2021 Grammys Opens With a Tour From Trevor Noah and a Swinging Harry Styles Performance (VIDEO)

The Grammys 2021 is trying to keep the show as “normal” as possible while maintaining a safe social distance from the Staples Center — where the show is not being broadcast from this year (it’s at the Los Angeles Convention Center), as host Trevor Noah quips in his monologue from a tent outside.

And yes, his opening is full of reminders of COVID  (“I know it’s been one year, but it feels like 10”) and even the recent royals news (“There’s more tension in that tent [where nominees are gathered] than a family reunion at the Buckingham Palace”), but the focus, as always, is on the music.

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Noah offers a tour of the setup of the 2021 Grammys, from the tent to the red carpet to the stage, where musicians are gathered (socially distanced, of course). To kick off the show, that includes Black Pumas, the Haim sisters, Billie Eilish, and Finneas. First to perform: Harry Styles.

“He’ll steal your heart and your dress and he’ll look damn good doing it,” Noah says when introducing him.

And that he does, performing “Watermelon Sugar.” It’s his first time performing at the Grammys.

“We’re hoping this is all about what 2021 can be,” the host says in his opening monologue. And considering this might be the most normal award show so far in 2021 — there’s no one over Zoom yet, for instance, and the night opens with three musical performances (Eilish and HAIM after Styles) — the focus is, at least, on music where it should be.

The Grammys have not released his monologue, so here’s a clip of Noah giving a great talk about the importance of the single record.

A single record has never been more important! Just ask @Trevornoah. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/qg8Ds7I3SE

— CBS (@CBS) March 15, 2021