Every performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, ranked from worst to best

Sometime in recent memory, the Grammys decided they’d rather have their annual telecast be a musical revue than an awards ceremony. Sure, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science still hands out plenty of trophies but they’re often doled out offstage, usually in the hours before the curtain lifts on the show itself. Host Trevor Noah gave the game away in the first moments of the program when he mentioned the performers before the awards themselves: those live performances are the reasons why viewers tune into the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

The awards did make some news. Beyonce now is the all-time Grammy winner with 32 trophies, a record she achieved without taking home the coveted Album of the Year award, which unexpectedly went to Harry Styles. Viola Davis became an EGOT when the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me earned her the Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling. But these headlines were drowned out by the performances given at Crypto.com Arena, performances that illustrated that the Grammys still have the ability to stage memorable moments. Here’s our ranking of every performance from music’s big night from worst to best.

12. Luke Combs

Luke Combs performed “Going, Going, Gone” with his trademark lack of fuss and drama: he sings simply and earnestly, letting the song take the spotlight. Such directness has its merits on record, but onstage it winds up being a little sleepy, especially if he’s singing a ballad as straightforward as “Going, Going, Gone.”