Whether it’s protests at the Golden Globes, surprise collaborations at the Brits or massive bloody blunders at the Oscars, you can always rely on some seriously shocking moments during awards season.
The Grammys are no exception – after all, rounding up the biggest names in music in an auditorium for hours at a time was never going to be the recipe for a quiet night in, was it?
Ahead of this year’s ceremony, we’re counting down 18 of the most shocking, memorable and occasionally emotional moments from the Grammys over the years…
Adele refuses to accept her Album Of The Year award
“I can’t possibly accept this award,” she said, “The ‘Lemonade’ album was so monumental… so well thought out and so beautiful and soul-bearing, and we all got to see another side to you that we don’t always let us see.
“All us artists here, we fucking adore you. You are our light, and the way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves. I love you, and I always will.”
Lady Gaga egg-cedes eggs-pectations with her Grammys entrance (2011)
Playing up to the “birth” theme, she was carried down the red carpet in a giant egg, which she emerged from to perform the track on stage later in the show.
Hey Nicki, who’s your friend? (2012)
She opened the show that year with a medley of ‘Roman’s Revenge, ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘I Feel Pretty’ (yes, the one from ‘West Side Story’), in a performance laden with Catholic imagery which was supposed to show the exorcism of her alter-ego, Roman Zolanski.
Eminem and Elton John perform an unlikely duet (2001)
The two held hands at the end of the performance in the rapper’s attempts to put a stop to accusations of homophobia that had frequently been levelled against him.
Maybe just stop using homophobic language in your songs, Marshall, then we’ll talk.
Amy Winehouse can’t believe it as ‘Rehab’ is named Record Of The Year (2008)
When ‘Rehab’ was given the distinction of winning Record Of The Year over acts like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, Amy’s endearing look of disbelief pushed people to take the late star into their hearts even more than they already had.
Justin Timberlake apologises post-Super Bowl and it’s all very uncomfortable (2004)
But if you thought it had been a bad week for JT, spare a thought for Ms Jackson.
While Justin performed his then-new single ‘Señorita’ during the show, Janet found that her scheduled performance with Luther Vandross had been axed, and while the former N*SYNC singer apologised to anyone “offended” during his acceptance speech for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (yes he won in a year when Janet had been blacklisted), he made no mention of the woman he’d been sharing the stage with.
Hmmm…
Pharrell Williams’ hat steals the show on the red carpet (2014)
Still, a good hat, even if it does make him look slightly like one of the Mr Men.
Jennifer Lopez breaks the internet more than a decade before Kim Kardashian (2000)
An outfit so famous that Google literally invented their ‘Images’ tab because so many people wanted to see what J-Lo was wearing on the red carpet.
‘Waiting For Tonight’ may have lost out to Cher’s ‘Believe’ in the Best Dance Recording category, but who could deny that Jenny From The Block was the true winner at that year’s Grammys?
Milli Vanilli have their Grammys taken away (1990)
It later transpired the two didn’t actually contribute any of the vocals heard on their releases, prompting the Music Academy to take back their titles.
Rihanna surprises everyone with her choice of date (2013)
The choice of venue was particularly poignant, as it was while on their way to Clive Davis’s Grammys party that Brown had assaulted Rihanna four years prior, leaving her in need of medical attention.
Kanye West lives up to his stage-invading reputation (2015)
Perhaps suddenly remembering the huge backlash that had come his way in the wake of the VMAs incident, Kanye decided not to take to the mic, instead shrugging his shoulders and swiftly returning to his front row seat.
He later claimed that if Beck “respected artistry” he would have given his award to Beyoncé for her self-titled visual album.
But Kanye isn’t the original Grammys stage invader (1998)
That honour goes to the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who was so annoyed at his group Wu-Tang Clan losing out to Puff Daddy in the category of Best Rap Album that he interrupted a completely different artist’s speech, taking to the stage while Shawn Colvin (us neither) accepted his prize for Song Of The Year.
A stage invader crashes Bob Dylan’s performance (1998)
While Bob Dylan performed ‘Love Sick’ a bare-chested man with ‘Soy Bomb’ written on his torso appeared behind him, and was eventually removed by security.
He later claimed: “Soy represents dense nutritional life. Bomb is, obviously, an explosive destructive force. So, ‘soy bomb’ is what I think art should be: dense, transformational, explosive life!”
Adele’s ‘All I Ask’ performance doesn’t quite go to plan (2016)
She later confessed to “crying all day” following her appearance at the Grammys, she told Ellen Degeneres: “During the changeover the microphones fell onto the piano strings which is what the guitar noise was… and then it kind of put the whole thing off really.”
And unfortunately, her bad Grammys luck didn’t end there (2017)
However, when she came back later in the show to perform a surprise tribute to George Michael, things took something of a nosedive.
After a shaky start, she eventually stopped the performance completely one minute in, stating: “I know it’s live TV, I’m sorry. I can’t do it again like last year. I’m sorry for swearing and sorry for starting again, can we please start it again? I’m sorry, I can’t mess this up for [George]. I’m sorry.”
She then restarted the performance, and paid fitting tribute to the musical legend.
Jennifer Hudson pays beautiful tribute to Whitney Houston (2012)
But when you take into account she’d had less than 24 hours to rehearse the song, as Whitney Houston had died the day before, it makes it all the more poignant and impressive.
Lady Gaga channels Ziggy Stardust as she prepares to honour David Bowie (2016)
Lady Gaga divided Bowie fans after she was selected to pay tribute to him at the Grammys that year, with some suggesting that by donning his famous outfits and attempting to imitate his performance style, she’d made the show more about herself than her idol.
Even Bowie’s son seemed nonplussed, though when Lorde put her own subdued spin on ‘Life On Mars?’ at the Brits weeks later, he was far more impressed…
Taylor Swift uses her acceptance speech to fire back at Kanye West (2016)
Referring specifically to the divisive “I made that bitch famous” line, Taylor told the crowd: “To all the young women out there, there are going to be people out along the way who will try to undercut your success, and try to take credit for your accomplishments and your fame.”
As we know, things didn’t end there and in a series of events involving a naked mannequin, a leaked Snapchat conversation and a narrative that someone claimed they had no interest in being part of, Taylor was still taking jabs at Kanye when she released her 2017 album, ‘Reputation’.
This year’s Grammys will take place on Sunday 28 January, hosted by James Corden.