The most under-the-radar, but totally brilliant Grammy Awards moments of all time

Delayed by two months due to Covid-19 restrictions, it’s possible that this year's Grammy Awards might be slightly more subdued than normal. But while it might not be the ceremony we’re used to, you can be certain that there will be some surprises on the night. Each year, the live show delivers on the brilliant, the unexpected, and yes, occasionally, the bizarre. Vogue travels back in time to bring you 11 memorable moments from music’s biggest night.

1. Lady Gaga arrives sunny side up

Never knowingly underdressed (lest we forget the MTV Video Music Awards meat dress of 2010), Lady Gaga really outdid herself at the 2011 Grammy Awards. Not only did she arrive inside a giant egg—out of which she emerged for a performance of “Born This Way”—but she also later admitted on KIIS-FM to presenter Ryan Seacrest that she spent a whopping 72 hours inside the temperature-controlled construction to prepare for the performance. The future Oscar-winner went on to win three awards that night for “The Fame Monster." Cracking stuff!

2. Avril Lavigne mispronounces Bowie

It turned out, the Sk8er Boi singer didn’t know her rock gods—or at least how to say their names. Presumably after her 2003 mishap, Lavigne would never need to be corrected again: it’s Bowie to rhyme with Zoe, not Bowie to rhyme with Howie!

3. Adele stops the show—and starts all over again

The pressure when performing at the Grammy Awards is high at the best of times, and when you’re doing a dedication to a recently deceased icon, it’s even greater. A few weeks after George Michael's death on 25 December 2016, Adele found herself in front of 26 million people singing a slowed down version of his 1996 number-one single, “Fastlove.” A minute in, though, and Adele realised she was in the wrong key. “Fuck,” she muttered. “I’m sorry, I can’t mess this up for him. I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m sorry for swearing.” After restarting the song and finding the right key, the performance continued. Wrong note or not, her rendition is still spine-tingling.

4. Sia and Kristen’s wig

Reclusive singer Sia enlisted regular collaborator, dancer Maddie Ziegler, and comedian Kristen Wiig to perform “Chandelier” on her behalf at the Grammy Awards in 2015. As the singer stood at the back of the stage with her back to the audience, Wiig and Ziegler—resplendent in severe Sia-style wigs—spent the song doing interpretive dancing. Quite weird, quite good.

5. Nicki Minaj invites ‘the pope’ as her plus-one

Up for three awards in 2012, the New York rapper brought along a most unusual date to the biggest night in the musical calendar. Accompanied by ‘the pope’, Nicki Minaj walked the red carpet in a red-hooded, Handmaid’s Tale-esque Versace number. Minaj later invited ‘his holiness’ to join her on stage for a performance, naturally, of Roman Holiday, which included a videotaped ‘exorcism’. The US Catholic League branded the performance “vulgar” and “tasteless”.

6. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins an award

The former presidential candidate won a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio version of her book, It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. She’s not the only politician to win in this category: former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter did as well.

7. A heavily pregnant MIA performs

Not only was MIA nine months pregnant at the 2009 ceremony, but her due date was the same day as her performance. The London-born, Sri Lankan-raised singer—wearing a sheer Henry Holland look—experienced contractions while performing “Swagga Like Us” on stage with Jay-Z, T.I., Lil Wayne and Kanye West and gave birth to her son, Ikhyd Edgar Arular Bronfman, three days later.

8. CeeLo Green sings with Gwyneth Paltrow and Kermit the Frog

Possibly not quite as weird when you consider that Gwyneth Paltrow memorably covered CeeLo Green’s hit Forget You on Glee in 2010. Nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 2011, an outrageously dressed Green and a black jumpsuit-clad Paltrow were joined by Kermit the Frog and crew for a colourful rendition of the cheeky song, delivering a huge nod to Elton John’s appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977.

9. James Corden in the doghouse

Presenting the award for Best Comedy Album in 2018, Corden was criticised for his comedy consolation prize, which many deemed irresponsible. “The good news is nobody goes home empty handed because all night we'll be handing out consolation puppies[ …] so if you didn’t get a Grammy, you get a puppy,” he announced, clutching admittedly very cute pups. The Grammy Award went to Dave Chappelle—let’s hope Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman and Jim Gaffigan remembered that a puppy isn’t just for the Grammys, it’s for life!

10. Queen Latifah marries same-sex couples

In celebration of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love” smash, the Grammy Awards honoured queer relationships by inviting legendary rapper and actor Queen Latifah to officiate at an onstage ceremony featuring gay and straight couples. “By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you a married couple,” declared the Queen, before Madonna popped out for a performance of “Open Your Heart.”

11. Kanye chooses not to do a Kanye (for once)

Beck must have breathed a huge sigh of relief in 2015 when Kanye West started to storm the stage before uncharacteristically changing his mind. Instead, Beck happily took home the award for Best Album for “Morning Phase” without West hijacking the moment to announce who he believed the true winner to be (Beyoncé, obviously).

The 63rd Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on 14 March 2021

Also read:

Everything you need to know about the Grammys 2021

Grammys 2020: All the celebrity guests on the red carpet