Alicia Keys may be solo hosting the Grammys after the awards show had trouble finding a suitable stand-in, but she brought along some guests of her own. To kick off the show, she shared the stage with Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and Michelle Obama. While that moment was inspiring, the next guest she brought out allowed her to share a truly touching story of her own Grammys experience alongside the person with whom she’d originally shared that moment: Rocker John Mayer.
“If I Ain’t Got You,” the second single from Alicia’s sophomore album The Diary Of Alicia Keys, was nominated for Song Of The Year at the 2005 Grammy Awards, but when it lost to Mayer’s “Daughters,” the guitarist broke his award in half, wrote “Alicia Keys” on it, and gave the phonograph half to Alicia to keep while he held onto the base. Once he was onstage tonight, he joked that it was the “coolest joint custody arrangement” in the recording industry. The pair reunited their “shared” award just before announcing that Childish Gambino had won Song Of The Year. Unfortunately, Donald Glover wasn’t around to accept the award himself, so Alicia and John accepted for him before shuffling off the stage, leaving his award to the care of a stagehand — and in one piece.
