Breaking Down the Grammys

Breaking Down the Grammys with a metroConnections Producer

Heidi Foels, metroConnections Producer

Music got its award-worthy moment on Sunday, Feb. 10 when the 61^st Annual Grammy Awards were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Overall, it was a very successful show that conveyed a positive, uplifting message of unity and peace through music. Of course, there were some highlights and lowlights that we have to call out.

Cringe-worthy Moment: The Song of the Year transition

From a stage management perspective, this was a mess. Alicia Keys introduced Song of the Year with a video of a past winner, but as she began to announce the winner, she was moved by a stage manager to an alternate stage, so a performer could set up for the next segment. These stage positions are so vital to camera angles, show timing, next act setups, etc., and could have easily been planned out better to avoid the awkwardness.

Wow Moment: Powerhouse opener

A strong opening with five powerful women in the industry (Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Alicia Keys, Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez) who are role models for so many in the crowd and viewers at home. They set an inspiring tone for the whole night!

Laughable Moment: Fog fail backstage

Post Malone went backstage for a part of his performance where he was blasted with what was supposed to be an effect of fog, but it turned out to be so much fog that you couldn’t see him on the cameras.

Encouraging Moment: Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech

Lady Gaga not only performed the award-winning song, “Shallow,” but during her acceptance speech delivered an impactful monologue on mental health. Having a speech that is delivered with such poise and beauty that the audience is captivated is a producer’s dream. Moments like these make your show more than just another show.

“They Hit the Nail on the Head” Moment: Alicia Keys

Providing a powerhouse emcee who represents the overall vision of the awards show was a total slam dunk for the 2019 Grammys.

Whoops Moment: Cutting off Drake

When Drake was giving his acceptance speech, he gave a natural pause that the director took as a ‘wrap’ and went to commercial. The problem here was that the mic and camera were still on and as the director took to commercial, Drake began to speak again. To those watching, he was ‘cut off.’ From a director’s perspective, each presenter/winner is given a countdown clock to follow so the show at large can remain on time and all other speakers/winners have equal time. This is by no means the director’s fault; however, it seemed Drake had more to say.

What did you think of the Grammys? Was there anything else you would change or call out? We’d love to hear from you! info@metroconnections.com

Heidi Foels has been with metroConnections since 2013. Since being hired as a Production Coordinator in the Production Service division, Foels has been promoted and is now serving as Producer. In her role, she engages in several facets of the business and manages clients, executes corporate events and performs detailed project management. Heidi graduated from St. Cloud State University and holds a degree in Marketing.