In a moment of pure slapstick, Grammys' host James Corden got stuck on the riser that was supposed to boost him onto stage, then fell down the stairs and fluffed his whole dance routine.

Of course, it was all a big joke... and the star broke into an incredible rap, mentioning all of the big nominees (and Donald Trump).

The best verse related to one particular on-again-off-again couple in the audience.

"Rihanna and Drake / They each could win eight / They sound good together / I think they should date."

There were stony faces all around.

Last week Corden said he wouldn't sing at the awards. Well clearly he's broken that promise in the opening act - but we all enjoyed it.

Image source, Reuters

Adele kicks off proceedings with a stunning rendition of Hello... putting to bed memories of the technical glitches that marred her performance last year.

Image source, Getty Images

Chance the Rapper is up for best rap record (well, he couldn't win a country award with a name like that, could he?) later. 

He's already won the award for best rap performance - and it seems Mrs Chance Senior is enjoying the attention.

Speaking on the red carpet he told The Grammys.com:

"She’s living it up.

"Everyone been complimenting her on her hair and dress." 

He added: "She’s killing it right now."  

Image source, Getty Images

German supermodel Heidi Klum knows her way around a red carpet and she's just added some more glamour to this year's Grammy proceedings.

Last week, no less a publication than Rolling Stone predicted, external that country star Maren Morris would be the Grammys' breakout star.

But is she feeling the pressure? Is she heck.

"I'm pretty zen right now," said the star. "I don't know how, but I am."

She'll be performing Once - a song she wrote about bumping into her ex-boyfriend's mother - during the ceremony later.

Has she advice for anyone suffering from nerves tonight?

"A couple of deep breaths. And maybe a little shot of tequila."

Where can she be?

Image source, Twitter

After a relatively demure, restrained performance at the Super Bowl last Sunday, Lady Gaga has dialled the crazy back up to 11 for the Grammys' red carpet.

This is what The Village People might have worn if The Village People had the courage to be really flamboyant.

Lady Gaga is performing with Metallica later tonight. Let's hope they have matching outfits.

Image source, AP

Soul star John Legend and Cynthia Erivo, from the Broadway production of The Color Purple (which won a Grammy earlier tonight), will be performing during the In Memoriam section later tonight.

Speaking on the red carpet, John said they'd be performing a new arrangement of the Beach Boys' classic God Only Knows.

Meanwhile, John's wife, supermodel Chrissy Teigen, has turned up on the red carpet with green fingers. She explained the dilemma on Twitter last night. 

"It's because she eats like a child," joked John who, amazingly, survived that quip with his testicles intact.

The BBC's James Wood and his producer Regan Morris are manning the red carpet in LA tonight. They're at the opposite end of the queue to Ryan Seacrest and the official Grammy channels, so none of the BIG names have made it down there yet. But here's who they've seen so far.

Image source, E!

Katy Perry just rocked up on the red carpet, where Ryan Seacrest praised her... er "unique" new do.

"It's like the last colour in all of the Pantone books that I hadn't done," she laughed. "So it's my last resort."

The star also talked about her as-yet-untitled new album, suggesting it would take on a more political dimension.

"I used to be the queen of innuendo. Then I woke up a little bit more - and now I'm the queen of subtext.

"There's so much divisiveness," she continued. "We just need to listen to one another."

But don't worry, fans. She's not abandoned the fluffy, fun material altogether.

"There's one song called Bon Appetit that I love," she said. "It's pretty sexual."

Danish band Lukas Graham are up for record of the year and song of the year for the nostalgic ballad 7 Years.

It's been pretty inescapable this year... and if you hate it, you're in good company.

"It is very, very annoying," singer Lukas Forchhammer tells E! News on the red carpet. 

"Seven Years has been played so much that we're like, 'please, not again!'"

Or perhaps she's just paying tribute to David Bowie?

Image source, Film company

Later tonight, Katy will be performing her new single, Chained To The Rhythm. 

Even later tonight, she'll be breaking out the Frizz-Ease.

Image source, Getty Images

The Gnarls Barkley, external man just arrived and he's come as a gold robot.

It's not quite C-3PO.

But it certainly is something else.

Image source, AP

Snack on these while you wait for the action to start (NB: Facts have no nutritional value. We're on the sausage rolls).

• The Grammy statuette weighs only five pounds two ounces.
• Ed Sheeran's X had the shortest title of any Grammy-nominated album in history. 
• The Flaming Lips bagged the award for the longest-titled Grammy win in 2007 for The Wizard Turns On…The Giant Silver Flashlight And Puts On His Werewolf Moccasins 
• Aretha Franklin, who announced she was retiring this week, won the best R&B vocal Grammy for eight consecutive years from 1968 - making her the Ant & Dec of the Recording Academy. 
• Will Smith was the first person ever to win a Grammy for a rap performance. 
• At 14 years old, LeAnn Rimes was the youngest person to ever receive a Grammy. 
• George Burns was the oldest, winning one at the age of 94.
• Among the artists never to have won a competitive Grammy are: Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, Chuck Berry, and Bob Marley.

Image source, Getty Images

Well her dad Michael won a bucketful of Grammy awards...13 in fact (including a record eight in one night in 1984) and Paris Jackson just arrived down the red carpet.

The 19-year-old, who picked up her dad's lifetime achievement award in 2010, will be presenting an award later on.

Image source, Reuters

Pop megalith and part-time muppet (see above) Beyonce is up for nine prizes tonight - more than anyone else.

If she gets eight of those, then she becomes the most-awarded woman in Grammy history, overtaking Alison Krauss, who has 27.

Only one artist has more: conductor George Solti. 

Beyonce has already won her first prize: Best video for Formation, which was released hours ahead of last year's Super Bowl, and tackles themes of racism, police violence, and Beyonce's fierceness.

You can watch it below.

Warning: Third party content, may contain ads.

Funny you should ask. Here's a list of the main nominees (and the winners so far).

We'll be updating it throughout the night.

Image source, AFP

The main awards of the night are still a couple of hours away - so here are some of this year's biggest questions.

Image source, Getty Images

The best album race 

If the Grammys were a popularity contest (they're not), then Adele's 25 would win best album. The biggest-selling record in the shortlist, it was ineligible for last year's contest because it was released just after the cut-off point for eligibility. 

The fact it's 15 months old could could count against it - but, in Adele's favour, the Grammys have always favoured classic songwriting over capturing the zeitgeist.

However, Beyonce's Lemonade - which chronicles a crisis in her marriage against a backdrop of black feminist politics - feels like a formidable competitor. It's her prize to lose.

Justin Bieber's Purpose and Drake's Views both have standout singles, but contain too much filler to be serious contenders.

Maverick country star Sturgill Simpson could throw a spanner in the works with his third album, A Sailor's Guide To Earth - a mixture of blues, psychedelia, rock and country, dedicated to his young son. It even contains a lullaby version of Nirvana's In Bloom.

Sturgill won best country album earlier today, so watch this space...

Image source, Reuters

Will Kanye turn up?

He's kept a low profile since visiting Trump Tower last year, and threatened to boycott the Grammys if Frank Ocean's Blonde failed to receive a nomination (Ocean later ruled himself out of the race, by refusing to submit the album).

However, Kanye's Life Of Pablo album is up for several awards, so he could be coaxed out of hiding. As late as Friday, the Recording Academy said they were still having conversations with the star.

Image source, Getty Images

How will the Grammys pay tribute to the stars we lost? 

The Recording Academy have confirmed they'd stage special tributes to Prince and George Michael - but declined to give further details. 

Our money is on Bruno Mars paying tribute to the Minneapolis midget. He's set to duet with Prince's former side project, The Time, who appeared in Purple Rain and scored a massive US hit with Jungle Love.

As for George Michael? We're hoping for a Pepsi and Shirley reunion.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

He arguably defined the term, so it's no wonder David Bowie just won the award for best alternative album for his final record Blackstar.

It's the first nod to a lost legend on an evening that will later see tributes to Prince and George Michael.

And, amazingly, it's only the second competitive Grammy Bowie has ever received.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to E!, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder spilled the beans on tonight's top-secret opening number.

"It's the funniest opening of the Grammys in probably a decade," he told Ryan Seacrest. "Do not go to the bathroom, you have to watch."

Earlier, on Twitter, Ryan had his say on tonight's best album race.

"I don't want to pick. I don't want to get in the middle of that train," he explained on the red carpet.

Pressed to choose one, he plumped for Adele - whose album he worked on.

"I win if she wins," he said. "But I would rather lose to no-one else than Beyonce."