Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen Among Our Favorite Grammy Performances Ever

by Tyler Glover & Julian Spivey

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“River of Dreams” by Billy Joel (1994)
Don’t ever disrespect a music legend in the presence of Billy Joel. He will embarrass you, and rightfully so. Earlier in the 36th annual Grammy Awards, held on March 1, 1994, music legend Frank Sinatra had been honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, but when his acceptance speech ran too long for producers of the show, they cut him off and went to commercial – have to earn that sponsorship money, right?. Minutes later, Joel took the stage to perform his Record of the Year nominated “The River of Dreams,” and in one of the greatest protests in award show history, stopped the song mid-performance, looked at his watch, and exclaimed: “Valuable advertising time going by, valuable advertising time going by. Dollars, dollars, dollars.” He then finished his song, but his point had been made. JS

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“The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel & “London Calling” by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl & Steven Van Zandt (2003)
There are two performances from the 45th annual Grammy Awards, held on February 23, 2003, that I’ll never forget. They happened to be the opening and closing performances of the ceremony. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for the opening, in which they performed their 1966 No. 1 hit “The Sound of Silence.” The duo was honored that evening with a lifetime achievement award. The closing performance was so badass I’ll often pull it up on YouTube to relive it. Joe Strummer, the co-founder, lyricist and lead vocalist of seminal British punk band The Clash, had died of a heart attack at 50 two months before the Grammys. Some of Strummer’s friends, musical cohorts and those he influenced were tasked in a tribute that remains one of the greatest tributes in the show’s history. Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl and Steven Van Zant all thrashed on guitars and took turns with the vocals on The Clash’s 1979 classic “London Calling”, while Pete Thomas (of the Attractions) and Tony Kanal (of No Doubt) held down the beat on drums and bass respectively. JS

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“Devils & Dust” by Bruce Springsteen (2006)
My all-time favorite Grammy Awards performance is one of the simplest performances I’ve ever seen on the show and left a lasting impression on me about what performing artists can do with their words in an effort to make a point or attempt to change ways of thinking. Bruce Springsteen’s 2005 song “Devils & Dust,” was about America’s misguided and unpopular war in Iraq. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 48th annual Grammy Awards, held on February 8, 2006, and Springsteen performed it just himself with a guitar and harmonica on a pitch-black stage. The words of the song spoke of a troubled American soldier during the war and the struggles and questions going through his mind. It’s one of the most devastatingly beautiful and haunting songs Springsteen has ever penned. Following the song, Springsteen said, “Bring ‘em home.” It was a moment I realized as a young man that songs and the live performances of them could be among the greatest editorials ever given. JS

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"Born This Way" by Lady Gaga (2011)
With her first album, The Fame, Lady Gaga catapulted herself into becoming a major pop star. She had made it and she was here. With her second studio album, Born This Way, Lady Gaga showed us that she was not only here but she wasn’t going anywhere. The song, “Born This Way” is a power anthem for everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community to feel good about who they are. It was actually very surprising to me that while the album got nominated for Album of the Year, this single was not nominated for Record and Song of the Year. It blows the mind honestly especially when you see her performance of the song at the Grammys. It’s one of the best performances in Grammy history. 
 
At the beginning of the performance, Gaga is in a small spaceship that looks like an escape pod. She is wheeled out by her dancers with the stage dark except for the pod. It gives us the illusion that she is flying in to give us this performance. As she begins singing, the pod opens up and Gaga gets out wearing a beige hat, top and long skirt matched with heels. During this performance, she is surrounded by dancers that are able to synchronize every movement to an almost other-worldly perfection. The choreography is precise, exciting and makes an impact. You watch in disbelief.  
 
Toward the end of the performance, Gaga walks upstairs where an elegant piano is illuminated with frozen Gaga heads surrounding it. She gives us powerhouse vocals while playing the piano in like a mad scientist kind of way. You get the feeling the performance is almost over but she comes back down, the music goes back up in pace, and the dancers give us a little more before the song ends with Gaga and her dancers raising a hand to the sky. Gaga knows how to deliver and she did. TG

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"Rolling in the Deep" by Adele (2012)
If you were to say that Adele was not very well known before 2012, you would be wrong. She had already won Best New Artist at the Grammys in 2009. Her hit song, “Chasing Pavements” was also nominated for Record and Song of the Year that year. However, she completely exploded in 2011 with her album 21. The biggest hit from that album is definitely Record and Song of the Year winner “Rolling in The Deep.” When Adele was announced among the performers on Grammy night, it became my most anticipated performance. She didn’t disappoint. 

Adele started singing the last verses of the chorus acapella. It really showcased just how magnificent her vocals are. Then, a blue light came up behind her and all the instruments came in adding to the drama that “Rolling in the Deep” possesses. The lights began to flicker on the steps of the stage to the beat. It was a very cool touch they added to this performance in that as the song gets bigger, the lights do also. Toward the end, the overhead stage lights are flickering also to the beat. Adele looked elegant and stunning in a black dress with smokey eyes. Her shoulder length hair had one big flip inward at the bottom and was simply beautiful. What stands out to me about this performance is how Adele did not have to add much as far as decoration for it to make a huge impact. Years later, it still stands out in my head with just the effective use of the lights and her letting the performance really showcase her powerhouse vocals. After this performance, I don’t think anyone would have felt right about any other song winning Record and Song of the Year. Luckily, it won.  TG

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"Out of the Woods" by Taylor Swift (2016)
At the 2016 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift became the first female solo artist to win Album of the Year twice with her blockbuster album 1989. Since her last Grammy nomination, Swift had transitioned from country to mainstream pop music with critical and commercial success. So, it was a smart move for the Grammys to decide to have Swift open up the show and she didn’t disappoint. She chose to sing her hit single, “Out of the Woods.” She said that she wants her music to match how she is feeling with its sound. “Out of the Woods” was a song where Swift felt she was constantly questioning where the relationship was at – were they OK? Are they still not over this last problem? She never got much clarification from the guy because it was an all-over-the-place kind of relationship. This made an excellent choice for a powerhouse performance. 
 
The performance began with Swift wearing a sparkly sequined black body-suit with black heels. Her short bob styled to perfection, her makeup flawless and she was ready to slay. The production value of this performance is high. There is blue fog surrounding her and her band. The backdrop is set in the woods. There are trees everywhere. The blue lights are signaling it is evening. Swift starts by doing what every artist does and sings her song the exact same way that it is played on the radio. What elevates this performance to new heights though is toward the end, she walks through the crowd and gets on a platform surrounded by the audience. Instead of continuing the radio equivalent of the song, Swift sings the lyrics to the bridge with power and shows us all just what her voice can do. For Swift, this was huge. She had performed years earlier with Miley Cyrus and was criticized by critics claiming she didn’t truly know how to sing. This was the ultimate revenge for Swift and she completely nailed it. TG

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“The Joke” by Brandi Carlile (2019)
One of the things I enjoy the most about the Grammy Awards is that, occasionally, it allows a fantastic artist to break into the mainstream by showcasing their nominated work. No one broke out to the masses better than Brandi Carlile when she performed her Record and Song of the Year nominated “The Joke” at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Carlile has powerhouse vocals you must hear live to believe, and she knocked her performance of “The Joke” out of the park. There’s no telling how many viewers of the Grammys that year had never previously heard of her and became instant fans. She’d mesmerize the Grammys again in 2022 with her performance of the Record and Song of the Year nominated “Right on Time” and in 2023 with “Broken Horses,” which won Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.  JS

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Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Haim and Black Pumas (2021)
I understand the opening segment of the 2021 Grammy Awards was technically four separate performances, but they clicked off so quickly one after another that it felt like one big moment. It was a year after the Covid-19 pandemic had begun in the U.S., but things weren’t back to normal; in fact, the 63rd annual Grammys had been postponed a month and a half by Covid spikes in Los Angeles, where the ceremony was held. It was the social distancing awards with the winners being revealed outdoors. Pop sensation Harry Styles started the show with his pop smash “Watermelon Sugar” before Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas performed the night’s Record of the Year winning “Everything I Wanted.” This was followed up by performances of two of my favorite songs of the previous year – Haim’s “The Steps” and Black Pumas’ “Colors,” both of which kicked ass. I think I was just so ready to see live music performances, even if through my television screen, at that point that these performances, all one after another without any breaks, were thrilling to me. JS

"cardigan"/"august"/"willow" by Taylor Swift (2021)
During the pandemic in 2020, Taylor Swift released two surprise albums: folklore and evermore. These “sister” albums are unique in many ways. They veered away from her country and pop sound to a more indie/folk vibe. She ditched her normal autobiographical storytelling to make up characters and tell stories about other people. Swift has said that the pandemic was a time when we all wanted to escape and for these albums, she escaped into a log cabin in the woods. We had gotten a glimpse into this world in her “cardigan” and “willow” music video, but at the Grammys in 2021, we got to really see the world of folklore and evermore.  
 
Swift began her performance laying on the roof of a moss-covered log cabin. She stared at the camera in the moonlight as she began to sing her No. 1 single, “cardigan.” The camera panned back to show us the beautiful forest surrounding her. This cabin became a fixture at her record-breaking Eras Tour concert in 2023-2024 during the folklore and evermore set. As she continued singing, she walked downstairs into the cabin and the lights came up to show us that we could see inside the cabin. We are surprised to see her collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, on these albums. They join her as she sings “august,” one of her most underrated gems on folklore. The lights in the cabin show us a joyous time that Swift has making music and how that joy fills the whole cabin with light. She ends her performance by stepping out of the cabin to her evermore hit “willow.” After singing the last verse, “That’s my man,” the lights go out to this magical world ending the performance. It is a world I wanted to return to immediately, and I’m glad I got to at the Eras Tour. TG

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"What Was I Made For" by Billie Eilish
“What Was I Made For,” written for the blockbuster hit, “Barbie,” won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song and went on this Grammy evening to win Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media. The film, “Barbie” made us all think of the many, many difficult positions that society has put on women. You can be too fat but too thin. You can be smart but not considered smart enough. You can be pretty but not what society expects from you. This song, written by Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. When I heard Eilish was performing this song that evening, it became my most anticipated performance.

The performance began with Finneas O’Connell seated in a tux playing the piano ith Eilish sitting on a chair beside him. Eilish was stunning with red hair with black tips, an olive and white plaid jacket, an olive skirt and green heels. Her outfit was finished off with sunglasses and her hair covered in a signature Barbie pink wrap. The background mirrored the beautiful pink of the wrap and the red of Eilish’s hair. She is surrounded by violinists who play later on. After the first verse and chorus, Eilish takes her sunglasses off, mirroring how she is letting her guard down with us and being vulnerable. This performance is not full of fire, crazy dance moves, or what you would consider a busy production but it is the simplicity of this performance that resonated with me long after. TG

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