Hillary Clinton made a surprise cameo at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Cher, Snoop Dogg, Cardi B and other recording stars pretended to audition for the audio version of Michael Wolf’s popular book about President Trump’s first year in office, “Fire and Fury” in a prerecorded video sketch. Clinton made an appearance at the end of the book and read a few excerpts.
It was a moment of levity in Grammys show heavy on politics.
Kesha shined a spotlight on the #MeToo movement when she sang her hit “Praying.” She was joined by the Resistance Revival Chorus and several other female singers, including Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello and Andra Day.
Kendrick Lamar earned a standing ovation for his powerful opening performance. Accompanied by U2’s Bono and The Edge, along with comedian Dave Chappelle, the rapper performed a medley of his songs that included “XXX” and “King’s Dead,” featuring a giant American flag and dancers in hoodies, who collapsed to the sound of gunshots as Lamar rapped.
“I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man being honest in America, is being an honest black man in America,” Chappelle said.
The first award of the televised portion of the Grammys, best rap/sung performance, went to Lamar and Rihanna for their single “Loyalty.”
The rapper thanked Rihanna, who appeared on stage with him.
“She came through and gassed me on that record,” Lamar said. “This really belongs to her.”
Lamar also took home best rap album with “DAMN.”
The rapper paid homage to what hip hop has meant in his life and paid tribute to fellow nominees JAY-Z and Nas.
“This trophy to hip hop,” Lamar said. “Real talk. That’s love.”
Alessia Cara won for best new artist.
The 21-year-old singer made a pitch for the unsung musicians.
“I just want to say there are some incredible artists out there making music that deserve to be acknowledged that don’t always get acknowledged because of popularity contests or numbers games and that’s kind of unfortunate,” she said. “I just want to encourage everyone to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot.”
Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Pink, Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Little Big Town were among the artists to perform during the show.
Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne performed “Tears in Heaven,” a moving tribute to the music fans who lost their lives during the attacks at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in October and the Arianna Grande concert in Manchester, England last May.