GRAMMYS

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow Perform ‘Industry Baby’ at Grammys

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With a couple Grammys already on him, Lil Nas X went into Sunday’s Grammys with four nominations.

The 22-year-old rapper also hit the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to perform an exhilarating medley of hits off his debut album Montero. Wearing a glittery black cloak, he opened his set with “Dead Right Now” before changing into a midriff-baring outfit for his No. 1 hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”

As tweets and soundbites from his critics appeared on screen, Nas and his male dancers commanded the stage while performing choreographed moves in front of a broken statue of Nas’ head.

After another outfit change—this time a Michael Jackson-inspired jacket—he brought down the house with a rousing performance of “Industry Baby” with Jack Harlow.

Despite not winning any Grammys during the pre-telecast, Nas was still a winner on the red carpet, turning heads in a custom Balmain look.

During the pre-show, Harlow defended his collaborator against his detractors. “He’s trailblazing a track that’s sad it has to be trailblazed. I think it’s amazing,” he told E! News. “He’s innovating the game and it’s fresh, it’s powerful, and it’s necessary, so I love it.”

Nas’ First-Ever Solo Grammys Performance Included ‘I Can,’ ‘One Mic,’ ‘Made You Look’ And ‘Rare’

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It may sound hard to believe, but Nas has never performed solo at the Grammys, despite being something of a fixture in its Best Rap Album category. Of course, he only recently won that award for the Hit-Boy joint album King’s Disease, so maybe the Grammys overlooking the rap elder statesman could also be considered a tradition — until now. Thanks to the Grammys’ ongoing initiative to actually honor hip-hop, Nas has now broken both streaks. He made up for the last 20 years in his 2022 Grammy performance, playing a medley of his hits including “I Can,” “One Mic,” “Made You Look,” and new song “Rare,” further cementing Nas’ status as the Grammys’ new golden child — even if he is closer to 50 now.

In the past few years, Nas and Hit-Boy have proven to be a winning team. In 2021, they won the Best Rap Album Grammy for their first collaborative project, King’s Disease — Nas’ first-ever win in the category in his 30-year career. Their follow-up, King’s Disease II, is also nominated for Best Rap Album this year. Finally, in December of 2021, the duo collaborated once again to make Magic — no pun intended — their third joint album to date. They have both stated that they plan to release a third installment of the King’s Disease series, as well. Given how things have been going on that front, don’t be surprised if that one gets nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy too.

Watch Nas’ 2022 Grammys performance of “I Can,” “One Mic,” “Made You Look,” and “Rare” above.

Olivia Rodrigo Lands The 2022 Grammy Award For Best New Artist

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Each year, there’s a new round of artists who make an impact, big or small, on the music industry. In that group, a select few are chosen to be recognized in the Best New Artist category at the Grammys every year. Winners in this category over the last few years have come from an array of genres. In 2017, Chance The Rapper took the award while pop singer Alessia Cara did so the following year. The award was given to Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish in 2019 and 2020 respectively, and last year, Megan Thee Stallion was graced with the Best New Artist award.

This year, that honor has been given to Olivia Rodrigo. Fresh off her awesome performance of “Drivers License,” she was selected over the other Best New Artist nominees which were Arooj Aftab, Jimmie Allen, Baby Keem, Finneas, Glass Animals, Japanese Breakfast, The Kid Laroi, Arlo Parks, and Saweetie.

Over the past twelve months, many of the artists in this year’s Best New Artist category had highlight moments that certainly helped to boost their careers. Arlo Parks’ Collapsed In Sunbeams, which is also nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, won the Mercury Prize, which is awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. Olivia Rodrigo scored her first No. 1 album with Sour after tearing up the singles chart with “Drivers License.” The Kid Laroi also delivered a chart-topping album and single with F*ck Love and “Stay” with Justin Bieber. Lastly, Japanese Breakfast won the 2021 Uproxx Critics Poll thanks to their third album Jubilee, which is also nominated in this year’s Best Alternative Music Album category.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Anderson .Paak Narrowly Avoided A Wardrobe Malfunction As Silk Sonic Accepted Their Grammy Award

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30 minutes into the 2022 Grammy Awards, nothing so show-stopping as Will Smith’s slap has afflicted the show as yet — but Silk Sonic nearly became the talk of the show for all the wrong reasons as they accepted their award for Song Of The Year for “Leave The Door Open.” For a quick moment during their acceptance speech — which was mostly handled by producer/songwriter Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who dedicated the award to his recently deceased mother — the microphone cut off as Anderson .Paak turned his back on the cameras.

As it turns out, he had a decent enough reason for swearing on live TV: The fly on his 1970’s-inspired bellbottom pants was down, almost giving the world a glimpse of what .Paak is packing. Fortunately, he was able to keep everything aside from the curse words contained, keeping the Grammys from accumulating the number of FCC complaints that the Oscars got.

Anderson and his musical partner Bruno Mars got to celebrate winning Song Of The Year just minutes after performing their casino-themed cut “777” — appropriate, as the Grammys were held in Vegas this year. Incidentally, they performed the Song Of The Year for the first time at last year’s awards after mounting a campaign to lobby the show for the opportunity to play. They’re still nominated for Record Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song.

Lil Nas X Taunts His Critics Performing ‘Montero’ And ‘Industry Baby’ With Jack Harlow At The 2022 Grammys

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Lil Nas X’s hit song “Industry Baby” has clearly become an industry favorite; he and guest rapper Jack Harlow graced the stage at the Grammys to once again perform their No. 1 hit as part of a stirring medley of tracks including “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Dead Right Now.” They previously shook up the world with their colorful rendition of “Industry Baby” at the 2021 VMAs. Nas changed costumes numerous times as news clips of pearl-clutching newscasters played behind him.

Nas and Jack’s juggernaut collaboration is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, while Nas himself has also accumulated an impressive collection of nominations for his debut album Montero. Not only is Montero nominated for Album Of The Year, but the project’s lead single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is also nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Music Video.

That last nomination must certainly rankle Nas’ detractors, who immediately decried the video for its controversial concept. In the video, Nas descends to a plane resembling classic depictions of hell and gives a demonic ruler a lap dance before committing regicide and ascending the throne himself. However, those criticisms couldn’t stop “Call Me By Your Name” from becoming Nas’ second No. 1 record, receiving a Platinum RIAA certification just one month after its release, or receiving three Grammy nominations. Meanwhile, its follow-up, “Industry Baby,” achieved similar success, reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 two months after its release and receiving the Best Melodic Rap Performance nomination.

Watch Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s 2022 Grammys performance of TK above.

J Balvin And Maria Becerra Brought The Heat To The Grammys With Their Performance Of ‘Qué Más Pues?’

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J Balvin is on top of the world right now. Just last week, he released two tracks with Ed Sheeran in the thumping “Sigue” and the emotive “Forever My Love,” definitely bringing out the best in Sheeran’s sneaky good Spanish. And while Balvin didn’t win the lone award he was nominated for at the 64th Annual Grammys, he didn’t let that stop him from lighting the Grammys stage on fire. Balvin and Argentine urbano singer Maria Becerra performed their hit, “Qué Más Pues” at the Grammys, before Balvin unleashed another surprise on the audience.

Wrapped in a scarlet red coat, J Balvin opened the tune facing Becerra his confident foil, in a devious dance. She was radiant in her black alligator leather flowy pants, matching top, and elbow-length gloves. For the uninitiated, Becerra is one of the brightest stars in Urbano music and besides being featured on “Qué Más Pues,” she is also set to appear on Camilla Cabello’s upcomoing album, Familía. “Qué Más Pues, is off of J Balvin’s 2021 album, Jose, which was up for the Best Música Urbana Album award, but ultimately lost to Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour Del Mundo.

As the song came to a close, Balvin and his aqua hair with a red heart dyed onto the back of his head, stepped to a second stage and performed his EDM-reggaeton crossover “In Da Getto,” produced by Skrillex. He was accompanied by a full-on army of seated pop-lock dancers and it was as wonderfully over-the-top as you’d expect at the Grammys.

Silk Sonic’s ‘Leave The Door Open’ Wins Song Of The Year At The 2022 Grammys

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When it comes to which of the Grammy Awards is the most prestigious one, there are arguments to be made, but Song Of The Year is always part of the conversation, as it’s one of the ceremony’s four major awards. Well, now a new song has cemented its place in music history: Winning this year’s Grammy for Song Of The Year is Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open.”

Also nominated for the award were Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile’s “A Beautiful Noise,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” HER’s “Fight For You,” Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA, Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon, Brandi Carlile’s “Right On Time.”

Silk Sonic has a good amount of nominations this year, as aside from Song Of The Year, they’re also up for Record Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song, all also for “Leave The Door Open.”

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Silk Sonic Hit The Jackpot With Their ‘777’ Grammys Performance

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Well, it looks like Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars’ 2021 campaign to perform at the Grammys as Silk Sonic paid off — again. After sending a politely worded open letter to the Grammys, they performed their massive hit song “Leave The Door Open” at the 2021 ceremony for the first time ever. They must have made a great impression because the Grammys tapped them to perform this year too, this time opening the Las Vegas-based ceremony with their thematically appropriate song “777,” throwing in a little reference to Soho’s “Hot Music (Jazz Music)” as a breakdown.

“Leave The Door Open” is also nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song. Its surprise success in 2020 paved the way for Silk Sonic to release a slew of similarly beloved singles like “Skate,” “Smokin’ Out The Window,” and “After Last Night” ahead of the release of their debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic. The album’s warm reception likewise led to even greater opportunities for the boys including a Las Vegas residency and a placement in the popular video game Fortnite.

Watch Silk Sonic’s 2022 Grammys performance of “777” above.

Silk Sonic is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.