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Crucial Update

Grammys 2016 Recap: Surprise Beyonce, No-Show Rihanna, Best Performances, and More

Photo: Getty Images

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The Grammys came and went slowly, over a very long three-and-a-half hours (not including red carpetGlam Cam and all). You'd be forgiven for having bailed halfway through. The show was performance heavy, per usual, and few of the 83 awards given out last night were done so on stage. Not to worry! Relive some of the buzzier performances below, and catch up on other things you may have missed.


1. Taylor Swift kicked off the red carpet portion of the evening by debuting an Anna Wintour-style mom haircut. In fact, many attendees had a mom haircut. Zendaya's was mullet-themed.

Taylor's new mom cut opened the whole show (see video above) and closed the show as she picked up the coveted Album of the Year award. Swift took that opportunity on stage to obliquely address her feelings on Kanye, who recently took credit for her fame in a rap lyric.

Without saying his name, she explained, "But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there." Considered the record set straight.

2. Rihanna canceled her scheduled appearance due to bronchitis, which was the worst thing to happen besides Lauren Hill not showing up. It was almost as sad as Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" beating Kenrick's "Alright" or any other song for Song of the Year.

3. Lionel Richie joined a Lionel Richie tribute performance. He was the only one that had anything obvious to do with Lionel Richie participating in the Lionel Richie medley.

4. Adele took the stage toward the middle of the program. She sounded...not great. Still, ever the professional, she held her somber ballad together because she's the real deal. Adele later tweeted that "mics fell on the piano strings" making everything "sound out of tune," and "shit happens." Then she went to In-N-Out, so she really won in the end.

5. Kendrick Lamar killed it with a dynamic performance of "The Blacker the Berry" and "Alright." It was full of pyrotechnics and flashing lights and made it harder to ignore that he didn't win more of the 11 awards he was up for. The performance woke the audience up in more ways than one (watch it on our sister site, The Verge).

6. Good news and bad news. You get a sneak peek into Hamilton, the hottest play on Broadway. Unfortunately, now tickets will be sold out until 2023. Take what you can above.

7. Biebs broke a guitar, then went to dance with Diplo and Skrillex.

8. Gaga's Bowie tribute contained one of the most spectacular on-stage quick-changes ever seen. Reactions on the full performance on Twitter oscillated between "she killed it" and "Bowie is rolling over in his grave right now." Take your stance after watching above.

9. Beyoncé appeared on stage with minimal warning in all white, like an angel who has come to say, "You can let go now. You've done enough. Three-and-a-half hours is a really long time to watch this Hollywood talent show."

She presented the Song of the Year award to "Uptown Funk" collaborators, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson.

10. Finally, Sophia Vergara danced the show out. Pitbull was there, too.