The Best 2023 Grammys Moments, From Beyoncé Making History to Bad Bunny's Performance

Host Trevor Noah spiced up his monologue this year with a nice little surprise for Adele after finding out the celebrity she's always wanted to meet in person was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who's also a big fan of the "30" singer). The comedian joked that he didn't have Dwayne Johnson on hand that night, but he did have "someone called 'The Rock,'" before the former wrestler appeared behind Adele. The two stars embraced each other and took photos together later during the show. Johnson even presented Adele with her best pop solo performance award.

Bad Bunny returned to the Grammys stage this year with stunning performances of his songs "El Apagón" and "Después de la Playa" from his record-breaking, Grammy-nominated "Un Verano Sin Ti" album. His opening number might as well have been one giant dance party, as even Taylor Swift couldn't resist getting out of her seat to dance to the music.

Even a little LA traffic couldn't hold up Beyoncé's major history-making moment at the 2023 Grammys. After missing the chance to accept her best R&B song award, Queen Bey arrived just in time to celebrate her best dance/electronic album win — her fourth award that night and 32nd Grammy overall, which made her the most-awarded artist in Grammys history. The icon gave a tearful speech and dedicated her trophy to her family, including her late uncle Jonny, and the queer community for inspiring her award-winning "Renaissance" album.

Though Styles's album of the year win prompted a lot of mixed reactions from music fans — some of whom thought it should've gone to Beyoncé or Bad Bunny — the singer's self-proclaimed No. 1 fan, 78-year-old Reina Halvorsen from Sudbury, Ontario — was able to present him with the prestigious award, which he welcomed with open arms as he gave her a big hug.

Petras made history as the first transgender woman to win a Grammy Award for best pop duo/group performance, which she won for her and Sam Smith's viral hit "Unholy." During her emotional acceptance speech, Petras thanked Grammy-nominated musician Sophie, who died in 2021, for believing in her and gave a shoutout to the "incredible transgender legends before who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight."

Davis joined the elite EGOT club after snagging a win for best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording — which also marked her first-ever Grammy win. During the 2023 Grammys pre-show, the 57-year-old actor accepted her honour and delivered an emotional speech, saying, "I wrote this book to honour 6-year-old Viola. To honour her life. Her joy. Her trauma, everything. And it has been such a journey. I just EGOT!"

In celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary this year, the Grammys laid out the main stage to allow dozens of rap artists, both old and young, to pay homage to the genre that's influenced the culture worldwide. The star-studded tribute performance included appearances from Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Spinderella, Too $hort, Lil Baby, GloRilla, and Lil Uzi Vert.

This year, Lizzo took home the big trophy for record of the year for "About Damn Time," and took the time to give credit to her biggest idols, Prince and Beyoncé, during her acceptance speech. "When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music," she said, noting that, at the time, "feel-good music wasn't mainstream at that point, and I felt very misunderstood." Lizzo later turned her attention toward Beyoncé, who was standing in the crowd cheering the singer on, to tell her she once skipped school in the 5th grade to see her perform live. "You changed my life," said Lizzo. "You sang that gospel medley and the way you made me feel, I was like, 'I want to make people feel this way with my music.' Thank you so much, you clearly are the artist of our lives."

This year's in memoriam segment was a heartfelt tribute that acknowledged some of the stars we've lost in the last year — with the exception of a few who were omitted — and featured special performances from Kacey Musgraves, who honoured country music legend Loretta Lynn by singing her song "Coal Miner's Daughter"; Quavo, who paid tribute to his nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff with his song, "Without You"; and Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Bonnie Raitt, all of whom honoured Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie by performing the band's "Songbird" song.