It is the biggest night of the year for the music industry, with entertainers keen to grab attention (as well as awards) for their daring outfits and raucous antics.
The Grammy Awards has never been short on shocking moments, with wardrobe malfunctions, on-stage gaffes, stage storming and controversial attendees often taking the spotlight off the winners.
Last year’s ceremony served up an array of surprise moments – including IT couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck exchanging terse words, unaware they were on camera.
Elsewhere, Bonnie Raitt’s shocked face became a meme after the music legend beat artists including Taylor Swift and Beyonce to Song of the Year at the 2023 Grammys for her track Just Like That
Making their mark in awards show history, Milli Vanilli won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990 – but it was later revoked after it emerged they didn’t actually sing on their songs.
Fashion moments that took the ceremony by storm include Lopez’s iconic plunging green Versace silk chiffon dress at the 2000 ceremony, while Madonna flashed her posterior at the 2015 awards.
As we look ahead to a glittering ceremony, DailyMail.com reflects on the most attention-grabbing Grammy moments that shocked the world…
JENNIFER LOPEZ SNAPS AT BEN AFFLECK IN VIRAL MOMENT – 2023
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck shocked fans worldwide when they were inadvertently captured having a very tense chat during the 2023 Grammys
The tense moment begins with Affleck whispering into his wife’s ear, only for her to seemingly snap at him in response
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck shocked fans worldwide when they were inadvertently captured having a very tense chat during the 2023 Grammys.
In a viral clip J-Lo was seen seemingly berating her husband – before realizing the camera was on them and quickly smiling for the camera.
DailyMail.com’s lipreader revealed Lopez was ordering Affleck to make more of an effort during the Grammy Awards – snapping at the actor and demanding he pretend to be enjoying himself.
Lopez and Affleck, who frequently looks strained and angry when in public, were seen exchanging tense words during the ceremony, right as host Trevor Noah sat down next to them.
‘Stop,’ Lopez tells him. ‘Look more friendly. Look motivated.’ Affleck replies: ‘I might.’
Lopez looks on serenely as a red-faced Affleck challenges her. She refuses to respond to his aggressive posturing, which seems to irritate him further.
The tense exchange began with Affleck whispering into his wife of six months’ ear – only for her to jerk away and seemingly snap at him in response.
He frowns, straightens up his vest and his posture, before it quickly dawns on them it was caught on camera.
Affleck looks furious, as Lopez tries to keep her calm in the clip filmed at the Grammys
Their expressions turn blank once they realize their interactions were on camera
Frosty-faced Lopez tried to cover up the moment, though her husband had a vacant expression throughout the evening.
TikTok users watching the moment on the platform immediately flooded the comments section with their observations.
‘Jennifer Garner at home eating popcorn like …. ‘Girlllllll he’s your problem now,” one said.
‘The Grammy producers are so messy for this but I love it,’ another wrote.
‘HER FACE WHEH SHE SAW THE CAMERA LOL,’ another chimed in.
BONNIE RAITT LEFT IN SHOCK OVER SONG OF THE YEAR WIN – 2023
Bonnie Raitt was a surprise winner of the Song of the Year award at the Grammys – prevailing in a star-studded field of nominees that included Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Harry Styles, Beyonce and Adele
Her victory marked the first time a song penned by a solo songwriter had been victorious since the classic Rehab from the late Amy Winehouse won in 2008
Raitt had her hands full with the Grammys for Best Americana Performance, Best American Roots Song and Song of the Year at the event
Bonnie Raitt was a surprise winner of the Song of the Year award at the Grammys – prevailing in a star-studded field of nominees that included Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Harry Styles, Beyonce and Adele.
The singer’s Just Like That staved off competition from Taylor Swift (All Too Well (10 Minute Version), Lizzo (About Damn Time), Harry Styles (As It Was), Steve Lacy (Bad Habit), GAYLE (abcdefu), Beyonce (Break My Soul), Adele (Easy On Me), DJ Khaled (God Did), and Kendrick Lamar (The Heart Part 5) to take home the prize.
The Burbank, California-born performer stunned when she was named the winner and made her way out on stage.
‘I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say,’ she said. ‘I don’t write a lot of songs but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one. I’m totally humbled.’
Raitt was presented the award at the show by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Her victory marked the first time a song penned by a solo songwriter had been victorious since the classic Rehab from the late Amy Winehouse won in 2008.
Raitt was pictured with Taylor Swift at the ceremony in LA on Sunday
She also paid tribute to the late singer-songwriter John Prine, who died of coronavirus in April of 2020.
Raitt described her victory in the loaded category as an ‘unreal moment’ in honor of the track, which she said was inspired by organ donors, and the late singer-songwriter Prine.
Raitt also cited songwriters in her speech, describing them as the ‘soul-digging, hard-working people who put these ideas to music.’
Raitt, during the Grammy Premiere ceremony earlier in the evening, also won the Best Americana Performance for Made Up Mind and Best American Roots Song for Just Like That.
LADY GAGA ARRIVING IN AN EGG – 2011
Say what? The Born This Way singer, now 36, made one of her most bizarre red carpet entrances yet as she arrived at the Grammys concealed in a giant egg in 2011
Born: She later ‘hatched’ in a spectacular way for her performance of Born This Way
The Born This Way singer, now 36, made one of her most bizarre red carpet entrances yet as she arrived at the Grammys concealed in a giant egg.
The star had been barely visible through an opaque shell as she was carried on a sedan chair by four scantily-clad attendees at the event.
‘She’s in an embryonic state and won’t be born until the performance,’ explained one of her assistants. The egg was fitted with an oxygen tank and a fan.
Ryan Seacrest told E! viewers that the singer has been inside the egg for three hours getting into character ahead of her performance of the track tonight with only her Blackberry for company.
She later ‘hatched’ in a spectacular way for her performance of Born This Way.
Wearing a sheer gold colored skirt and cropped top, with her hair tied up in a style reminiscent of Madonna‘s Blonde Ambition tour era, the singer danced her way through the number.
At one point, she played on a dramatic organ with disembodied heads balanced on top.
Gaga bagged three awards and was nominated for a total of six gongs.
The year before, Gaga had caused controversy by turning up to the MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made out of meat.
ADELE FLUBS HER LYRICS AND HAS TO RESTART GEORGE MICHAEL TRIBUTE – 2017
Not again! Disaster struck for Adele when she sang a pared-down version of the late singer’s hit, Fast Love – but was forced to restart on live TV
Disaster struck for Adele when she sang a pared-down version of the late singer’s hit, Fast Love – but was forced to restart on live TV,
After a wobbly start Adele accidentally sang the uncensored version of the line ‘all this bulls**t conversation,’, which completely threw her off, and she called for a re-do.
As a close up of her face was shown on screen, the distraught singer then clearly muttered the word ‘f***.’
But, with rousing support from the crowd, she gathered herself and started from the top, this time acing the dissonant, slowed-down version of the Wham legends disco track.
Tears welled in her eyes as she finished, in a mirror of last year’s performance which was plagued with technical difficulties.
Oh dear: After singing the line ‘all this bulls**t conversation,’ the Brit appeared to suddenly realise she hadn’t censored herself, which completely threw her off… and she called for a re-do
A production source told People magazine that Adele was ‘super nervous’ before the show even began.
‘She was super nervous going into tonight. She cleared out the stadium for her rehearsal but it went really well,’ they told the publication.
Her worry was understandable – at last year’s ceremony, her rendition of All I Ask was embarrassingly hit by sound issues, through no fault of her own.
During the performance, a microphone fell on the strings of the piano which caused the sound to briefly cut out and as a result a distraught Adele’s voice drifted out of tune during the rest of the song.
The Recording Academy, which organizes the music industry’s premier awards night, took responsibility for the snafu.
JENNIFER LOPEZ MAKES FASHION HISTORY IN VERSACE DRESS – 2000
Wow: J-Lo cemented her place as a pop culture icon when she donned the very racy green silk and chiffon gown, which flaunted her cleavage, as she attended the ceremony alongside then-beau Diddy
J-Lo cemented her place as a pop culture icon when she donned the very racy green silk and chiffon gown, which flaunted her cleavage, as she attended the ceremony alongside then-beau Diddy.
The plunging gown caused such a stir at the time that it inspired the launch of Google Images.
Jennifer recently reminisced about her famous jungle gown in a video posted to her Youtube Channel, saying: ‘All of a sudden you start hearing a little murmur. I’m thinking, it’s the Grammys.
‘It has to be somebody famous behind us. It was a frenzy. The flashes started going in a way that it’s not usually. There was an extra kinetic energy there. I was like what the hell is going on? I had no idea it was about this dress.’
Referencing her arrival on-stage to present an award with David Duchovny, she added: ‘Me totally unsuspecting, walk out and as I walk out my dress, the wind hits it. It blows open slightly, so now I am like bare here and bare here! All of a sudden, again, a slow murmur and everybody starts clapping.
‘We get an ovation for just standing there! In that moment, that dress became something that people still reference.’
RIHANNA AND CHRIS BROWN REUNITE AT 2013 CEREMONY – FOUR YEARS AFTER HE ASSAULTED HER
Shocking: The musicians sent shockwaves around the world as they happily posed up together inside the awards ceremony in 2013 – four years after he brutally attacked the pop star, leaving her bloodied and bruised after a pre-Grammys party
The musicians sent shockwaves around the world as they happily posed up together inside the awards ceremony – four years after he brutally attacked the pop star, leaving her bloodied and bruised after a pre-Grammys party.
The pair embraced one another in the audience, with Rihanna wearing what appeared to be a diamond ‘engagement ring’ on her wedding finger.
The appearance came after a fight erupted between the pair when he came clean about his sexual past with a woman who once worked for him.
Chris claimed that the confession came as a shock to the Barbadian singer after he had previously told her they were never romantically involved – causing their relationship to turn violent
The infamous night started after the woman Chris confessed about appeared at a Clive Davis party, where both he and Rihanna were attending.
He claimed he had asked the woman prior to the party to stop going to places he would be at.
‘That changed my life,’ he said as he looked back at the night.
‘Sh*t, I’m not ever trying to put my hands on any female,’ Chris continued.
‘I felt like a f**king monster,’ he said in the clip.
Doomed: Rihanna found it hard to move on from her first love, breaking in tears when quizzed about their volatile relationship on Oprah’s Next Chapter in 2012 (pictured 2008)
‘She starts going off, she throws the phone, “I hate you!”, whatever, whatever, she starts hitting me, we’re in a little Lamborghini, you know she’s fighting me.’
He says he pleaded with her that he was telling the truth but claimed she continued to hit him
‘Like I remember she tried to kick me, just like her beating sh*t, but then I really hit her. With a closed fist, like I punched her, and it busted her lip, and when I saw it I was in shock, I was “f**k, why did I hit her like that?”
‘So from there she’s…spitting blood in my face, it raised me even more. It’s a real fight in the car, and we driving in the street.
Following the incident, Chris plead guilty to one count of felony assault and served probation for the crime.
Rihanna found it hard to move on from her first love, breaking in tears when quizzed about their volatile relationship on Oprah’s Next Chapter in 2012.
She said: ‘I lost my best friend – like everything I knew switched in a night, and I couldn’t control that.
‘So, I had to deal with that and that’s not easy for me to understand, interpret and it’s not easy to interpret on camera, not with the world watching.’
The pair would split again for good in 2013.
MADONNA FLASHES HER POSTERIOR ON THE RED CARPET – 2015
Interesting look: Madonna did her best to grab attention on the red carpet when she cheekily lifted up her dress and revealed her naked derriere in 2015
Madonna did her best to grab attention on the red carpet when she cheekily lifted up her dress and revealed her naked derriere.
However, the singer – then 56 – insisted it wasn’t a deliberate move to be provocative, but an ‘inspired wardrobe malfunction’ and quipped it was no big deal as people have seen her naked before.
She said: ‘I had an inspired wardrobe malfunction moment. As I was walking away, I wasn’t mooning – I just lifted my dress up. Mooning is like naked butt. Everyone’s seen my naked butt already.’
Indeed Madonna is not shy about showing off her booty and has flashed it on and off stage many times before.
The Like a Virgin hitmaker – who donned a Givenchy leather bodice, gloves and thigh-high boots for the ceremony – insisted she was just ‘having fun’ and making the most of the current ‘age of ass’.
She told KIIS-FM radio host Ryan Seacrest: ‘It’s the age of ass, isn’t it? It was me having fun and being cheeky, no pun intended.’
ELTON JOHN AND EMINEM PERFORM STAN TOGETHER – 2001
2001: Sir Elton John defied gay right activists by performing a duet with controversial rapper Eminem, notorious for his homophobic lyrics at the ceremony
Sir Elton John defied gay right activists by performing a duet with controversial rapper Eminem, notorious for his homophobic lyrics at the 2001 ceremony.
The gay star had previously come under pressure not to take to the stage for the duet with Eminem, because of the rapper’s reputation.
But Sir Elton kept a pledge to play with the rapper, and performed the keyboard and backing lyrics to Eminem’s hit Stan, a song about an obsessed fan who murders his pregnant girlfriend and commits suicide and stood beside him with hands joined to acknowledge applause.
Duet: The gay star had previously come under pressure not to take to the stage for the duet with Eminem, because of the rapper’s reputation
The collaboration between Sir Elton and the rapper had earlier been condemned by the wife of US vice president Dick Cheney.
Lynne Cheney said she was “amazed and dismayed” at the gay star’s decision to perform with a man whose lyrics boast about killing homosexuals and women.
Eminem later said of Elton: ‘I didn’t know he was gay. I didn’t know anything about his personal life. I didn’t really care,
‘But being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from.’
MILLI VANILLI WIN BEST NEW ARTIST IN 1990 – BUT AWARD IS RESCINDED
Jaw-dropping: Milli Vanilli was forced to return their Grammy Award for Best New Artist – after it emerged they didn’t actually sing the vocals on any of their songs (pictured 1990)
Milli Vanilli formed in 1988, and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The pair never sung a note on their tracks or live performances, with session singers such as Davis stepping in behind the scenes.
They sold millions of records throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s, before it was discovered they didn’t actually sing the vocals on any of their songs.
Consequently, the disgraced act was forced to return their Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
The duo had to endure a number of lawsuits after they were publicly ridiculed when a backing track they were miming to started to skip on MTV.
KANYE WEST STORMS ONSTAGE AS BECK BEATS BEYONCE – 2015
At it again: The rapper ran after Beck as he accepted his award for Album Of The Year in 2015 – beating Beyonce
The rapper ran after Beck as he accepted his award for Album Of The Year – beating Beyonce – in what appeared to be a nod to his 2009 stage ambush on Taylor Swift, when he told the audience Beyonce should have won over Taylor at the VMAs.
However, this time Kanye decided against addressing the audience in Los Angeles – which prompted many to think he was just poking fun at himself. But backstage, things became a lot more heated.
Speaking to Khloe Kardashian, who was reporting for E!, Kanye launched into a scathing attack on Beck and organisers of the event.
Iconic: This appeared to be a nod to his 2009 stage ambush on Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards – where she beat Beyonce for Best Female Video
‘We ain’t gonna play with them no more,’ Kanye began. ‘Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé.’
He continued: ‘At this point – we’re tired of it because what happens is, you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental music. You are disrespectful to inspiration.’
Kanye then began to criticise the event organisers cutting speeches short to make way for commercial breaks.
‘They run the music over the speeches because they want the commercial advertising – no we not playing with them no more,’ he added.
JENNIFER HUDSON SINGS WHITNEY HOUSTON TRIBUTE THE DAY AFTER HER DEATH – 2012
Emotional: Jennifer Hudson honored Whitney Houston’s life with an emotional acapella of Houston’s hit I Will Always Love You in 2012
Jennifer Hudson honored Whitney Houston’s life with an emotional acapella of Houston’s hit I Will Always Love You.
A lone spotlight beamed down on the American Idol alum after the artists and music industry executives who have passed away in the last year were paid their respects in a video montage.
After musical luminaries like Amy Winehouse, rapper Heavy D and Etta James were showcased, Houston was shown wearing a red dress.
Icon: Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills on February 11 2012, with heart disease and cocaine use contributory factors (pictured 2009)
Thunderous applause rang through the audience before the room went dark and Hudson’s first clear, strong notes rang out.
Indeed, her version was an exact replica of Houston’s own performance at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards twenty years ago.
Throughout the song she appeared to be blinking back tears, and when she finished, she finally caved in to her overwhelming emotion.
TWENTY ONE PILOTS ACCEPT GRAMMY IN THEIR UNDERWEAR – 2017
Lol: Twenty One Pilots landed the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Stressed Out, and collected the award in their underwear
Twenty One Pilots landed the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Stressed Out, and collected the award in their underwear.
After Nick Jonas announced the winners, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun stood up and promptly dropped their pants before making their way to the stage.
Standing in their boxers as if it was the most normal thing in the world, Joseph then turned back time to the good old days and began regaling a story from their youth in Colombus Ohio, when a group of their friends were all chilling out at home and watching the Grammys.
‘We noticed that every single one of us was in our underwear,’ he recalled.
‘And seriously, Josh turned to me – and we were no-one at that time – and he said to me: “If we ever go to the Grammys, if we ever win a Grammy, we should receive it just like this.’
So not only is this amazing, but I want everyone at home whose watching to know that you can be next,’ Joseph concluded.
‘So watch out, OK, because anyone from anywhere can do anything. And this is that.’
The duo beat out an impressive nominee line-up of The Chainsmokers and Halsey’s Closer; Lukas Graham’s 7 Years; Rihanna and Drake’s Work; and Sia and Sean Paul’s Cheap Thrills.
Taylor Swift was one of the top nominees at the upcoming ceremony after scoring nods in the coveted Album and Record of the Year categories.
The singer–songwriter, who recently had her biggest debut ever with the rerecorded version of her 1989 album, was nominated for six awards, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance categories.
But SZA topped the pack with an impressive nine nominations after releasing her acclaimed album SOS last year.
The Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on February 4 in Los Angeles, with the broadcast airing at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and its streaming service Paramount+.
Taylor Swift was one of the top artists honored with nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards. Other artists scoring nods included Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus; pictured November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Impressive: But SZA topped the pack with an impressive nine nominations after releasing her acclaimed album SOS last year; seen November 1 in NYC
Taylor Swift was primarily nominated for her acclaimed album Midnights, as well as its single Anti-Hero, which received some of the best reviews of her career.
The song was nominated for Record of the Year, a category that honors the artists who recorded the song and its producers and engineers, as well as for the Song of the Year category, which honors songwriters.
Taylor and her regular collaborator Jack Antonoff were nominated for Song of the Year for penning Anti-Hero.
She also scored a nod for Best Pop Solo Performance for the single, while her Ice Spice collaboration Karma was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Rounding out her nominations was one for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights, as well as one of the top prizes, Album of the Year.
The Eras Tour performer is poised to make history in the Album of the Year category, where’s she’s currently tied for three previous wins with the iconic singers and musicians Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
But the 2024 ceremony could make her the first-ever person to win in the category four times if Midnights pulls through.
Antonoff also scored a solo nomination as Producer of the Year for working Midnights, along with his production on The 1975’s Being Funny In A Foreign Language and Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.
SZA’s critically acclaimed LP SOS was a major nomination grabber with nods for Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B album.
The singer–songwriter led this year with the most nominations — nine — on the strength of her popular singles.
In the running: Taylor Swift got six nominations, including for Album, Record and Song of the year for her Album Midnights and her single Anti-Hero; seen October 11 in LA
On the precipice: If Taylor wins Album of the Year for Midnights, she will become the first person to win the award four times. She’s currently tied at three with Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder; seen November 9 in Buenos Aires
It’s a hit! SZA’s critically acclaimed LP SOS was a major nomination grabber with nods for Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B album, while multiple singles were nominated in various categories; seen in August 2022 in San Francisco
Movie tie-in: Billie Eilish was nominated for Record and Song of the Year for What Was I Made For?, her somber ballad featured on the Barbie movie soundtrack; pictured November 4 in LA
Her song Kill Bill was nominated for Record and Song of the Year, plus Best R&B Performance.
But several other songs from her recent output were hits with the Recording Academy’s voting members.
SZA’s single Ghost In The Machine, which features Phoebe Bridgers, was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while Love Language was nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance, Snooze was nominated for Best R&B Song (which she shared with her co-writers) and Low was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Other artists in the running for top awards included Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus.
Billie was nominated for six awards, including the top categories Song and Record of the Year, for her hit single What Was I Made For?
The somber ballad was one of the singles from the acclaimed soundtrack album to the Margot Robbie–starring Barbie movie, which was co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig.
Despite being a pop powerhouse, Miley Cyrus has never won a Grammy Award, though her luck could change at the 2024 ceremony, where she is nominated for six awards.
She earned nods for Record and Song of the Year (for her song Flowers), as well as for Album of the Year for Endless Summer Vacation.
Her year? Miley Cyrus has never won a Grammy Award, though her luck could change at the 2024 ceremony, where she is nominated for six awards; pictured in March in West Hollywood
In the pack: Another major nominee was the actress and singer–songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, who scored adoring reviews for her sophomore LP Guts; pictured November 3 in NYC
Other categories she was nominated in included Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Another major nominee was the actress and singer–songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, who scored adoring reviews for her sophomore LP Guts.
Both the album and its single Vampire earned multiple major nominations.
Other major nominees include jazz crossover artist Jon Batiste, the trio Boygenius (made up of Phoebe Bridges, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker), Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monáe and Victoria Monét, who was nominated for Best New Artist and multiple awards for her album Jaguar II and its singles.
