The world dealt with the loss of some musical powerhouses over the past year, and the 2022 GRAMMY Awards remembered those we've lost with a touching In Memoriam segment.
Host Trevor Noah introduced the segment with a special tribute to Taylor Hawkins, sharing, "This was the moment of the show when I was supposed to be introducing the Foo Fighters. We would have been celebrating with them as they won three GRAMMY Awards earlier today."
"But they, of course, are not here due to the tragic passing of their legendary drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Out thoughts go out to Taylor's family, his friends, the Foo Fighters family and all of their friends around the world," he continued. "We would like to take a moment now to remember Taylor."
The show then played a heartbreaking video montage of Hawkins' many memorable concert performances set to the band's emotional hit, "My Hero." Hawkins tragically died on March 25 at the age of 50, and Foo Fighters subsequently canceled all their planned performances.
Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler then took to the stage to honor the lives and legacies of late music icons, by performing a number of songs created by Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, who died in November at the age of 91.
Platt began the segment with a performance of "Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily We Roll Along, followed by a beautiful cover of "Send in the Clowns" by Erivo and Odom Jr.
Zegler closed out the tribute with a performance of "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
The In Memoriam segment paid tribute to legendary rapper DMX -- as well as legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Don Everly of the Everly Brothers, rocker Meat Loaf and Vicente Fernandez, known as the "King of Ranchera Music" -- among many, many others.
While the show reportedly began with a list of hundreds of names to possibly include, the length of the segment required them to pare down the final list of those to be included. However, a much more comprehensive list is featured on the GRAMMYs website.
Platt spoke with GRAMMYs.com ahead of the show and explained the impact Sondheim had on his own life, sharing, "He meant so much to me. When I was a kid, I grew up listening to his musicals. He really shaped my worldview about how to be a person from his writing."
The 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards air live on Sunday, April 3, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Check out the full winners list here!
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