Over the years, viewers have gotten to witness some pretty incredible musical performances take place on The Grammys‘ stage. Some of which have left many of us speechless and are still talked about to this day.
Now that the 2020 Grammy Awards have come and gone, there are a few performances from the night that are very deserving of being added to the list of the most unforgettable and emotional moments in the award show’s history.
Billie Eilish performs during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Lizzo kicked off the show with an emotional tribute to Kobe Bryant
Last night was a bittersweet evening as many people mourned the death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who died the same day in a helicopter crash.
News of his tragic passing sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, leaving many fans and celebrities experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions.
With this unexpected news coming to light a few hours before the 2020 Grammy Awards, many celebs taking the stage that night decided to honor the late legend with vulnerable yet powerful performances.
Lizzo kicked off the ceremony with a showstopping performance she dedicated to Bryant. “This night is for Kobe,” she shouted before performing a medley of her hit songs, “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo during the 62nd annual GRAMMY Awards| Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Oh, and we can’t forget about that impeccable flute performance!
Demi Lovato couldn’t hold back tears while performing “Anyone”
Demi Lovato made her comeback to the Grammys stage and music with an emotional performance of her new song, “Anyone,” which she penned just days before her drug overdose in July 2018.
The singer took to the stage wearing a white ballgown with only a pianist accompanying her. Just a few seconds after the song began, Lovato was overcome with emotion and ended up restarting the track as tears rolled down her face.
Lovato went on to deliver a tearful yet powerful performance that earned her a standing ovation from the audience and viewers.
Billie Eilish delivered a beautiful rendition of “When The Party’s Over”
In addition to being the night’s biggest winner, Billie Eilish also gave one of the most incredible performances of the evening with her intimate rendition of “When The Party’s Over” from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.
Billie Eilish during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The singer took the stage and wowed fans with her beautiful vocals as her brother/ producer, Finneas O’Connell, played the dreamy tune on the piano.
No one could seem to take their eyes off of her as she poured herself into the emotions of every lyric while giving the most heartfelt performance of her career.
Camila Cabello’s heartfelt tribute to her dad
Just when we thought we cried enough during the 2020 Grammy Awards, Camila Cabello goes and delivers an emotional performance that made everyone watching shed a tear or two.
Before the show aired, The Grammys teased that Cabello would be performing a song dedicated to a “special man” in her life.
While many of us thought the song would be all about her boyfriend, Shawn Mendes, the emotional track turned out to be all about her father.
During her performance, the former Fifth Harmony member belted out the lyrics, which shined a light on the special relationship she has with the first man who’s ever loved her.
As she sang, home videos of the father-daughter duo played in the background. Near the end, Cabello walked up to her dad, who had tears streaming down his face, and sang the last few verses.
After wrapping her performance, Cabello and her father embraced as the audience wiped tears from their eyes.
Nipsey Hussle remembered during a powerful tribute
Toward the end of the night, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Meek Mill, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch, and YG took to the Grammys stage to give a heartfelt performance paying homage to Nipsey Hussle, who tragically passed away in March 2019 after being gunned down in Los Angeles.
“Long live Nipsey Hussle,” Khaled said as he took the stage, encouraging the audience to rise to their feet. Legend then accompanied Khaled on piano for a performance of Hussle’s posthumous track “Higher.”
The performance ended with images of Hussle of NBA star Kobe Bryant projected on the screen and Khaled sharing a few heartfelt words honoring their legacies.
“Rest in peace, Nispey Nussle. Rest in Peace Kobe Bryant,” the DJ said. “Long live Nip. Long live Kobe. The marathon continues.”
Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil announced her retirement from swimming Thursday.
The gold medallist in the women’s 100-metre butterfly at Tokyo’s Summer Games in 2021 made the announcement in an Instagram post alongside a photo of her swimming as a child.
“The little girl above would have never dreamed this is where her love of swimming would take her,” Mac Neil wrote. “I am so grateful for all the memories, people, and places I have gotten to experience just through swimming.
“I’m excited to begin the next chapter of my life journey, as I embark on discovering who I am outside of swimming.”
The 24-year-old from London, Ont., earned a complete set of medals in Tokyo after helping relay teams to silver and bronze medals.
Mac Neil’s five gold medals at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, were the most by a Canadian athlete at a single Pan Am Games.
She was fifth in butterfly and was a member of two women’s relay teams that finished fourth at the recent Olympic Games in Paris.
“Anyone who I crossed paths with never, ever told me I couldn’t achieve my goal of going to the Olympics,” Mac Neil wrote. “It’s still surreal to be able to say I’m a two-time Olympian.”
She completed her master’s degree in sport management at Louisiana State University this year.
Born in China and adopted by Dr. Susan McNair and Dr. Edward MacNeil, Mac Neil’s mother wanted her to take swimming lessons for safety reasons because of the family’s backyard pool.
Mac Neil’s 2017 diagnosis of sport-induced asthma — which can be triggered by the swimming staples of heat and chlorine — forced a switch from longer distances to sprints.
Mac Neil became Canada’s first world champion in the women’s 100-metre butterfly two years later.
The nearsighted Mac Neil, who doesn’t wear contacts or prescription goggles, has seen multiple times a meme of her squinting hard at the scoreboard in Tokyo as she tried to decipher her result.
“I like to think it helps because I can’t see where other people are and I’m able to focus on my own race,” Mac Neil said before the Olympic Games in Paris. “That was definitely the case in Tokyo.
“I got that meme sent to me at least three times in January even though it’s been three years since.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Serbia and Albania are set to co-host the men’s Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a soccer project that aims to overcome political tensions.
UEFA said Thursday only the Serbia-Albania bid met a deadline this week to file detailed tournament plans. Belgium and Turkey had declared interest earlier in the bidding process scheduled to be decided at a Dec. 16 meeting of the UEFA executive committee.
The Serbian and Albanian soccer federations teamed up in May to plan organization of the 16-team tournament played every two years that needs eight stadiums to host 31 games.
Albania soccer federation leader Armand Duka, who is a UEFA vice president, told The Associated Press in May that “it’s a 100% football project” with “a very good political message that we can get across.”
Weeks later at the men’s European Championship held in Germany, historic tensions between the Balkan countries — which in soccer included a notorious drone incident at a Serbia-Albania game in 2014 — played out at separate games involving their senior teams.
An Albania player was banned for games by UEFA for using a megaphone to join fans in nationalist chants, including targeting Serbia, after a Euro 2024 game against Croatia. Fans of Albania and Croatia earlier joined in anti-Serb chants, leading UEFA to impose fines for discrimination.
UEFA also fined both the Albanian and Serbian federations in separate incidents at Euro 2024 for fans displaying politically motivated banners about neighboring Kosovo.
After historic tensions were heightened by the 1990s Balkans conflicts, in 2008 majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo declared independence for the former Serbian province. Serbia refuses to recognize that independence and considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood.
An Albanian fans group daubed red paint on the federation offices in May when the cooperation with Serbian soccer for the Under-21 Euros was announced.
“We did have a few negative reactions from fans, mainly, and some interest groups,” Duka said then, “but not from the Albania government.”
UEFA has shown broad support for Serbia and Albania under its president, Aleksander Ceferin, who is from Slovenia.
The next annual congress of UEFA’s 55 national federations is in the Serbian capital Belgrade on April 3, and an executive committee meeting in September 2025 will be held in Tirana, Albania.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s mayor has revealed the terms of the deal negotiated with the city’s pro basketball team for a new $1.3 billion arena downtown.
The agreement reached earlier this month calls for the Philadelphia 76ers to finance the entire project, with no city funding involved. There is, however, a provision that would let the NBA team make annual payments in lieu of taxes averaging $6 million per year. The agreement also calls for a $50 million investment in businesses, neighboring communities and the city’s schools to blunt the project’s impact, Mayor Cherelle Parker said during a news conference Wednesday night.
“I truly am proud having made this decision and negotiated an agreement that will definitely ensure that our Sixers are staying home right here in Philadelphia, where they should be,” Parker said.
City officials also released drafts of the nine bills and two resolutions needed to authorize the project, including measures that allow the city to acquire the arena property and change zoning rules. Parker said her administration would hold a series of town halls in the coming months where residents could discuss concerns about the proposal.
Team owners say their planned “76 Place” project would improve a struggling retail corridor near City Hall and capitalize on the city’s public transit. They also have vowed not to renew the lease on their current space, a circa 1996 arena in the city’s South Philadelphia sports complex, when their lease runs out in 2031.
The proposal has drawn significant opposition from activists in the city’s Chinatown area, who fear it would disrupt or displace residents and businesses. They say the city has ignored concerns that the project will increase vehicle traffic in their pedestrian-friendly neighborhood and force vulnerable residents — older people, low-income families and new immigrants — to move out. Parker on Wednesday renewed her pledge to preserve the area, which is just over a block from the proposed arena site.
If ultimately approved by the City Council, demolition work in the area would begin in 2026 with construction starting two years later. Officials hope to open the arena in time for the 76ers’ 2031-32 season.
