In addition to bestowing prestigious music industry honors, the Grammys occasionally sing to the tune of controversy as well.
Jennifer Lopez drew controversy at the 2000 award show when she arrived wearing her now-iconic plunging Versace dress. And speaking of jaw-dropping looks on the red carpet, how could Lady Gaga top her meat dress from the 2010 MTV VMAs? Well, a year later, she made a never-before-seen entrance at the 2011 Grammys: Mother Monster was carried inside a giant egg.
Music’s biggest night has had plenty of wild onstage moments as well. Kanye West spurred backlash by pretending to re-enact his 2009 Taylor Swift-MTV VMAs stage rush at the 2015 Grammys. This time, West stole the spotlight from Beck after he won Album of the Year. The rapper later told E! News after the Grammys that “Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé.” West later clarified his remarks and apologized.
And speaking of Beyoncé, the 2017 Grammys featured a surprising acceptance speech from Adele, who, after winning Album of the Year, spent much of her time onstage paying tribute to Bey, a fellow nominee.
Continue reading for the most memorable Grammys moments below:
Jennifer Lopez, 2000
Steve Granitz/WireImage Jennifer Lopez at the 42nd Grammy Awards in Versace.
No one could ever have guessed the series of events that would follow the reveal of this dress. J. Lo quite literally shocked the world with this now iconic plunging Versace jungle-print gown. People searched it on the Internet so much that Google was inspired to create the Google Images search engine.
Eminem & Elton John, 2001
HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images Elton John (L) joins rap musician Eminem (R) during their much anticipated performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards 21 February 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Jaws literally dropped when the unlikely duo took the stage to perform together for the Grammy Awards. It’s a bit more surprising when you realize that their performance spawned a friendship that has endured over the years. Both musicians have said that they bonded over their shared sobriety.
50 Cent & Evanescence, 2004
After the rock band beat the rapper in the Best New Artist category, 50 Cent took to the stage during the band’s speech, which confused the entire audience. He smoothly walked back down to his seat moments later to a round of applause, and was even given a shout-out from the band. It’s safe to say he was a bit upset to go home empty-handed that night.
M.I.A., 2009
Lester Cohen/WireImage Singer M.I.A. and rapper T.I. onstage at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards held at the Staples Center on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
While it isn’t a big deal for a pregnant musician to perform, it’s a pretty big deal to rap and sing onstage on your due date. This is exactly what the “Paper Planes” rapper did in 2009, when she took to the stage to perform “Swagga Like Us” with T.I., Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Kanye West. Luckily, the baby waited a few days before finally arriving.
Lady Gaga, 2011
Jason Merritt/Getty Images Singer Lady Gaga arrives at The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
The “Star Is Born” actress had a truly out-of-this-world experience when she arrived on the red carpet in an egg pod. Models in gold ensembles lifted the vessel through the hordes of people to the stage area, where she crawled to perform.
Macklemore & Kendrick Lamar, 2014
When “The Heist” won for Album of the Year, even Macklemore was surprised. He was so surprised, in fact, that he texted Kendrick Lamar to apologize. “You got robbed. I wanted you to win,” the star told his competitor. “You should have. It’s weird and it sucks that I robbed you.” While Macklemore’s apology seemed sincere, Drake called the public apology “wack as f—.”
Beck & Kanye West, 2015
After the rapper interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, he got a lot of criticism. Perhaps this is why the star changed his mind when he went onstage to take the mic out of Album of the Year winner Beck. Beck welcomed Kanye to speak his mind, but the rapper simply returned to his seat as people looked on in shock.
Beyoncé, 2017
Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Beyonce takes the stage for the first time since announcing she is pregnant with twins.
It was a sight to behold when the “Lemonade” performer ascended the stage in a shimmering gold dress and crown. At the time, she was pregnant with twins Sir and Rumi as she danced and sang to “Sandcastles” and “Love Drought.” While all performances by Queen B are amazing, this one is definitely one of her most memorable.
Adele, 2017
It was a tough choice to vote between Adele and Beyoncé, but the votes were cast and Adele won. “I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful and gracious. But my artist of my life is Beyoncé. And this album to me, the “Lemonade” album, is just so monumental,” the British singer tearfully revealed during her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, which was mostly devoted to praising Bey.
Adele, 2017
George Michael’s death hit close to home for the star who got choked up during her tribute to the late singer. As she began to sing his song “Fastlove,” she swore and asked to start over entirely even though the show was being broadcast live. “I’m sorry for swearing and I’m sorry for starting again,” Adele said. “Can we please start it again? I’m sorry, I can’t mess this up for him. I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m sorry for swearing. I’m really sorry.”
Michelle Obama, 2019
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy (L-R) Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Alicia Keys, Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez speak onstage during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
When it came time to start the show, host Alicia Keys surprised the audience by bringing a few familiar female faces to the stage, including the former first lady.
Alicia Keys, 2019
Leave it to the modern queen of the keys to perform a medley of hits as the night’s host using not one, but two pianos.
Demi Lovato, 2020
Nearly two years after surviving a near-fatal overdose, Demi Lovato took the stage at the 2020 Grammys for a powerful performance of “Anyone,” marking their first time singing live since being hospitalized. The moment was so emotional that Lovato had to start the song over again.
