Harry Styles opens 63rd Grammy Awards with sexy, soulful ‘Watermelon Sugar’
Harry Styles opened the 63rd Grammy Awards Sunday night in low-key but sexy fashion with a sultry take on his hit “Watermelon Sugar.”
Wearing matching black-leather trousers and a jacket — but no shirt to conceal his sinewy frame — the former boy-band heartthrob led a crafty live band, which included Blood Orange’s Devonté Hynes on bass, through the disco-kissed pop jam from his “Fine Line” album.
Live updates of the 2021 Grammy Awards winners list: 83 categories including album, song, record and best new artist.
Styles, a former member of the British boy band One Direction, is nominated for two Grammys due to be handed out on Sunday’s CBS telecast: pop vocal album for “Fine Line” and pop solo performance for “Watermelon Sugar.” (The award for best music video, which Beyoncé won with “Brown Skin Girl,” was presented before the show.)
Those three nods make Styles perhaps a bit less decorated than is typical of the Grammys’ opening act; other artists who’ve done the job in recent years include Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Adele and last year’s opener, Lizzo, who led the field of 2020 nominees.
But Styles has a clear advocate in his close friendship with the Grammys’ executive producer, Ben Winston, who’s worked with Styles on many occasions (including One Direction’s charming episode of “Carpool Karaoke”) and even asked the singer to be the godparent to one of his children.
Watch here for live updates on winners, performances, the red carpet, the COVID-impacted telecast and more.
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