Travis Scott delivered a stark, aggressive efficiency of hit songs from his album UTOPIA on the 2024 Grammys Sunday evening.
Standing on an ominous set, surrounded by audio system and smoke and strobe lights, the rapper carried out “My Eyes,” “I Know?” and “FE!N.” In the direction of the top of the medley, Scott might be seen breaking chairs and different onstage props.
Previous to his efficiency, Scott spoke in a video about UTOPIA, which was additionally nominated for finest rap album this yr.
“In the event you might have a sense of utopia for one second, or one second, or one minute, one hour, issues will be calm although every part else round you is transferring at 1,000 miles per minute,” the rapper stated. “And the album is simply my journey looking for that.”
This was Scott’s first Grammys efficiency because the November 2021 Astroworld competition tragedy that left 10 folks crushed to loss of life and a whole bunch injured at one in all his live shows.
Shortly after Scott had carried out, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. took the stage to pay tribute to the victims of the Hamas assault on the Supernova music competition in Israel killed a whole bunch of revelers on Oct 7 and triggered a struggle that has lasted almost 4 months. “Tonight, we have fun the world of music,” Mason stated, to music by string quartet that included members from Palestinian and Israeli backgrounds. Of Oct. 7 he added, “That day, and all of the tragic days which have adopted, have been terrible for the world to bear as we mourn the lack of all harmless lives.”
Throughout his speech, Mason Jr. additionally talked about the tragedies on the Bataclan live performance corridor in Paris in 2015, the Manchester Enviornment bombing at an Ariana Grande live performance in England in 2017 and on the Route 91 Harvest Music competition in Las Vegas, additionally in 2017.
The assertion, coming so quickly after Scott’s ferocious efficiency, struck a number of social media observers as tone-deaf. One particular person wrote, “Having travis scott carry out after which speak about tragedies in music festivals and live shows however not point out astroworld is a alternative…,” whereas one other particular person added, “As somebody who listens to Travis Scott…I cannot consider they let him perfom tonight….AND interviewed him about his dwell efficiency. What Astroworld???”
Scott was amongst many artists who carried out Sunday evening, together with SZA, Joni Mitchell, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, U2, Miley Cyrus and Luke Combs.
Trevor Noah hosted the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which aired dwell from Los Angeles on Feb. 4. Discover the entire checklist of the evening’s winners right here.