Lizzo Opened the Grammys With an Appearance From Sasha Flute & a Promise That "Tonight Is For Kobe"

Eight-time nominee Lizzo took the stage to open the 62nd Grammy Awards with a performance of "Cuz I Love You" and "Truth Hurts" that was simply everything

By Billy Nilles Jan 27, 2020 1:15 AMTags
Lizzo, 2020 Grammys, Grammy Awards, PerformanceKevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Now that's how you open a show.

The 62nd Grammy Awards officially got underway on Sunday, Jan. 26 with the evening's most-nominated artist taking the stage for a performance that she promised ahead of the big day would be something we'd never seen from her before.

We're talking, of course, about the one and only Lizzo. And boy, she was not exaggerating.

Announcing to the crowd in the Staples Center in Los Angeles that "tonight is for Kobe," referencing the fallen Kobe Bryant who spent his 20-year NBA career with the Lakers in the very venue, she started things off with an emotional performance of "Cuz I Love You," the stunning title track from her Album of the Year-nominated LP. 

From there, we were treated to ballerinas, a performance of her first No. 1 hit "Truth Hurts" and a breakout appearance from Sasha Flute, the classically-trained flautist's iconic instrument. It. Was. Everything.

"Welcome to the Grammys, bitch!" she shouted as she brought the house to their feet. Like we said, everything.

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See the Winners of the 2020 Grammys

Heading into the ceremony, Lizzo was the year's most-nominated artist, with a total of eight nominations, including each of the four General Field categories (Song, Record and Album of the Year, as well as Best New Artist). By the time she took the stage, she'd already learned the outcome of two of those categories, making her a two-time Grammy winner (for Best R&B Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album) as she made her performance debut. Not a bad way to do it.

The night capped off a year that saw Lizzo release her major-label debut LP (her third album overall) and earn her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to the shocking resurgence of "Truth Hurts," released all the way back in 2017. 

As Ricky Reed, Lizzo's producer who signed her to Nice Life, his joint-venture label with Atlantic Records in 2016, told E! News ahead of the ceremony, "We can have great songs, we hope that some will become hits, whatever. But at the end of the day, it's all about the eyeballs on Lizzo and people listening to Lizzo and her building her kingdom."

After tonight, we'd say the throne is undeniably hers.