After 16 years of covering the Grammys, I can say that’s the first time I’ve seen any kind of official prayer onstage.

But this isn’t a typical Grammys.

Host LL Cool J struck an appropriate tone immediately: “We’ve had a death in our family, so at least for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved, for a fallen sister,” he said.

How fortunate that the Grammys appointed a host this year for the first time in nearly a decade.

But then LL moved on, as he – and we – must.

“This night is about music.”