LOS ANGELES — Grammys host Trevor Noah officially kicked off music's biggest night for the third year in a row with another witty opening monologue — following a dynamic performance from Bad Bunny.
The former "Daily Show" anchor returned to host the 65th Grammy Awards on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles ("the best city in the world if you ignore a few other cities," Noah quipped).
"I'm lucky enough to be back as your host tonight," Noah said at the beginning of his monologue.
"My job is to be your eyes, your ears. I'll be floating around this room. ... This is the room where it all goes down — just look around. ... Every song on TikTok that you hear? There are people who made them. This is them!"
Noah also took a moment to introduce Adele to "the person that Adele has always wanted to meet but never has": Dwayne Johnson. After Noah surprised the "Easy on Me" singer with an appearance from the Rock, the pair of superstars shared a sweet hug in the middle of the crowd.
"You've never met him, right?" Noah asked Adele. "I found out that he's a huge fan of yours, too. And no, I don't have Dwayne Johnson here tonight, but I do have someone called the Rock? Adele, meet the Rock. The Rock, meet Adele! First time ever. Alright, you two get acquainted."
In December, Noah announced that he would be back to emcee the Grammy Awards a week after he took his final bow as host of "The Daily Show." The South African comedian hosted the popular Comedy Central program for about seven years before announcing his exit in September.
In an interview with Billboard, Noah said he was excited to host the Grammys again because he's "a fan of almost all the people who are there" and because "it'll be ... back in L.A."
This year, Beyoncé leads the Grammy nominees with nine nominations — including record, song and album of the year. Other top contenders include Kendrick Lamar, Brandi Carlile, Adele, Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, DJ Khaled, Future, The-Dream and Randy Merrill.
"Beyoncé is nominated for her album, 'Renaissance,'" Noah said. "Which, by the way, was better than anything from the actual Renaissance in my opinion. The Renaissance was just pictures of grapes and stuff. Beyoncé took it up another level.
"In fact, I was so inspired by the lyrics of 'Break My Soul' that I actually quit my job. That's how powerful that was. I just wish Beyoncé had also written a song about the importance of having savings before you quit your job."
Among the artists scheduled to perform during Sunday's telecast are Beyoncé, Styles, Blige, Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Sam Smith, Kim Petras and Bad Bunny.
"Harry Styles is here tonight, everybody," Noah continued. "I mean, what can you say about this man that hasn't been said? ... Women throw their panties at this man ... he puts them on and he looks better in them than they do, easily."
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