Now That's Entertainment

Look, I never watch the Grammys. I never watch because the Grammy are usually pretty terrible. Like I watched the year Steely Dan won everything, I know what can happen. But this year’s Grammys were….good. They were just really, really good. Entertaining. Moving. Surprising. MOVING SOME MORE. I mean Tracy and Annie and Joni alone made the evening iconic and a queer Gen X lady’s widest dreams. But there was also Oprah and Beyonce and Taylor and Celine, and Mariah and Mylie and Meryl. MERLY Freaking STREEP.

And do you know why this Grammy telecast was so very good for so very long this time? For the first hour and a half it featured literally all female performers or female winners (yes, Luke, but I already said I’m not cranky with him anymore). Maybe I’m just excited I knew (and liked) most of this year’s artists instead of just squinting at my screen and saying who? And I love that Taylor winning Album of the Year will make the crazy MAGAs even crazier. Don’t worry, she’ll still be able to skydive into the Super Bowl to endorse Biden and then fly off on a unicorn to turn all children gay, fellas. Keep investing in all that red string to connect all your amazing theories!

Speaking of things that make the MAGAs crazy, the gays did so well. Boygenius won three Grammys. Victoria Monet won Best New Artist. Mylie won Solo Pop Performance and Record of the Year. Billie Eilish won Song of the Year. Gaylors are still hyperventilating because, hello, a whole album about tortured poets?

I think another reason this year’s show felt so good was it truly did showcase so many ridiculously talented stars. They’re artists and entertainers and superstars for a reason. Like who didn’t get goose bumps at Annie Lennox’s stunning “Nothing Compares 2 U” tribute to Sinead O’Connor. With Wendy and Lisa (the duo that was part of Prince's Revolution) as her backing band no less. Her raised fist “Artists for ceasefire! Peace in the world!” at the end was perhaps the most appropriate way to honor Sinead’s memory and activism. Powerful.

And then Joni Mitchell making her Grammy stage DEBUT at age 80 and spellbinding an audience filled with people a quarter of her age? With Brandi, of course. Masterful.

And just Tracy Chapman. TRACY CHAPMAN.

And to think I almost didn’t watch.