Last Sunday night was filled with suspense, new faces, and chaos as hundreds of artists attended the 65th annual Grammy Awards. Records were broken, the stage was filled with performers that were amazing, (and some not so good), from all different genres, new awards were added to the show, and 50 years of hip-hop was celebrated with some of America’s most significant hip-hop stars. I always love watching the Grammys, and by the end of this year’s show, I found myself rooting for artists I never even considered listening to before. Comedian Trevor Noah returned for his third year of hosting the show, making it a more memorable (and extremely funny) experience for the audience and nominees likewise.
As always, the performers were incredible, keeping the audience indulged through each performance. Bad Bunny kicked off the show with his hit song “El Apagon”, which even had everyone, including Taylor Swift, dancing in the crowd. Bad Bunny is probably my least favorite rapper, nothing against him, but I’ve just never cared much for his singing. But after this performance, I reconsidered that opinion. Bad Bunny’s lyrics are clever, and he’s amazing at getting the crowd involved with his music while he was performing. Bad Bunny took home three awards that night for his album “Un Verano Sin Ti”, a summer without you, and was an amazing choice to open the Grammys.
Artists such as Brandi Carlile, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras,Sam Smith, Harry Styles, and Chris Stapleton, even icons such as Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson performed and definitely made the 65th Grammys worth watching.
The show also included a 15 minute segment in honor of celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, featuring performers such as Ice-T, LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, Public Enemy, and more. The performance even had people that were watching from home on their feet, dancing to a genre that has shaped generations of music and will continue to for years to come.
To no one’s surprise, Queen Bey won four separate awards for her newest album, “RENAISSANCE”. Beyonce took home Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best R&B Song, and Traditional R&B Performance. With 32 awards and 88 nominations, Beyonce now holds the record of most Grammy Awards won.
Harry Styles performed his song “As It Was” and later, Styles won the award for “Best Album of the Year”. As a huge One Direction fan and an even bigger Harry Styles fan, Harry winning this award made me so happy. After replaying his album “Harry’s House” a million times last year, and attending his second Love On Tour, I was surprisingly disappointed by his “As It Was” performance. He seemed to have had almost no rehearsal, and the crowd just wasn’t that into it, to which he tried jumping and spinning a lot to get everyone amped up, but it made the performance more awkward. I know Harry Styles is a widely loved artist, but in my opinion, I don’t think he was the right choice for a performer this year.
This year, the Grammy’s added a new award that not many people know about. The Best Song for Social Change Special Merit Award was introduced to recognize artists that have created songs with an impactful message about our world. Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour won the award for his song “Baraye”, which means “because of” in Farsi. The song depicts a message to citizens of Iran, singing about their grief, anger, and frustration, but ultimately was made to give citizens hope for change in the future for their country. First Lady Jill Biden attended the Grammys to honor Hajipour with the award.
