The Grammys are all about "moments," and one that maybe stood out for the wrong reasons was Sting performing his 1987 hit "Englishman in New York" onstage at Sunday's Grammys.
The performance was fine, if missing the loping bounce provided by its original band, which included saxophonist Branford Marsalis and drummer Manu Katche on Sting's second solo album " ... Nothing Like the Sun," which was, as mentioned, released 30 years ago.
Sting wore a striped shirt and blazer getup that looked very early Police, and then pop-reggae artist Shaggy showed up to lead a watery dancehall breakdown before the song settled back into it's pleasant midtempo home. Oh, and Shaggy's biggest song, "It Wasn't Me," was the big punchline on the Grammys' earlier sketch, "Subway Carpool Karaoke," which was previously filmed with James Corden. That song was released only 18 years ago.
And sure, the Newcastle-on-Tyne-born Sting is English, and the Grammys were broadcast in New York this year. Apart from a never articulated sort of look back in accordance with the Grammys' 60th broadcast, any connection the song and its performance had to the year in music of 2017 remains a mystery.
By the way, Lorde _ whose 2017 album "Melodrama" is nominated for album of the year _ was not scheduled to perform during Sunday's telecast.
