Trevor Noah kicked off the 65th Annual Grammy Awards with a surprise for none other than Adele. Since the “Easy On Me” singer, 34, is such a huge fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 50, Trevor introduced the two during his opening monologue. Following an electrifying performance by Bad Bunny, the comedian, 38, had everyone in stitches as he lead off the show with plenty of music-related quips for his third time hosting the award show. Trevor had a ton of jokes about the different musical A-listers to kick off the ceremony.
Trevor went over to Adele’s table as he made jokes about each musician, and took the opportunity to introduce the two stars. “The person that Adele has always wanted to meet but never have is Dwayne Johnson,” he said. “I found out that he’s a huge fan of yours too. I don’t have Dwayne Johnson here tonight, but I do have someone here called The Rock. Adele, meet The Rock. The Rock, meet Adele. First time ever! You two get acquainted.”
Trevor is no stranger to hosting the Grammys! He hosted the show both in 2021 and 2022, bringing plenty of hilarity to both of those occasions. He announced that he would be hosting yet again in an Instagram post in December. He brought topical humor to both occasions, like when he remarked that the 2021 ceremony was “the biggest outdoor event since the storming of the Capitol,” or took a jab at Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. “This is a concert where we’re giving out awards. We’re going to listen to some music, we’re going to be dancing, we’re going to be singing, we’re going to be keeping people’s names out of our mouths, and we’re going to be giving out awards all throughout the night,” he said at the time.
Trevor’s time hosting the Grammys did lead to some controversy in 2022 when Kanye West was banned from the show regarding “concerning online behavior,” including many attacks he made against the comedian on social media. While Trevor has been critical of the “Runaway” rapper, he’s also been outspoken about trying to help Kanye, amid his many outbursts, including attacks against his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and shocking antisemitic statements, despite the attacks. When the show banned Ye, Trevor said that he had wanted a different outcome in a tweet. “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye,” he wrote.
During an October episode of The Daily Show, Trevor shared that he held no ill will towards Kanye and had hoped he’d get help. “I’ve was never beefing with Kanye West. I was concerned about Kanye West,” he said. “What I have beef with is us as society not coming together around the person and going like, ‘Hey, maybe this is not the moment to put a microphone in your face so that you just go off saying everything.'”
The Grammys are also the first major event that Trevor has appeared at since he stepped away from his job as the host of The Daily Show after seven years in December. The South African comedian announced that he was leaving the Comedy Central staple with an emotional monologue in September. “We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together. But after seven years, I feel like it’s time,” he said at the time.