scorecardThe 5 best and 5 worst performances at the 2022 Grammys
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The 5 best and 5 worst performances at the 2022 Grammys

Callie Ahlgrim   

The 5 best and 5 worst performances at the 2022 Grammys
Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber.Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
  • The 64th annual Grammy Awards took place in Las Vegas on Sunday.
  • Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Lady Gaga, and Lil Nas X delivered excellent live performances.

Billie Eilish gave the best performance of the night.

Billie Eilish gave the best performance of the night.
Billie Eilish was nominated for seven awards.      Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Eilish delivered a faithful rendition of her pop-rock hit "Happier Than Ever," which was nominated for record of the year.

It was the perfect blend of tender and thrilling. She opened by singing in a warmly lit sitting room, wearing a T-shirt that paid tribute to the late Foo Fighters rocker Taylor Hawkins, and ended up screaming in a rainstorm.

Eilish was joined onstage by her brother Finneas O'Connell, who cowrote and produced the song.

Olivia Rodrigo's vocals were absolutely flawless.

Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo was nominated for seven awards and won three.      Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Although Rodrigo didn't have the massive night many critics predicted, she still won three awards, including best pop vocal performance for "Drivers License."

Early in the evening, she sang a rock-infused version of the song for her Grammys debut, hitting every high note and nailing the song's exact flavor of yearning — and proving why she deserved to be on that stage.

BTS gave fans exactly what they wanted: cheek, camp, and choreography.

BTS gave fans exactly what they wanted: cheek, camp, and choreography.
BTS was nominated for one award.      Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The K-pop group's performance of their megahit "Butter" began with a flirty interaction between V and Rodrigo, which ended up becoming one of the night's best memes.

In fact, the entire performance leaned into camp and showmanship, casting the septet as suave secret agents. They even took a break from singing to navigate a field of lasers.

Lady Gaga's tribute to Tony Bennett was sentimental, yet classy.

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga was nominated for five awards and won one.      Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images

Gaga brought old-Hollywood glamour to the Grammys stage, swooning her way through "Love for Sale" and "Do I Love You."

Although Bennett was not there to complete their duets, Gaga carried the performance with teary-eyed elegance. At one point, she put her hand on her shoulder in an apparent salute to her absent friend.

Lil Nas X's medley was an elaborate reminder of his pop-star power.

Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X was nominated for five awards.      Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Lil Nas X kicked off his performance with "Dead Right Now," one of the most poignant tracks on his debut album that honors how far he's come ("If I didn't blow, I would've died tryna be here / If it didn't go, suicide, wouldn't be here").

He then transitioned into a lively, multi-costumed medley of "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and "Industry Baby," aided by an ever-charming Jack Harlow.

Justin Bieber squandered his performance with a dull, much-censored version of "Peaches."

Justin Bieber squandered his performance with a dull, much-censored version of "Peaches."
Justin Bieber was nominated for eight awards.      Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Not only did Bieber unsuccessfully attempt to make the chorus of "Peaches" sound deep by opening with a slower version on the piano — crooning lyrics like, "I took my chick up to the North, yeah / Badass bitch" — but the rest of the performance was ruined by CBS censoring the singers every few seconds.

Not even Daniel Caesar and Giveon could save this mess.

J Balvin lacked energy and intrigue.

J Balvin lacked energy and intrigue.
J Balvin was nominated for one award.      Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Reggaetón star J Balvin has rarely been accused of being boring, but it felt like he phoned in his performance of "In da Getto" and "¿Qué Más Pues?"

"Between Balvin's exceptionally boring outfit choice (a trench coat, really?) and oversaturated lighting, he just couldn't seem to match urbano's momentum," Gio Santiago wrote for Pitchfork.

Nas' nostalgic performance was completely out of place.

Nas
Nas was nominated for two awards.      Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

I wish this performance slot had gone to someone like Tyler, the Creator (who won best rap album) or Baby Keem (who won best rap performance).

Instead, the Grammys enlisted Nas, who didn't even perform music from his nominated album "King's Disease II." Instead, he went for the easy nostalgia ploy and strung together a medley of old tracks from 2001's "Stillmatic" and 2002's "God's Son," for whatever reason.

Carrie Underwood's performance of "Ghost Story" was predictable.

Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood was nominated for two awards and won one.      Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Underwood won a Grammy on Sunday for best roots gospel album, but you wouldn't have known it from her low-energy performance.

She sang "Ghost Story," a pretty yet predictable ballad that was not included on her award-winning album "My Savior." It was exactly what you'd expect.

Brothers Osborne was a poor choice to close the show.

Brothers Osborne was a poor choice to close the show.
Brothers Osborne was nominated for two awards and won one.      Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

After album of the year had already been presented, Brothers Osborne took the stage to perform a straightforward rendition of "Dead Man's Curve," but don't worry if you didn't catch it.

Unless there was a show-stopping performance scheduled to close the ceremony — three and a half hours after it began — I can't imagine that many people would've stuck around. I certainly didn't.

Read Insider's 2022 Grammys coverage here and listen to our essential Grammys playlist here.

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