Trevor Noah returned to host the Grammy Awards for the sixth year in a row on Sunday night and he started the show at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with plenty of fiery jokes.
The former “Daily Show” host began his monologue with a shout-out to Rosé and Bruno Mars, who opened up the show moments earlier with their hit tune “APT.”
“And with that, we have officially kicked off the 68th annual Grammy Awards,” Noah, 41, said.
“We also have a front-row seat to the best concert money can buy,” he said before listing off artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Reba McEntire and rapper Lauryn Hill.
“The last time Lauryn Hill performed at the Grammys was in 1999,” Noah said. “Back in 1999, the president had a sex scandal; people thought computers were going to control the world; and Diddy was arrested.”
“Boy, how times have changed,” the comedian added sarcastically.
Noah went on to give a shout-out to the “royalty in the house” — including Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx — before taking a jab at Amazon’s CEO and his star-studded nuptials in Italy back in June.
“There are so many stars in this room, I feel like I’m at Jeff Bezos’ wedding, but with more black people,” he joked.
Noah also took a shot at Nicki Minaj, who has expressed her support for President Donald Trump.
“Nicki Minaj isn’t here. She’s at the White House discussing some issues with Trump,” he quipped before doing an over-the-top impression of the president, “Actually Nicki, I have the biggest ass … it’s me … WAP, WAP, WAP. Look at it, baby.”
After walking around the room and visiting several tables, Noah approached Justin and Hailey Bieber to ask if the makeup mogul had a discount code for her Rhode lip tint.
The show’s executive producer, Ben Winston of Fulwell Entertainment, described Sunday as the comedian’s “final” outing upon announcing Noah as host last month.
“I am beyond thrilled to welcome Trevor Noah back to host the Grammys for his sixth, and sadly, final time,” Winston said, per Variety. “He’s been the most phenomenal host of the show. He’s so smart, so funny, and such a true fan of the artists and music.”
“His impact on the show has been truly spectacular, and we can’t wait to do it together one last time,” he added.
However, Winston also revealed that he had to beg Noah to return for one last hurrah.
“After last year’s show, [Noah] respectfully said, ‘Look, I’ve done a great five years, it’s time to hand the microphone off to somebody else and move on,’” Winston told Entertainment Weekly earlier this week.
“It got to December, and we hadn’t found anybody that we absolutely loved,” he noted. “I sent him a video, and I was literally, I was on my knees in this video, and I said, ‘Come back and do one final year, it’s the last year on CBS, let’s make it your last year too.’”
After 50 years with CBS, the Recording Academy has signed a new $500 million, 10-year deal with Disney to bring the Grammy Awards to ABC, Disney+ and Hulu beginning in 2027.
