Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monae were two of the artists who performed at the Grammys last night as part of the Quincy Jones tribute. 

 

We’ll begin at the end, as it was Janelle who shut it all down with a performance of “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” that blew the roof off the place. It was the wardrobe, the dancing, the vocals, the f-cking energy that exploded out of their body. And a reminder that Janelle is not a one dimensional performer. Yes, she can do offbeat, almost alternative. She can also seamlessly transition into sensual and smooth. But last night she was Captain Fun, the Janelle Monae version of taking over the DJ booth and getting everyone on their feet. Not everyone can do this while flexing their arsenal of creative weaponry. 

 

And then… at the after-party, she kept it going, the party vibes with the politics and somehow it’s not a bummer! 

 

So Janelle closed the Quincy Jones part of the Grammys but it was Cynthia Erivo who opened – a stunning rendition of “Fly Me To The Moon”. Her voice is magnificent. My God the way the song just grew and grew and grew, like the moon itself, from waxing to full. 

https://x.com/THR/status/1886254734174023914
 

And the timing? 

Oscar chaos has been a headline over the last several days, particularly in the Best Actress category because of Karla Sofía Gascón and her mess. Demi Moore is still the frontrunner in the race but it’s by no means a done deal yet and, at the Grammys, Cynthia made that stage part of her campaign for any Oscar voters watching who are still unaware of her gifts. Her performance was exhilarating and it certainly did not hurt her chances, not at all. 

 

PS. I forgot to include this in my Beyoncé post earlier, but watch as Cynthia, Lady Gaga, Taylor, Swift and more erupt when Beyoncé wins AOTY. Cynthia is standing behind Julius, next to Gaga. She and Gaga hug each other, multiple times, like this was a win for themselves, they all seemed so emotional about it. That level of emotion, by the way, has been the ride that Cynthia’s been on with Wicked, much to the internet’s collective delight. We’ll get to see that at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday when Cynthia and Ariana Grande will reunite with Team Wicked. And we may get a better sense of how award season is changing through all this drama. Sarah will have more on that tomorrow. 

Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monáe were at the 67th GRAMMY Awards, with Monáe also performing.
Photo credits: John Salangsang/ CAROLINE BREHMAN/ ALLISON DINNER/ EPA-EFE/ David Fisher/ Shutterstock

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