crowd-pleasing

They had one crowd-pleasing moment in the first quarter when Harden drilled a three-pointer only for Curry to follow up with a three on the next possession.

And India selected the crowd-pleasing “Laapataa Ladies” as its entry, sidelining Kapadia’s movie — at least in the international category.

You wouldn’t describe any of the heavyweights as being particularly inspired by their proximity to one another; indeed, any number of easy crowd-pleasing wins went unfulfilled: How cool would it have been had Rodgers appeared during Ross’ performance to scratch out his deathless guitar lick from “I’m Coming Out”? Or think about Ross and Richie teaming up to sing their classic duet, “Endless Love,” live and in person for the first time in ages.

Vice President Kamala Harris has developed a crowd-pleasing line when she campaigns against Project 2025, the 887-page policy agenda written for former President Trump by his Republican allies.

This longtime progressive activist didn’t say anything election-related from the stage, though it seemed notable that in a crowd-pleasing set long on hits — “On the Road Again,” “Always on My Mind,” “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” — one new tune Nelson opted to play was the title track from this year’s “The Border” LP: a stark depiction of the moral complexities at work in a place often reduced to a political cartoon.