#GRAMMYs 2018 Grammy Awards: Things you should know now

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony  was scheduled to hold on January 28, 2018. The CBS network will broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It will be the first time since 2003 that the ceremony is held outside Los Angeles.

Live Blog updates are seen below:

8:25 p.m. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are beaming on that Grammys stage during their performance of "Despacito" — and not just because Daddy Yankee's chains are blinding. The Puerto Rican singer and rapper take over the Garden with a gang of multicultural dancers, proving that the Spanish-language smash hit truly has global appeal. Mid-performance, the duo are joined onstage by Puerto Rican beauty queen Zuleyka Rivera, who adds an extra shot of sexiness to the set.

"Despacito" is up for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. If the track wins in either category it will make history as the first Spanish-language track that win in the coveted "general field" categories. Dedos cruzados.

Lady Gaga at Grammy 2018

8:22 p.m. After performing, Batiste and Clark present Best Pop Solo Performance, which goes to Ed Sheeran for "Shape of You." Ed's not there to accept the award, which is probably just as well — if he'd had to give a speech, we'd probably have spent the whole time wondering what any of the four women he beat (Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, P!nk or Lady Gaga) would have said.

8:18 p.m. In 2018, the Grammys are a long way from rock and roll's foundations, but two major losses this year led producer Ken Ehrlich to shine a spotlight on those early days. Uniting New Orleans jazzman (and Stephen Colbert Show bandleader) Jon Batiste with Texas blues wizard Gary Clark, Jr., a brief medley paid respect to Fats Domino, who died in October, and Chuck Berry, who passed in March. Quick and a little dirty — Batiste slightly flubbed the lyrics to Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" — the moment reminded us that rock and roll and its immediate source, rhythm and blues, can be just as fun when the spectacle's dialed down and its players have just plain fun. 

8:12 p.m. Following Alessia Cara's Best New Artist win, Terrence "Punch" Henderson, Top Dawg Entertainment's president and SZA's manager, threw a measured amount of Twitter shade.

"Hmmm. I seen this before. A few years ago. Then I also seen what happened after," Punch tweeted, alluding to the fact that SZA's labelmate Kendrick Lamar, lost in the same category back in 2014 to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

8:08 p.m. Momentarily, it seemed like country superstar quartet Little Big Town was actually on top of the Empire State Building — Karen Fairchild's stilettos seemed like a particularly brave choice. It was just a set, though, apparently lifted from one of the recent Spiderman movies. That distraction didn't detract from a typically passionate performance from Fairchild, with her bandmates holding down the harmonies in typically classy fashion. Maybe now people beyond Nashville will recognize that "Better Man" — which won a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group performance — is one of Swift's best recent songs, a tender but uncompromising call-out to a male wrongdoer that, in some subtle way, helped set the stage for this year's #metoo movement.

8:05 p.m. Among an eclectic group of new faces, Alessia Cara, who dropped her debut album Four Pink Walls in 2015, is awarded best new artists, beating out Julia Michels, SZA, Lil Uzi Vert and Khalid. The 21-year-old Def Jam darling is known for her safe, self-accepting radio hits (think "Scars to Your Beautiful" and "Here") and will be performing "1-800-273-8255" with Logic and Khalid later in the evening.

In her acceptance speech, the cute and flustered Cara thanked the Recording Academy for not being about "popularity contests and number games," saying "everyone deserves the same shot." SZA was robbed.

7:58 p.m. I guess Sam Smith went for a white lab coat rather than a white rose? Also, he gets the Sings With Gospel Choir "Grammy Moment" tonight, to telegraph Soul. But let's not forget that Sam Smith is a Recording Academy — and commercial — favorite. His first album won four Grammys. But there is a serious lack of engagement with the cameras, and I'm guessing with the live audience at MSG, too. Who exactly was that performance for?

7:54 p.m. Biggest Jay-Z highlight of the night? Unless he wins a big award as expected, we may have just seen it. Host James Corden recognized him from the stage for winning the pre-show Industry Icon Award. Jay notably turned down the offer to perform from his deeply personal 4:44 tonight, despite being heavily courted by the Recording Academy, according to the L.A. Times. Apparently, there were even plans to trace rap's legacy with a tribute starting with"Rapper's Delight" and ending with Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." Instead, we got him chilling and smiling from the rows.

7:50 p.m. Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna claim the first (televised) award of the evening in the category best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty," off the rapper's DAMN. album. "She gassed me on my own song," Kendrick joked, giving a nod to RiRi. "This award is really for her." As of now, this puts Lamar's 2018 Grammy talley at four: He's already won for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.

7:44 p.m. Take a shot if you made the "Bjork wants her swan dress back" joke the minute the lights went up on Lady Gaga's avian piano. What Gaga wants is your attention back: Having just released a new, subdued, stunning version of the title track to Joanne, she reminded people of the power of that song's message of compassion — sharing a few somber bars — before medley-izing into "A Million Reasons." Classy, not quite a total tearjerker but a classy moment from a pop star who deserves all the accolades for her musicianship.

7:37 p.m. Surrounded by marching paratroopers, Kendrick Lamar opens the 60th Grammy Awards with an electrifying performance. Partway through, "This is a satire By Kendrick Lamar" flashes on a screen behind him, as Bono enters singing the hook to "XXX." from DAMN. Then Dave Chappelle interrupts the performance with some pointed commentary: "The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America, is being a black man in America." Then Kung-Fu Kenny does what he does best by killing, literally, the rest of his set.

7:30 p.m. As usual, the vast majority of the awards (75 out of 84) at this year's Grammys were handed out during an afternoon ceremony.

Credit: NPR

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony  was scheduled to hold on January 28, 2018. The CBS network will broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It will be the first time since 2003 that the ceremony is held outside Los Angeles.

Live Blog updates are seen below:

8:25 p.m. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are beaming on that Grammys stage during their performance of "Despacito" — and not just because Daddy Yankee's chains are blinding. The Puerto Rican singer and rapper take over the Garden with a gang of multicultural dancers, proving that the Spanish-language smash hit truly has global appeal. Mid-performance, the duo are joined onstage by Puerto Rican beauty queen Zuleyka Rivera, who adds an extra shot of sexiness to the set.

"Despacito" is up for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. If the track wins in either category it will make history as the first Spanish-language track that win in the coveted "general field" categories. Dedos cruzados.

8:22 p.m. After performing, Batiste and Clark present Best Pop Solo Performance, which goes to Ed Sheeran for "Shape of You." Ed's not there to accept the award, which is probably just as well — if he'd had to give a speech, we'd probably have spent the whole time wondering what any of the four women he beat (Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, P!nk or Lady Gaga) would have said.

8:18 p.m. In 2018, the Grammys are a long way from rock and roll's foundations, but two major losses this year led producer Ken Ehrlich to shine a spotlight on those early days. Uniting New Orleans jazzman (and Stephen Colbert Show bandleader) Jon Batiste with Texas blues wizard Gary Clark, Jr., a brief medley paid respect to Fats Domino, who died in October, and Chuck Berry, who passed in March. Quick and a little dirty — Batiste slightly flubbed the lyrics to Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" — the moment reminded us that rock and roll and its immediate source, rhythm and blues, can be just as fun when the spectacle's dialed down and its players have just plain fun.

8:12 p.m. Following Alessia Cara's Best New Artist win, Terrence "Punch" Henderson, Top Dawg Entertainment's president and SZA's manager, threw a measured amount of Twitter shade.

"Hmmm. I seen this before. A few years ago. Then I also seen what happened after," Punch tweeted, alluding to the fact that SZA's labelmate Kendrick Lamar, lost in the same category back in 2014 to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

8:08 p.m. Momentarily, it seemed like country superstar quartet Little Big Town was actually on top of the Empire State Building — Karen Fairchild's stilettos seemed like a particularly brave choice. It was just a set, though, apparently lifted from one of the recent Spiderman movies. That distraction didn't detract from a typically passionate performance from Fairchild, with her bandmates holding down the harmonies in typically classy fashion. Maybe now people beyond Nashville will recognize that "Better Man" — which won a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group performance — is one of Swift's best recent songs, a tender but uncompromising call-out to a male wrongdoer that, in some subtle way, helped set the stage for this year's #metoo movement.

8:05 p.m. Among an eclectic group of new faces, Alessia Cara, who dropped her debut album Four Pink Walls in 2015, is awarded best new artists, beating out Julia Michels, SZA, Lil Uzi Vert and Khalid. The 21-year-old Def Jam darling is known for her safe, self-accepting radio hits (think "Scars to Your Beautiful" and "Here") and will be performing "1-800-273-8255" with Logic and Khalid later in the evening.

In her acceptance speech, the cute and flustered Cara thanked the Recording Academy for not being about "popularity contests and number games," saying "everyone deserves the same shot." SZA was robbed.

7:58 p.m. I guess Sam Smith went for a white lab coat rather than a white rose? Also, he gets the Sings With Gospel Choir "Grammy Moment" tonight, to telegraph Soul. But let's not forget that Sam Smith is a Recording Academy — and commercial — favorite. His first album won four Grammys. But there is a serious lack of engagement with the cameras, and I'm guessing with the live audience at MSG, too. Who exactly was that performance for?

7:54 p.m. Biggest Jay-Z highlight of the night? Unless he wins a big award as expected, we may have just seen it. Host James Corden recognized him from the stage for winning the pre-show Industry Icon Award. Jay notably turned down the offer to perform from his deeply personal 4:44 tonight, despite being heavily courted by the Recording Academy, according to the L.A. Times. Apparently, there were even plans to trace rap's legacy with a tribute starting with"Rapper's Delight" and ending with Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." Instead, we got him chilling and smiling from the rows.

7:50 p.m. Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna claim the first (televised) award of the evening in the category best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty," off the rapper's DAMN. album. "She gassed me on my own song," Kendrick joked, giving a nod to RiRi. "This award is really for her." As of now, this puts Lamar's 2018 Grammy talley at four: He's already won for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.

7:44 p.m. Take a shot if you made the "Bjork wants her swan dress back" joke the minute the lights went up on Lady Gaga's avian piano. What Gaga wants is your attention back: Having just released a new, subdued, stunning version of the title track to Joanne, she reminded people of the power of that song's message of compassion — sharing a few somber bars — before medley-izing into "A Million Reasons." Classy, not quite a total tearjerker but a classy moment from a pop star who deserves all the accolades for her musicianship.

7:37 p.m. Surrounded by marching paratroopers, Kendrick Lamar opens the 60th Grammy Awards with an electrifying performance. Partway through, "This is a satire By Kendrick Lamar" flashes on a screen behind him, as Bono enters singing the hook to "XXX." from DAMN. Then Dave Chappelle interrupts the performance with some pointed commentary: "The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America, is being a black man in America." Then Kung-Fu Kenny does what he does best by killing, literally, the rest of his set.

7:30 p.m. As usual, the vast majority of the awards (75 out of 84) at this year's Grammys were handed out during an afternoon ceremony.

Credit: NPR