COMMERCIAL MUSIC AND THE GRAMMYS

The power of music was emphasized, as usual, throughout the Grammy Awards, but this year that power was also in its ability to sell products.

BTS and Brittany Howard appeared in commercials and on the Grammy telecast; Jennifer Hudson sang “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” for Mastercard, though her presence is also a subtle reminder that she’s the star of the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic on National Geographic; and Ruffles reminded us that T-Pain is still around.

BTS and their “Life Goes On” was featured in a Samsung Galaxy ad prior to the K-pop superstars' singing “Dynamite” late in the show.

Howard and her rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was used first in the In Memoriam section as a tribute to Gerry Marsden of Pacemakers fame, then just a few minutes later to sell Johnnie Walker Scotch. Some new fans noticed: The song, released in November, has been in the Top 30 at iTunes since late Sunday night.

Commercials also reminded us that a Demi Lovato docu-series starts 3/23 on YouTube and In the Heights will finally be in theaters and on HBO Max starting 6/18.