Page 14 - Inside Access March 1st Edition

MY TOP 5 PICKS
Beyoncé and Prince (2004)
There’s not much to be said about Beyoncé and Prince that hasn’t already been said, but when these two shared the stage in 2004, it was nothing short of fabulous. Since his death, Prince footage has become all the more precious, and this video of him performing with Beyoncé is positively sacred. Everything about this Grammys number feels monumental: Two generations’ biggest pop superstars come together to perform arguably one of the best pop songs ever, “Purple Rain,” 20 years after its release, followed by snippets of her “Crazy in Love” and his “Baby I’m A Star” and “Let’s Go Crazy.” The Grammys tend to take their obsession with medleys too far, but this one hits the sweet spot.
Amy Winehouse (2008)
In 2008, Amy Winehouse delivered one of the best performances in Grammys history, and she wasn’t even there. Winehouse won five of the six Grammys for which she was nominated that night, but she wasn’t actually at the ceremony because her visa was denied. But geography was a nonissue—she accepted awards and sang via satellite from London, and the resulting performance of “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab” remains some of the most sensational footage we have of the late soul singer. It’s easy to see why she snagged hardware for Best Record, New Artist, Song, Pop Album (for Back to Black) and Female Pop Performance all in the same night.
Lady Gaga (2011)
If you look up the word “flashy” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of 2011 Lady Gaga. Then, she was at her most flamboyant—one minute she’s singing on the surface of the moon; the next, she’s dragging as her male alter-ego “Joe Calderone.” It was also the year she arrived on the Grammys red carpet in an iridescent egg and proceeded to travel in-shell right onto the stage, where she performed a spectacularly choreographed “Born This Way” surrounded by a troupe of barefoot dancers. Probably second only to Madonna, Lady Gaga is one of the most eye-catching performers in pop. We imagine Jackson Maine would want to take another look, indeed.
Adele (2017)
In the fall of 2015, Adele made her triumphant return with “Hello,” which peakedatnumberoneontheBillboardchartsafewshortweekslater.Bythe time the tune was eligible for a Grammy, it was 2017, but “Hello” hadn’t lost a bit of its gusto. We all know Adele is a supremely talented vocalist and commanding performer, but she seemed especially passionate that night — she looks straight at the camera and belts “Hello, can you hear me?” as if her ex-love is actually watching. The goosebumps are inevitable.
Contributed by
Lota Anadu
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