Every performance at the 2024 Grammy Awards, ranked from worst to best

An emotional debut for Joni Mitchell, strong energy from Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo, a disappointing turn from U2, and so much more from music's biggest night

By Stephen Thomas Erlewine | February 5, 2024 | 5:42am

Music Features Grammy Awards

Every performance at the 2024 Grammy Awards, ranked from worst to best

Top: Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile; Middle: Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs; Bottom: Olivia Rodrigo (All photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Graphic: The A.V. Club

The 66^th Grammy Awards were filled with drama, emotion, and plenty of surprises—and that was just during the star-studded performances that made up the bulk of the 3.5-hour telecast. Music’s biggest night delivered its share of hits—including a long-overdue debut appearance by the legendary Joni Mitchell, and a strong opening number by Dua Lipa—along with a handful of misses. We’ve ranked every performance, from U2’s remote appearance from the Sphere in Las Vegas to a lengthy multi-part In Memoriam segment that utilized the likes of Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, and Jon Batiste. Read on to see how the stars stacked up on Sunday night.

1. Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell’s first-ever Grammy appearance isn’t her first performance after her brain aneurysm in 2015—earlier in the day, she won the Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell At Newport, a document of her 2022 return to the stage—but it is effectively a re-introduction to the public at large. Mitchell decided to sing “Both Sides Now,” an early song of hers turned into a standard by Judy Collins in 1968. The passing years give “Both Sides Now” a new, bittersweet dimension, especially when delivered by an 80-year-old woman who proudly wears her wisdom. Seated with a cane, Mitchell sounded strong and clear, and not much different than she did 24 years ago when she debuted this slow-burning torch arrangement on the Grammy-winning Both Sides Now album. The basic contours of the song sound similar but the feeling is deeper and richer: it’s a quiet triumph, easily the most moving moment of the night.

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