Alicia Keys Soothed the Grammys Audience With the Most Gentle Lewis Capaldi Cover

In light of Kobe Bryant's tragic passing, Alicia Keys, actual angel, brought a soothing presence to the 2020 Grammy Awards with a gentle piano jam session as host of the show at the Staples Centre. The artist, a multiple Grammy winner herself, explained to the audience that sitting at the piano was her favourite way of processing the news and getting comfortable.

Keys riffed on the piano before diving straight into a playful cover of Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved." In the freestyled song, she referenced many of the artists up for Grammys, including BTS, H.E.R., and yes, Capaldi himself. To get an idea of what her parody performance was like, here's a sample of the lyrics: "And here's Alicia Keys to get you through it all / If you like country or you prefer Young Thug, I'm gonna get you kinda used to hearing music you love / Tonight we must unite in spite of all the news that we're seeing." No truer words sung, right?

"Tonight we must unite in spite of all the news that we're seeing."

Thank you, @aliciakeys, for your powerful voice. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/IK9tKEQCtG

— Tina Tchen (@TinaTchen) January 27, 2020

Prior to this cover, Keys also started the Grammys with Boyz II Men, honouring the NBA legend with an emotional acoustic rendition of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" right after Lizzo's opening act. The performance ended with a pan of Bryant's retired jersey numbers in the Staples Centre rafters.

No matter the occasion and mood, it's clear that an Alicia Keys performance, whether it's a cover or an original song, is always welcomed. We couldn't have asked for a more gracious Grammys host!