1. Kendrick Lamar, the winner of five awards stated off with a prison scene, with Lamar at the front of the chain gang as he sang “The Blacker the Berry,” before gliding seamlessly into the #BlackLivesMatter anthem “Alright” with a fiery bonfire as the backdrop. Black lights, quick-cut editing, the words “Compton” lighted up over a map of Africa — this performance had it all.
2. Lady Gaga’s tribute to David Bowie, who died last month of cancer, wasn’t a tribute. It wasn’t a series of cover songs. Lady Gaga donned an orange wig and raced through a series of tunes to be the embodiment of Bowie. The opening moments of her performance teased out this idea, as the images projected onto her face melted and transformed, and transformed Gaga in the process.
3. Alexander Hamilton performing the hugely successful musical“Hamilton”
4. Lady Gaga’s tribute
5. Sam Hunt “Take Your Time”
6. Stevie Wonder jokes had the audience grooving
7. Taylor Swift kicked things off in a sparkly black jumpsuit for “Out of the Woods,” her latest single from “1989.”
8. Justin Bieber “Love Yourself”
9. John Legend “Easy,”
10. Adele ''Hello"