{"id":243168,"date":"2020-01-26T22:05:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T03:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=243168"},"modified":"2020-01-26T22:05:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T03:05:14","slug":"grammy-awards-honour-kobe-bryant-with-touching-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/01\/26\/grammy-awards-honour-kobe-bryant-with-touching-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Grammy Awards honour Kobe Bryant with touching performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BoyzIIMen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BoyzIIMen<\/a> joined <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aliciakeys?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@aliciakeys<\/a> in an a cappella version of \u201cIt\u2019s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday&#8221; to commemorate Kobe Bryant\u2019s life. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7ZQcmeXvXj\">https:\/\/t.co\/7ZQcmeXvXj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Recording Academy \/ GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RecordingAcad\/status\/1221619041611153408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 27, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nLOS ANGELES &#8212; The 2020 Grammy Awards kicked off in tribute to basketball icon Kobe Bryant, who died hours before the show, with a touching, emotional performance led by host Alicia Keys.<\/p>\n<p>Keys was joined by Boyz II Men on Sunday to sing an a capella version of \u201cIt&#8217;s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday\u201d at the Staples Center &#8212; Bryant&#8217;s stomping ground &#8212; as the audience watched in awe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere we are together on music&#8217;s biggest night celebrating the artists that do it best, but to be honest with you we are all feeling crazy sadness right now,\u201d Keys said as she entered the stage, adding that \u201cLos Angeles, America and the world-wide world lost a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the audience was \u201cheartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now Kobe and his daughter Gianna &#8230; are in our spirits, they&#8217;re in our hearts, they&#8217;re in prayers, they&#8217;re in this building,\u201d she added. \u201cTake a moment and hold them inside of you and share our strength and our support with their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the show officially honoured Bryant, Lizzo performed the songs \u201cTruth Hurts\u201d and \u201cCuz I Love You,\u201d saying at the top of the show: \u201cTonight is for Kobe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lizzo was among the mix of newcomers and well-known acts who reached their goals of winning their first-ever Grammy Awards on Sunday, which also included Tanya Tucker, J. Cole, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and late rapper Nipsey Hussle.<\/p>\n<p>Michelle Obama, Sara Bareilles, Rosalia and 21 Savage also became official Grammy winners when the show handed out trophies during its pre-telecast ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Gary Clark Jr. and Eilish&#8217;s brother, Finneas, walked away as the most awarded stars, so far, taking home three awards each.<\/p>\n<p>Finneas &#8212; who co-wrote, produced and engineered his sister&#8217;s debut album, \u201cWhen We All Fall sleep, Where Do We Go?\u201d &#8212; won best engineered album (non-classical), best pop vocal album (shared with his sister) and non-classical producer of the year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy heart is beating so fast right now,\u201d Finneas said. \u201cThis award belongs to my sister Billie for her trust and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A number of acts won two awards in the pre-telecast, including Lizzo, Lil Nas X and Cyrus, Anderson .Paak, Lady Gaga, Tucker, Kirk Franklin and Jacob Collier. And Beyonce, the most nominated woman in the history of the Grammys, won her 24th award.<\/p>\n<p>Nipsey Hussle, who will be honoured during the live telecast which begins at 8 p.m. Eastern, has posthumously won best rap performance for \u201cRacks in the Middle,\u201d which features Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy.<\/p>\n<p>Hussle&#8217;s family, including his brother, grandmother and actress-fiancee Lauren London, accepted the honour during the pre-telecast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNip did it, not just for the awards, but for the people,\u201d London said onstage.<\/p>\n<p>Hussle was nominated for two other awards: He lost best rap song to J. Cole and 21 Savage. The third award will be presented during the live show, where Hussle will be honoured with a tribute performance from DJ Khaled, John Legend, Meek Mill and others.<\/p>\n<p>The pre-telecast ceremony, where most of the awards are handed out, opened with a brief remembrance of NBA star Kobe Bryant, who was killed earlier in the day in a helicopter crash in California.<\/p>\n<p>Referring to the arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Interim Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, \u201cSince we are in his house, I would ask you to join me in a moment of silence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New stars like Lizzo, Eilish and Lil Nas X &#8212; the most-nominated acts Sunday &#8212; won their first Grammys of their careers and have chance to win more, though a cloud loomed over this year&#8217;s awards.<\/p>\n<p>Ten days before arguably the biggest night in music, the industry erupted when the Recording Academy announced it had put its recently hired CEO, Deborah Dugan, on administrative leave for misconduct. Dugan and her lawyers fired back at the academy, claiming that the awards show is rigged.<\/p>\n<p>Tarriona \u201cTank\u201d Ball of the New Orleans soul-funk band Tank and the Bangas, nominated for best new artist, said she&#8217;s not letting the drama ruin the achievement for her band.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I&#8217;m exactly where I&#8217;m supposed to be at, and I don&#8217;t want anything taking away from all the nominees,\u201d Ball said. \u201cThis is our moment. This is our time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sunday&#8217;s Grammys are airing live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. The show will be jam-packed with performances, including Ariana Grande, BTS, Camila Cabello, Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Rosalia, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, Tyler, the Creator, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, John Legend and Cyndi Lauper.<\/p>\n<p>The show will also include special tributes to Prince and longtime Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, who is wrapping up his career with the show Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Lizzo, who walked into the show the most nominated with eight, will also perform.<\/p>\n<p>Her major-label debut, \u201cCuz I Love You,\u201d is nominated for album of the year along with projects from Grande, Lana Del Rey, Vampire Weekend, H.E.R., Bon Iver, Eilish and Lil Nas X.<\/p>\n<p>Lizzo&#8217;s No. 1 hit, \u201cTruth Hurts,\u201d is also up for song and record of the year. Eilish, who will perform, also scored song and record of the year nods for her No. 1 hit, \u201cBad Guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other record of the year nominees include Lil Nas X&#8217;s \u201cOld Town Road,\u201d Grande&#8217;s \u201c7 Rings,\u201d Post Malone and Swae Lee&#8217;s \u201cSunflower,\u201d H.E.R.&#8217;s \u201cHard Place,\u201d Bon Iver&#8217;s \u201cHey, Ma\u201d and Khalid&#8217;s \u201cTalk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor Swift was shut out of album and record of the year, but she did score a nod for song of the year &#8212; a songwriter&#8217;s award. Her tune \u201cLover\u201d is nominated against \u201cTruth Hurts,\u201d \u201cBad Guy,\u201d \u201cHard Place,\u201d Gaga&#8217;s \u201cAlways Remember Us This Way\u201d from \u201cA Star Is Born,\u201d Lewis Capaldi&#8217;s \u201cSomeone You Loved,\u201d Lana Del Rey&#8217;s \u201cNorman (Expletive) Rockwell\u201d and Tucker&#8217;s \u201cBring My Flowers Now,\u201d which was co-written by Brandi Carlile.<\/p>\n<p>The Grammys will hand out roughly 10 awards during the live show. Presenters this year include Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Billy Porter, Trevor Noah, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Cynthia Erivo, Ava DuVernay, Shania Twain and Common.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>AP Entertainment Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>.@BoyzIIMen joined @aliciakeys in an a cappella version of \u201cIt\u2019s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday&#8221; to commemorate Kobe &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":243180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","mauthors-mesfin-fekadu","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243181,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243168\/revisions\/243181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}