Get ready for a cringe-worthy musical journey through the most embarrassing Grammy performances that left audiences stunned and critics shaking their heads. From technical disasters to tone-deaf tributes, these moments will make you wonder how they ever made it to the stage!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most ill-conceived,
00:11poorly executed, and just generally bad performances at the Grammy Awards.
00:2410.
00:25Adele, All I Ask – 58th Annual Grammy Awards With 16 Grammys to her name and undoubtedly
00:32more to come, Adele is one of the greatest vocalists of her era.
00:36But even she's not immune to live performance mishaps.
00:46While singing her ballad, All I Ask, she was derailed by technical difficulties.
00:51The sound momentarily cut out, and an inexplicable, dissonant guitar-type sound suddenly appeared.
01:06As she later explained, the mics on the piano fell onto the instrument's strings.
01:11And while Adele did her best in the face of unenviable circumstances, the powerhouse singer
01:16sounded notably flat at times, possibly due to not wearing an earpiece.
01:22She took it all in stride, though, subsequently tweeting that she would be treating herself
01:26to a meal at Fast Food Chain in an Outburger.
01:329.
01:35Frank Ocean, Forrest Gump – 55th Annual Grammy Awards Frank Ocean made waves with
01:41the release of his debut album, Channel Orange.
01:44But his performance at the following year's Grammys failed to make a splash.
01:55Moving on from the bad water puns, we so wish this had gone better.
02:00It starts promising, with an innovative projection that makes it look like Ocean is performing
02:05while simultaneously running slowly down the road.
02:15But his visible nerves negatively impact his performance.
02:19We can't imagine trying to deal with the pressure of performing on such a major stage,
02:23especially as a fairly new artist.
02:26But we were hoping for more from Ocean.
02:318.
02:35Michael Jackson Tribute – Earth Song – 52nd Annual Grammy Awards
02:47When Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, it was unquestionable that he would be honoured
02:52in some way at the following year's Grammys.
02:55But how do you pay homage to someone with star power on a level arguably no one since
03:00has reached?
03:14The Recording Academy decided to have an impressive slate of vocalists sing Jackson's
03:19environmental ballad, Earth Song, presented with a 3D short film.
03:30But while Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, and Usher are
03:35all beyond capable vocalists, they don't have the combined chemistry to make this feel
03:40like anything but a well-meaning, but overall clunky ode to a legend.
03:507.
03:57Harry Styles – As It Was – 65th Annual Grammy Awards
04:02Performing his hit, As It Was, the former One Direction-er turned solo star sang in
04:08front of dancers on a spinning platform similar to the one in the song's video.
04:18But the dancers were quite literally thrown for a loop when the turntable they were on
04:22went in the opposite direction from the one they had rehearsed.
04:33Though they did their best to figure out how to adapt their choreography, the performance
04:37was ultimately let down by Styles looking nervous and sounding exhausted.
04:42At least he got to take home his first Album of the Year trophy later that night.
04:536.
04:56Hollywood Vampires – As Bad As I Am and Ace of Spades – 58th Annual Grammy Awards
05:03Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, better known as just Lemmy, had an inimitable presence.
05:12So, tributing him properly is an unenviable task.
05:21But the Hollywood Vampires tried their best, apparently.
05:25You might not know this group, but you definitely know its members, as it features Alice Cooper,
05:30Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp.
05:42At the 2016 Grammys, the hard rock supergroup performed Ace of Spades in a performance full
05:47of effects, but lacking the power that made the Motorhead original so iconic.
06:01And to make matters worse, they performed their own original composition, As Bad As
06:05I Am, first.
06:07It's the kind of performance that belongs in a smoky club on the Sunset Strip in the
06:1280s, not on the Grammy stage.
06:195.
06:22Lady Gaga and Nile Rodgers – David Bowie Tribute – 58th Annual Grammy Awards
06:37On paper, a chameleon like Lady Gaga honoring glam rock pioneer David Bowie seems like
06:43a no-brainer.
06:45But isn't the entire purpose of a tribute performance that it pays tribute to the person
06:50in question?
06:57Gaga must have missed the memo.
06:59With a whopping 10 hits to get through, Gaga doesn't leave the audience with much time
07:04to consider each tune and its place in Bowie's legacy.
07:15In fairness, Bowie was always one for reinventing himself and changing his appearance.
07:21But Gaga's performance ultimately reads as more self-serving than celebratory.
07:26For as bold as he was in life, it's unfortunate that this tribute never does much to stand
07:32out.
07:374.
07:42Outkast – Hey Ya – 46th Annual Grammy Awards Hey Ya is a song so iconic that its
07:55legacy seems untouchable.
07:57But a great song can only do so much when paired with such a befuddling performance.
08:03It begins with a grim sci-fi-ish introduction, delivered by the disembodied head of Jack
08:09Black.
08:10Then, tribal chanting is heard before the lights turn on to reveal Andre 3000 wearing
08:15a fringed green outfit, surrounded by dancers dressed in stereotypical Native American outfits.
08:24Andre's vocals don't sound great, but even if they were beyond perfect, it wouldn't
08:33make up for how tone-deaf the whole thing was.
08:42The backlash was strong enough for CBS to issue an apology.
08:46To paraphrase the lyrics of this classic, why or why did anyone think this was a good
08:54idea?
08:593.
09:03Milli Vanilli – Girl You Know It's True – 32nd Annual Grammy Awards By now, Milli
09:09Vanilli are more associated with lip-syncing than they are with any of their hit songs.
09:19Though this Grammys performance didn't expose Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus as not actually
09:24singing, it becomes pretty obvious in retrospect.
09:32It would be one thing if they were lip-syncing their own vocals, but as we know, that was
09:37not the case.
09:39So what we're left with is a poorly lip-synced and otherwise lackluster performance from
09:45a group who would soon prove that not all publicity is good publicity, and who would
09:50also have their Best New Artist trophies rescinded.
09:592.
10:03Opening Medley – 47th Annual Grammy Awards Music is a lot like cooking, you have to
10:09be strategic about what flavors you combine and how.
10:18Do it wrong and you can end up with something truly unappetizing, even if all the ingredients
10:23taste great on their own.
10:25The 2005 Grammys kicked off with an 11-minute catastrophe of an opening number.
10:36First the Black Eyed Peas commenced things appropriately with Let's Get It Started.
10:41Then Gwen Stefani and Eve, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, and Franz Ferdinand all performed
10:47snippets of their hits, with the Peas cutting in to continue getting things started.
10:59It doesn't enter full-blown trainwreck territory until the very end, when everyone performs
11:04at once in what could be charitably described as a cacophony.
11:09What a mess.
11:14Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or rather dishonorable, mentions.
11:20All-Star Beatles Tribute – Across The Universe – 47th Annual Grammy Awards
11:26Bono, Billy Joe Armstrong, Alicia Keys, Velvet Revolver, Stevie Wonder and more can't replicate
11:33the magic of the Beatles, to say the least.
11:42You Too – Get On Your Boots – 51st Annual Grammy Awards
11:47The perils of what happens when a band tries too hard to seem… cool.
11:56Pharrell, Lang Lang and Hans Zimmer – Happy – 57th Annual Grammy Awards
12:02An impressive swing, but ultimately a miss.
12:10Metallica and Lady Gaga – Moth Into Flame – 59th Annual Grammy Awards
12:16Issues with James Hetfield's mic sullied what could have been an all-time performance.
12:28Jennifer Lopez – Motown Tribute – 61st Annual Grammy Awards
12:33We can't say we've ever associated Lopez with the sound of Motown.
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13:02Nicki Minaj – 54th Annual Grammy Awards In her prime, Nicki Minaj was a truly audacious
13:16artist.
13:17But even audacity needs some kind of cohesion.
13:20At the 2012 Grammys, the rap queen kicks things off with a verse from her song, Roman's
13:25Revenge.
13:26Then we shift to a video reenactment of scenes from The Exorcist, with Minaj singing I Feel
13:31Pretty from West Side Story in the mirror.
13:42We're live again, with a giant exorcism being performed with Minaj centre stage.
13:55Performing as her off-kilter alter-ego, Roman, Minaj is clearly trying to portray madness.
14:01But it just comes off as half-baked performance art.
14:04Some might call it camp, but quality camp is far more entertaining than this.
14:16What Grammy performance hits all the wrong notes for you?
14:20Let us know in the comments.