Post Malone and Red Hot Chile Peppers. It’s better if I don’t have to look at Malone’s face. THOSE TATTOOS EW. He sings “rockstar.” The Chile Peppers join Malone on stage. This is kind of a weird collab. But maybe not! Once everybody starts rocking out, it’s cool. 

Actress Anna Kendrick takes the stage to introduce the legendary Dolly Parton.  A tribute to the singer begins with Katy Perry and Kacey Musgraves singing “Here You Come Again.”  They both look very…glittery. Kacey has a 70’s era country hairdo going. Katy seems ALL WRONG for this song. Dolly eventually joins them on stage.  Dolly’s god daughter, Miley Cyrus is next to join Dolly  onstage to sing “Jolene” and it seems so natural. Maren Morris joins them both for a surprising version of Neil Young’s “After the Goldrush.” The harmonies are pretty, but they could have used more rehearsal. But when it goes a capella, the trio finds their groove. I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH. And now, it’s Little Big Town joining Dolly on a new song called “Red Shoes.”  This part of the medley is literally the best.  Now everybody is back on stage for a performance of “9 to 5.”

There is a female collective called “She is the Music.” Plus the recording academy has a thing called “Music in the Mix” for to promote female engineers and producers. That leads to Alicia’s introduction to new R&B singer H.E.R.  She already won a Grammy! Check out the link to the full list of winners at the top of the page.  She performs “Hard Place” while strumming an electric guitar. She’s joined by a group of string players and then some gospel-ly background singers. Good song!

Now, it’s rapper Cardi B. who has already won FIVE Grammy Awards.  She performs “Money.” HINT: SHE LIKES THE GREEN STUFF. She’s a trip–Cardi B. got her start on a VH1 reality show. And she’s just what you think she’d be. Amusing. 

Kane Brown, Meghan Trainor and Luke Combs presents Best Country Album to…NOT CHRIS STAPLETON!!! Girl Power. Kacey Musgraves wins for her album, Golden Hour. 

Now, it’s Alicia Keys sitting between two pianos performing “Ragtime” before she launches into “Killing Me Softly” by Roberta Flack. And then Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams.” Alicia follows up with “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole before she sings “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. These are songs she wishes she had written. She sings a Drake’s “In My Feelings,” Coldplay’s “Clocks” and Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up” and then “Doo Wop That Thing” by Lauryn Hill. Finally she sings her own song “Empire State of Mind.” 

Country duo Dan + Shay are on stage now singing the ballad “Tequila.” That Dan dude sure can wail. He could win a singing show with that big last note. WOW. And then they present Best Rap Song to Drake for “God’s Plan.” He talks a little bit about the business and how hard it can be. “You’ve already won if you have people singing your songs word for word,” he says. 

Diana Ross is celebrating her 75th birthday. She is one of the most successful of the Motown artists from Detroit. Her nine year old grandson takes the stage to introduce her. Tons of Diana’s family are in the audience. This little dude has some charisma. Diana takes the stage wearing a big red dress.  Don’t trip on the steps! She sings “The Best Years of My Life.” She thanks everyone for helping her celebrate her birthday. Next, she sings her hit “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).” She asks people in the audience to sing with her. This is a little crazy! She gets some help climbing up on stage. Honestly, any second now? SPLAT. She asks for the house lights to come up so she can pontificate about light and love to the audience “Put your hands up in the air…don’t be lazy.” LOL. “Happy Birthday to me!” she shouts. Well, that was something. 

She’s already won 3 Grammys tonight! That would be Lady Gaga who joins Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando on stage to sing the song they wrote “Shallow.”  The song is from the movie remake of A Star is Born. Gaga shines! She ends the song, staring into the camera sideways. VERY DRAMATIC. 

The next presenters are rapper Eve and Alicia’s husband Swizz Beatz. They introduce Travis Scott  with Philip Bailey, Verdine White, the Earth Wind & Fire horns, Mike Dean and James Blake. That’s a stage full of people. But I’m not complaining. This is pretty great. “Stop Trying to Be God” is first, with Blake on vocals. And then a bunch of youths run on stage as Scott launches into “The Party Never Ends.” He climbs out of a tall cage and into the waiting arms of the youths. Travis Scott should have been the ENTIRE Super Bowl instead of just a tiny guest appearance. 

It’s time for some Motown. Smokey Robinson and Alicia Keys sing “Tracks of My Tears” together. Sweet. CBS will present a Motown 60 special on March 10. Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson will be on that.  Next, Jennifer Lopez takes the stage to sing a Motown medley including “Dancing in the Streets,” “Please Mr. Postman,” and “Money.” Hm. When I think Motown, I DO NOT THINK JLO. She doesn’t have the vocal chops for this. The Contours “Do You Love Me” is next, followed by The Jackson 5’s “ABC.” Smokey Robinson finally takes the stage. NOT SOON ENOUGH. He sings “My Girl.”  Alicia joins Jennifer to sing the Temptations’ “Papa was Rolling Stone” and “War.” (The Temps went socially conscious in the late 60s). Oh, now for some Teena Marie, “Square Biz.” I loved that album back in the 80s, gonna admit it.  Ne-Yo SAVES THE DAY. Good lawd. He sings, Jlo does some dancing. Definitely not enough Ne-Yo. 

The South Korean sensations BTS take the stage. They have people. LIKE THESE BOYS HAVE CRAZY CRAZY PEOPLE and I’ll just leave it at that. They present Best R&B Album to H.E.R. They seem really happy that she won. The artist invites her entire team on stage. As she thanks every person she has ever known, the band plays her off. 

Kelsea Ballerini, taking a little break from the Kelly Clarkson tour, is onstage to introduce Brandi Carlile who sings her GRAMMY WINNING song “The Joke.”  She won 3 statues this afternoon in the roots category! (See the link above for a full list of Grammy winners). THIS PERFORMANCE IS TREMENDOUS. 

Leon Bridges and Charlie Wilson are on stage to talk about Donny Hathaway who is receiving a Lifetime Achievement award this year. Chloe + Halle perform “Where is the Love” a song made famous by Hathaway and Roberta Flack. These two girls singing is very strange. The alto vocalist is especially…disconcerting. 

They present Best Rap Album to Cardi B. for Invasion of Privacy. “Babe I can’t breath,” she says to her husband Offset who is on stage with her. She admits to being very nervous. “Maybe I should start smoking weed!” 

Wilmer Valderrama is on stage “Buenas noches,” he says before introducing St. Vincent and Dua Lipa. They perform Vincent’s “Massecuction.”  Next, they launch into a sexy performance of “One Kiss.” And the two songs are twined together.

Alessia Cara and Bob Newhart are here.  Ha. Cara won “Best New Artist” last year. Newhart won for a comedy album in 1961. Her grandmother or wait…great grandmother had all his comedy records. Oh boy. JOKES. They present Best New Artist to Dua Lipa. Luke Combs was the only male artist in the category. She congratulates the others for stepping up. The music begins playing her off as she gives a pep talk about sticking with dreams.  Then the camera just cuts away altogether. Ouch. 

Ugh. The Aretha tribute still has to happen and there are TWO big awards to hand out. This is gonna go over. There’s no reason whatsoever why an awards show needs to be longer than 3 hours. I mean, do we really need to see this video of artists saying goodbye to the outgoing Grammy president, Neil Portnow? Didn’t he get drummed out because he said a bunch of dumb stuff about female artists?  Portnow takes the stage. Blah blah blah diversity. If you supported that, you wouldn’t be leaving. 

In Memoriam is next. Those we lost… And finally, the Aretha Franklin tribute featuring Yolanda Adams, Andra Day and the incomparable American Idol season 3 winner…Fantasia! They sing (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman.”  Absolutely gorgeous. Fanty is looking and sounding good. 

And finally the last two awards: “This is America” by Childish Gambino wins Record of the Year. Donald Glover won a ton of awards today. But for some reason, he’s not in the house. One of the producers goes ON AND ON AND ON before he’s cut off.  Alicia makes a snarky remark about the Rap artists being cut short. 

Album of the Year goes to Kacey Musgraves for Golden Hour. Wow. She is shocked. I mean. Brandi shoulda won. Or Janelle?  And y’all should look at twitter right now. A BUNCH of folks are NOT happy about this outcome. Ok. 

Finally…we’re OUT.

Winners List

Album of the Year

Invasion Of Privacy, Cardi B
By the Way, I Forgive You, Brandi Carlile
Scorpion, Drake
H.E.R., H.E.R.
Beerbongs & Bentleys, Post Malone
Dirty Computer, Janelle Monae
Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves – WINNER
Black Panther: The Album, Music From and Inspired By, (Various Artists)

Record of the Year

“I Like It,” Cardi B
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino -WINNER
“God’s Plan,” Drake
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“All the Stars,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA
“Rockstar,” Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage
“The Middle,” Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey

Song of the Year

“All the Stars” – Kendrick Duckworth, Solana Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA)
“Boo’d Up” – Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai)
“God’s Plan” – Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters  (Drake)
“In My Blood” – Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton, songwriters  (Shawn Mendes)
“The Joke” – Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
“The Middle” – Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski, songwriters (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey)
“Shallow” – Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper)
“This is America” – Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters
(Childish Gambino) – WINNER

Best New Artist

Chloe x Hale
Luke Combs
Greta van Fleet
H.E.R.
Dua Lipa – WINNER
Margo Price
Bebe Rexha
Jorja Smith

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Fall in Line,” Christina Aguilera Featuring Demi Lovato
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Backstreet Boys
“‘S Wonderful,” Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – WINNER
“Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 Featuring Cardi B
“Say Something,” Justin Timberlake Featuring Chris Stapleton
“The Middle,” Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey

Best R&B Album

Sex & Cigarettes, Toni Braxton
Good Thing, Leon Bridges
Honestly, Lalah Hathaway
H.E.R., H.E.R. – WINNER
Gumbo Unplugged (Live), PJ Morton

Best Rap Song

“God’s Plan” – Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake) – WINNER
“King’s Dead” – Kendrick Duckworth, Samuel Gloade, James Litherland, Johnny McKinzie, Mark Spears, Travis Walton, Nayvadius Wilburn & Michael Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake)
“Lucky You” – R. Fraser, G. Lucas, M. Mathers, M. Samuels & J. Sweet, -songwriters (Eminem Featuring Joyner Lucas)
“Sicko Mode” – Khalif Brown, Rogét Chahayed, BryTavious Chambers,Mike Dean, Mirsad Dervic, Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Aubrey Graham, John Edward Hawkins, Chauncey Hollis, Jacques Webster, Ozan Yildirim & Cydel Young, songwriters (Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee)
“Win” – K. Duckworth, A. Hernandez, J. McKinzie, M. Samuels & C. Thompson, songwriters (Jay Rock)

Best Rap Album

Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B – WINNER
Swimming, Mac Miller
Victory Lap, Nipsey Hussle
Daytona, Pusha T
ASTROWORLD, Travis Scott

Best Country Album

Unapologetically, Kelsea Ballerini
Port Saint Joe, Brothers Osborne
Girl Going Nowhere, Ashley McBryde
Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves – WINNER
From A Room: Volume 2, Chris Stapleton