The 60th annual Grammy Awards were held on Jan. 29 at Madison Square Garden. The event was hosted by English actor, comedian, singer and television host James Corden.

The show opened with a politically charged performance by rapper Kendrick Lamar. Performing his verse “XXX.,” Lamar stood in front of an American flag backdrop, accompanied by several dancers dressed in military uniform. Comedian Dave Chappelle and band U2 were also involved with the performance. Lamar was nominated for seven awards and took home four. He won Grammys for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

After Lamar’s performance, Lady Gaga took the stage to perform the piano version of “Joanne” as well as “Million Reasons.” Sam Smith also sang his hit song “Pray.” Smith was followed by Kelly Clarkson and Nick Jonas presenting the award for Best New Artist, which singer-songwriter Alessia Cara won. She was the only female winner of the live broadcast.

Little Big Town sang “Better Man,” written by Taylor Swift, and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee performed “Despacito.” The duo dominated the stage as the crowd sang along to the lyrics. Childish Gambino sang “Terrified” from his album “Awaken, My Love!” with child actor JD McCrary. P!nk performed “Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken,” accompanied by an American Sign Language translator, and surprised everyone when she substituted her past aerial stunts for a simple performance. Cardi B and Bruno Mars performed a vibrant and fun rendition of “Finesse (Remix).”

Mars was the big winner of the night with six awards. He won Grammys for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance.

DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller performed “Wild Thoughts.” In a sentimental performance Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne sang a heartfelt rendition of “Tears in Heaven” dedicated to the victims of the Las Vegas shootings. The names of the shooting victims appeared in lanterns behind them.

In the night’s most powerful moment, Kesha performed her recent hit “Praying.” She was accompanied by a talented group of female singers which included Cyndi Lauper, Bebe Rexha, Camila Cabello, Andra Day and Julia Michaels. They were all dressed in white. As Kesha belted the lyrics, her emotion and fury was evident in her voice.

The funniest moment of the night was a pre-taped skit that had various musicians reading Michael Wolff’s best seller “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” They were “auditioning” for the audiobook that would take home the award for Best Spoken Word Album at next year’s Grammys. Artists such as Snoop Dog, Cher, Cardi B and John Legend all participated. An appearance by Hillary Clinton resulted in applause and laughter from the audience.

Other performances included Miley Cyrus and Elton John singing “Tiny Dancer,” SZA performing “Broken Clocks” and Logic, Khalid and Alessia Cara performing their world-renowned song for suicide awareness, “1-800-273-8255.” Patti Lupone honored Andrew Lloyd Webber with “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”.

Overall, the night was a success as some of the world’s greatest musicians performed and took home awards for their hard work in the music industry.