Grammys 2017: Best/Worst Moments

The evening got off to a cringeworthy start as Ryan Seacrest tried to use the title of Jason Derulo's new song "Swalla" in a sentence. "We'll do some Swalla-ing later tonight," Seacrest told Derulo as their red carpet interview came to a much-needed close.

CeeLo Green wasn't nominated, but he did come dressed as a Grammy. Or at least, we think that's what he was going for. Honestly, we're afraid to ask.

She didn't have a wind machine or '90s flip phone this time, but Adele still delivered a soaring vocal on her smash single "Hello" to open the show. In addition to edging out Beyoncé for the evening's biggest awards, the British songstress won our attention with a near-flawless performance.

At first, we pitied James Corden when it seemed as though his rising platform had gotten stuck en route to the stage, derailing his entire hosting gig. But it quickly became clear — as Corden tumbled down the stairs and dragged behind his backup dancers' choreography — that this was all a rehearsed bit. Frankly, the moment would have been less awkward if it hadn't been staged.

In case you had forgotten about the Dakota Access Pipeline backlash, Paris Jackson was here to remind you. Before introducing The Weeknd, the 18-year-old acknowledged the crowd's cheers, noting, "We could really use this excitement at a pipeline protest, guys." It may not have been a Meryl Streep-level takedown of Donald Trump, but Ms. Jackson got her (very important) point across all the same.

Daft Punk and The Weeknd's performance of "I Feel It Coming" wasn't technically a tribute to DC Comics, but it did appear to take place in Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

No matter how many times Ed Sheeran breaks out the looper pedals for a TV gig, we'll always be left watching in awe. (Tonight's acoustic performance of "Shape of You" included.)

As if Jason Derulo's earlier interaction with Ryan Seacrest wasn't painful enough, here he was, part of a star-studded "Sweet Caroline" sing-along featuring Neil Diamond, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, clearly unaware of the lyrics to the all-time classic. He eventually stopped pretending to mouth along, which was probably for the best.

On a night filled with big, bold political statements from performers and winners, James Corden went in a different direction: In the midst of mean tweets about Corden's hosting skills, a fake post from President Trump appeared on the screen, praising the emcee's performance. (Cue POTUS actually tweeting about this bit in 3, 2, 1...)

We assumed Beyoncé's pregnancy-centric performance would be the talk of the evening... until a few commercial breaks later, when Adele restarted her tribute to George Michael halfway through the performance. ("I can't mess this up for him," she told the crowd.) The singer's second attempt was much stronger, earning her a standing ovation from the crowd — and top billing in Monday morning's workplace conversations.

No sooner had we all recovered from Adele's F-bomb-infused snafu, then Metallica frontman James Hetfield was silenced by a faulty mic during the band's duet with Lady Gaga. Hetfield made it work (first by sharing a microphone with Gaga, then moving over to his own, now-functional mic), but we imagine things were not so calm in the Grammys control room.

Demi Lovato blew us away with the sheer power of her voice during this Bee Gees tribute, which also featured strong appearances from Tori Kelly, Little Big Town and Andra Day. Barry Gibb rightfully gave them a standing ovation at the close of their medley, which featured "Stayin' Alive," "Tragedy," "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Night Fever." Please excuse us while we pull our bell bottoms out of storage.

As backlash against President Trump's immigration ban rages on, A Tribe Called Quest used their performance to speak out against Trump — or, as Busta Rhymes called him, "President Agent Orange." Their song ended with a crowd of people (spanning different races, ages and religions) standing beside them in a poignant display of solidarity, along with a bold chant of "Resist!"

Decked out in Prince's signature color (with a dash of eyeliner, too), Bruno Mars showed off his shredding skills during a tribute to the late, great singer. The result? A guitar solo so hot, we need the police and the fireman.

Cynthia Erivo and John Legend gave us chills with their stripped down rendition of "God Only Knows." Perhaps our only complaint is that the performance was split in two, bookending the In Memoriam reel as opposed to accompanying it.

As it turns out, the last person who expected Adele to win Album of the Year was... Adele. In addition to thanking her production team and loved ones, the Brit spent a good portion of her acceptance speech acknowledging Beyoncé — who, it seems, she believed should have won. (We're pretty grateful that Kanye West wasn't there to voice his agreement.)