60th Annual Grammy Awards


The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, as was the case in 2010 and 2014. James Corden returned as host.
The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which ran from October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017. The nominations were announced on November 28, 2017. The "pre-telecast" ceremony was held on the same day prior to the main ceremony.
Bruno Mars was nominated for six awards and won all six on the night.

Performers

Premiere ceremony

Main ceremony

ArtistSong
Kendrick Lamar
U2
Dave Chappelle
"XXX"
"DNA"
"Big Shot"
"New Freezer"
"King's Dead"
Lady Gaga
Mark Ronson
"Joanne"
"Million Reasons"
Sam Smith"Pray"
Little Big Town"Better Man"
Jon Batiste
Gary Clark Jr.
Joe Saylor
Tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry:
"Ain't That a Shame"
"Maybellene"
Luis Fonsi
Daddy Yankee
Zuleyka Rivera
"Despacito"
Childish Gambino"Terrified"
Pink"Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"
Bruno Mars
Cardi B
"Finesse"
Sting
Shaggy
"Englishman in New York"
"Don't Make Me Wait"
DJ Khaled
Rihanna
Bryson Tiller
"Wild Thoughts"
Eric Church
Maren Morris
Brothers Osborne
Tribute to the victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting
and Manchester Arena bombing:

"Tears in Heaven"
Kesha
Camila Cabello
Cyndi Lauper
Julia Michaels
Andra Day
Bebe Rexha
"Praying"
U2"Get Out of Your Own Way"
Elton John
Miley Cyrus
"Tiny Dancer"
Ben PlattTribute to Leonard Bernstein:
"Somewhere"
Patti LuPoneTribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber:
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
SZA"Broken Clocks"
Chris Stapleton
Emmylou Harris
Tribute to Tom Petty:
"Wildflowers"
Logic
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Tribute to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington:
"1-800-273-8255"

Presenters

Nominees list adapted from the Recording Academy's website.

General

;Record of the Year
;Album of the Year
;Song of the Year
;Best New Artist
;Best Pop Solo Performance
;Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
;Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
;Best Pop Vocal Album
Best Dance Recording
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
;Best Rock Performance
;Best Metal Performance
;Best Rock Song
;Best Rock Album
Best Alternative Music Album
Best R&B Performance
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Best R&B Song
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Best R&B Album
;Best Rap Performance
;Best Rap/Sung Performance
Best Rap Song
Best Rap Album
Best Country Solo Performance
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Best Country Song
Best Country Album
Best New Age Album
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Best Latin Jazz Album
Best Gospel Performance/Song
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
Best Gospel Album
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Best Roots Gospel Album
;Best Latin Pop Album
;Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
;Best Regional Mexican Music Album
;Best Tropical Latin Album
;Best American Roots Performance
;Best American Roots Song
;Best Americana Album
;Best Bluegrass Album
;Best Traditional Blues Album
;Best Contemporary Blues Album
;Best Folk Album
;Best Regional Music Album
;Best Reggae Album
;Best World Music Album
;Best Children's Album
;Best Spoken Word Album
;Best Comedy Album
; Best Musical Theater Album
; Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
; Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
; Best Song Written for Visual Media
Best Instrumental Composition
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
; Best Recording Package
; Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Best Historical Album
; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
; Best Engineered Album, Classical
;Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
;Producer of the Year, Classical
;Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
;Best Surround Sound Album
;Best Orchestral Performance
;Best Opera Recording
;Best Choral Performance
;Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
;Best Classical Instrumental Solo
;Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
;Best Classical Compendium
;Best Contemporary Classical Composition
;Best Music Video
;Best Music Film

[MusiCares Person of the Year]

TitleArtistRecord LabelYear of ReleaseGenreFormat
Band of GypsysJimi HendrixCapitol1970RockAlbum
"Bring It on Home to Me"Sam CookeRCA Victor1962SoulSingle
The ChronicDr. DreDeath Row Records1992RapAlbum
"Dream On"AerosmithColumbia1973RockSingle
"Fight the Power"Public EnemyMotown1989Hip HopSingle
"Flash Light"ParliamentCasablanca1978FunkSingle
"Grazing in the Grass"Hugh MasekelaUni1968JazzSingle
Heart Like a WheelLinda RonstadtCapitol1974Country RockAlbum
"I Can't Help Myself"Four TopsMotown1965SoulSingle
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"Gladys Knight & the PipsMotown1967R&BSingle
" For Sentimental Reasons"The King Cole TrioCapitol Records1946JazzSingle
"I Will Always Love You"Whitney HoustonArista1992PopSingle
Johnny Cash at Folsom PrisonJohnny CashColumbia1968CountryAlbum
"Mary Had a Little Lamb"Thomas Alva Edison1878ExperimentalSingle
"Me and Mrs. Jones"Billy PaulPhiladelphia International1972SoulSingle
"Moon River"Andy WilliamsColumbia1962Traditional PopTrack from Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes
"My Man"Billie HolidayBrunswick1937JazzSingle
NevermindNirvanaDGC1991GrungeAlbum
A Night at the OperaQueenElektra1975Progressive RockAlbum
"Paint It, Black"The Rolling StonesLondon1966Psychedelic RockSingle
"Savoy Blues"Louis Armstrong and His Hot FiveOkeh1927JazzSingle
"A Song for You"Leon RussellShelter1970PopSingle
"Space Oddity"David BowieMercury1969Art RockTrack from Space Oddity
"That's All Right"Arthur "Big Boy" CrudupRCA Victor1949BluesSingle
Tubular BellsMike OldfieldVirgin1973Progressive RockAlbum

In Memoriam

The following received multiple nominations:
Eight:
Seven:
Six:
Five:
Four:
Three:
Two:
The following received multiple awards:
Six:
Five:
Three:
Two:
In June 2017, the Grammy organization announced a few minor changes to the voting and awarding process.
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards marked the first time since 2003 that the ceremony was held in New York City. The Staples Center in Los Angeles had been the home of the Grammys since 2000. The 2003 ceremony was also held at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The fifteen-year gap between the 2003 and 2018 Grammys in New York marked the longest period of time New York went without hosting the awards.
With the main telecast being held at Madison Square Garden, the premiere ceremony was held at the Hulu Theater.
The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute is typically held at the Los Angeles Convention Center two days prior to the Grammys, but since the 2018 Grammy Awards were held in New York, the MusiCares tribute was held at Radio City Music Hall.

Controversy and cost overruns

Hosting the Grammy Awards in New York City resulted in the Grammy Awards costing more to organize as costs associated with hosting it in Los Angeles are significantly less. The awards cost $8 million more to host in New York City. The host committee that the city assembled failed to raise the money that they had initially promised. The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute which the Barclays Center was hoping to host ended up being held at Radio City Music Hall, which is owned by The Madison Square Garden Company. MusiCares funds which were intended for charitable purposes were instead used to pay for the $8 million cost overruns associated with hosting the Grammys in New York City.
Dana Tomarken, the former Executive VP of MusiCares claims that Recording Academy President Neil Portnow directed these funds away from MusiCares to pay for the cost-overruns. Dana Tomarken had been negotiating a deal to have the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute to Fleetwood Mac to be held at the Barclays Center, but Portnow decided to have it at Radio City Music Hall, without consulting Tomarken. Irving Azoff who heads Azoff MSG Entertainment informed her of this change rather than Portnow consulting her first. Tomarken has since made a claim of wrongful termination. On June 5, 2018, an independent investigation was launched to examine the claims made by Dana Tomarken. The investigation will examine the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute as well as sexual harassment allegations. In May 2019, Tomarken claimed she was fired because she pushed back against the academy's "boys club". The academy allegedly tried to keep Tomarken's allegations from being fully made public. She also claimed that she struggled to find a suitable venue in New York for the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute to Fleetwood Mac. The Barclays Center offered up an acceptable deal, but Irving Azoff of the Madison Square Garden Company prevented the event from being held there. By having it at Radio City instead, the event was not a traditional VIP dinner, nor did it have a silent auction. This then prevented the event from turning a profit.
On June 4, 2018, the mayor's office weighed in on the controversy, saying their position was always to be "venue neutral" and denied any involvement in the venue controversy. The Barclays Center notified City Hall of their interest in being involved with Grammy week and Julie Menin passed that information along to Grammy organizers.

Ratings

The show was moved to January to avoid competing with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, as was the case in 2010 and 2014. Viewership for the ceremony dropped 24% compared to the previous year, obtaining the smallest audience in the show's history in the key demographic.