The annual Grammy Awards dazzled Los Angeles on Feb. 2. While the Recording Academy handed out a whopping 85 Grammys, it wasn’t just an evening of glam; it was also a social cause, as they raised over nine million dollars for fire relief in the city. But as the night progressed, my disappointment crawled in as more awards were handed out.
The Premiere ceremony started with music by Angélique Kidjo, Wayne Brady, Scott Hoying, Deborah Cox, Taj Mahal, Yolanda Adams, and Cheche Alara, as well as speeches by Harvey Mason Jr. (CEO of the Recording Academy) and Tammy Hurt (Chair of Board of Trustees) (which were lowkey boring). The night was hosted by Justin Tranter (American musician, songwriter, and designer ) who brought spice with his delivery and humour. Tranter had a mid show outfit change into shorts which gave dads trying TikTok vibes before handing things over to Trevor Noah who hosted for a fifth consecutive year.
The first award was presented to Sabrina Carpenter for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song “Espresso.” Fun fact: she wasn’t even there to pick it up. Girl, where were you?
If there was a true queen of the night it wasn’t Beyoncé, but Sierra Ferrell, who swept all four of her nominations. Ferrell bagged Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song, Best Americana Performance, and Best American Roots Performance. After her third win, I half expected her to set up camp on stage.
Performances were a hit or a miss. Muni Long’s performance was so beautiful and she thankfully won Best R&B performance after. Meanwhile, the performance of “All Along” by Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, and Kevin Puts had my ears begging for mercy (or maybe I just hate opera). Then there was Shakira, who gave a stunning belly dance performance as she celebrated her win for Best Latin Pop Album. True queen behaviour.
Kendrick Lamar scooped both the trophies for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as the Grammy for Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Not Like Us” — he did this all in a Canadian tuxedo. Lamar dedicated the win to the city and continued by thanking the people and the families in Palisades and Altadena. If someone remembers, Drake had foreseen it in the “Family Matters” rap: “Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone go hand him a Grammy right now.”
The 67th award night crowned Beyoncé for her first Album of the Year with COWBOY CARTER, after her incredible 99 nominations during the course of her career. Her daughter Blue Ivy joined her to accept the honour as she became the first Black woman to win album of the year in 26 years. Yet, part of me wanted Billie Eilish to take it home. (C’mon, she had over a billion spotify streams on “Birds of a Feather”)
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars accepted Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their duet, “Die With a Smile.” In my eyes, they had one of the best acceptance speeches. Mars told Gaga, “I’m so honoured to have a small part in your giant musical legacy and I really truly believe that God gave us this song to sing together.” Reciprocating the energy, Gaga said, “Bruno, you are an incredible human being; you’re a musician for the ages.”
Chappell Roan won the Best New Artist Grammy for her song “Good Luck Babe” in a wizard’s cap that didn’t like being on stage.“My hat’s going to fall off, it’s going to be okay,” she laughed. She used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to demand liveable wages and healthcare from record labels to developing and established artists. As she finished off her speech, Roan questioned, “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
Regardless, one of the best things about the night was that all the guest speeches brought back the night’s focus to donate for the social cause. Such a green flag, Grammys, good job!
