Grammys 2018 Highlights

NEW YORK, NY — Bruno Mars may have swept the Grammys this year, but it was Broadway superstar Patty Lupone who stole the show, giving a stirring tribute to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber — the man who fired her in 1994 from his production of “Sunset Boulevard."

Host James Corden introduced LuPone as “true Broadway royalty” before she sang “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from the musical Evita, for which she won a Tony award in 1980.

Mars, the song-and-dance man from Hawaii, won all six awards he was nominated for on Sunday night, including the three most prestigious Grammys for song ("That's What I Like"), record ("24K Magic") and album of the year. His music also dominated the rhythm and blues categories. In accepting a trophy for the album "24K Magic," Mars recalled when he was 15 and singing shows for tourists. He'd perform hits written by Babyface, Teddy Riley and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and loved looking down from the stage to see people from all over the world who had never met dancing together and toasting one another.

"All I ever wanted to do with this album was that," he said. "These songs were written with nothing but joy."
Mars has won 11 Grammys in his career.

He and rapper Cardi B performed the song "Finesse" at the event, a song which Mars helped write. Watch video from that performance above.

Kendrick Lamar won five awards. Jay-Z went home empty-handed.

The night featured some memorable performances by the likes of Lamar, Kesha, and Logic, as well as a surprise cameo from Hillary Clinton. Notably not in attendance: singer Lorde.

Lamar paid tribute to Jay-Z, saying "Jay-Z for president,"with a smile and other forebears in accepting a Grammy.

"I thought it was about the accolades and the cars and the clothes," he said. "But it really is about expressing yourself and putting that paint on the canvas for the world to evolve for the next listener, the next generation after that. Hip-hop has done that for me."

Lamar received a standing ovation for his show-opening performance. He rapped a medley of his songs as the American Flag waved in the background and dancers dressed in hoodies fell to the ground as gunshot sounds rang out.

The rapper Logic gave a powerful performance of his suicide prevention anthem "1-800-273-8255," alongside Alessia Cara and Khalid. A group of suicide attempt survivors and family members of victims stood on stage.

Logic wore a black hoodie with the hotline number printed across his chest.

Singer Kesha showed her support for the hashtag #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, delivering an emotional performance of her Grammy-nominated song "Praying," on stage. Joining her: Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha and Andra Day.

They all dressed in white along with their back-up singers.

Singer Janelle Monae introduced Kesha and tied the appearance to the current flood of women speaking up about sexual misconduct. Dozens of artists and music industry players also sported white roses in support of the Time's Up and #MeToo movements against sexual abuse and harassment.

The song is about fighting back from abuse.

"We come in peace but we mean business. To those who would dare try to silence us, we offer two words: Time's Up," Monae said. "It's not just going on in Hollywood. It's not just going on in Washington. It's here in our industry, too."

The show also featured a somber performance of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" by country artists Maren, Eric Church and the Osborne Brothers. All were on the bill for the Las Vegas show in October that was torn apart by a mass shooter.

Social media was curious about the seeming snub of album of the year nominee Lorde. She wasn't among the night's performers, even as classic rockers Sting and U2 made multiple appearances.

"It's hard to have a balanced show and have everybody involved," producer Ken Ehrlich said backstage. "Every year's different. We can't have a performance from every nominee."

The Grammys were also a clear example of rock 'n' roll's decline as a creative force. No rock awards were given during the televised portion of the Grammys. Sting sang a 30-year-old hit and the majority of rock's references were about artists who had died like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Tom Petty.

The Rolling Stones, once judged rock's kingpins, won the third Grammy of their career — for best traditional blues recording.

Alessia Cara won the Grammy for best new artist, and remembered the time when she would "win" Grammys in her dreams while singing in the shower.

Chris Stapleton won three Grammys in country categories. Other multiple winners included Ed Sheeran, CeCe Winans, Justin Hurwitz and Jason Isbell.

The late Leonard Cohen won a Grammy for his performance of "You Want it Darker." Actress Carrie Fisher and sound engineer Tom Coyne were other posthumous winners.

As it has in recent years, the Grammys downplayed the awards for performances by the industry's biggest stars. Highlights included Mars and Cardi B dueting on "Finesse"; Rihanna, DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller on "Wild Thoughts"; and Patti Lupone's Broadway classic "Don't Cry For Me Argentina."

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Media Writer

Associated Press correspondents Mesfin Fekadu and Jake Coyle contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP