Yes, the Grammy Awards are all about the music, but for lighting designers it’s also about the way the performance are lit. Last night showcased some of the best and worst lighting you’re likely to see on tv this year. Among the best was the lighting for Ariana Grande’s performance of “Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart.” Surrounded by glowing crystals, luminous fog, and a small backlit orchestra all she had to do was stand still and sing. The lighting director created a beautiful environment of soft light and slowly changing color that was in harmony with the feeling of the music.
Among the worst lighting was Kanye’s performance of “Only One.” The song opened with him standing over a beam of light shooting up from the floor. As he sang he moved in and out of the light, but without meaning or intention. He was visible at some times and not at others, always with shadows obscuring his face. At the beginning of the second verse the music swelled, providing an ideal opportunity to build the light so that he was better lit, but nothing happened. It’s impossible to know why. Did he tell the lighting director not to change the lighting? Did he skip rehearsal so that there wasn’t another lighting cue ready to go? Either way the result was him wandering around, in and out of the light, for the entire song. Here it is: