Steve Lacy made his Grammys debut on Sunday night (Feb. 5) with an enthralling rendition of his multi-Grammy-nominated breakthrough hit “Bad Habit,” which host Trevor Noah described as “an anthem all over the world.”
“Hello Grammys, my name is Steve Lacy,” the singer-songwriter said before launching into the Billboard Hot 100 smash. Thundercat provided extended bass soloing during the smooth electric performance, which featured the alt-R&B star really flexing his falsetto range.
Steve Lacy
Lacy’s performance appeared to be well received by the Grammys audience, with stars such as Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Machine Gun Kelly, and H.E.R. seen excitedly singing along, and Taylor Swift and Beyoncé seen grooving at their tables as well.
Lacy received four Grammy nominations on the night, including record of the year, song of the year, and best pop solo performance (all for “Habit”), as well as best progressive R&B album (for his Gemini Rights album).
He lost the first three contests (to Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That,” and Adele’s “Easy On Me”) but won the fourth. Lacy was not considered eligible for this year’s best new artist award, despite being one of the year’s biggest mainstream crossover success stories,
because he had already been nominated for best progressive R&B album in 2020.
“Bad Habit” was Lacy’s first Hot 100 hit last year, peaking at No. 1 for three weeks in October and remaining there for the rest of the month.
This February, the top 20 will be determined by the Grammy Awards.