The stars showed up and showed out last night on music’s biggest night, and they did not disappoint from their outfits to their performances. Trevor Noah hosted this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, making it his third time hosting in a row.
The night opened with an electrifying performance from Brandi Carlile with her song, “Broken Horses.” Stevie Wonder also took the stage to honor the music of Motown with Smokey Robinson and country music singer Chris Stapleton. Music icon Berry Gordy who pioneered Motown Records was in the audience.
Boricua pride was on full display as Bad Bunny took home Best Música Urbana Album and made history for his album being the first all-Spanish album to be nominated for Album of the Year. Sam Smith and Kim Petras won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song “Unholy,” with Kim Petras being the first transgender woman to win the category. Queen Bey took her time arriving at last night’s ceremony being caught up in Los Angeles traffic. Beyoncé had the most nominations of the night and is tied with Jay-Z as the most nominated entertainer in Grammy history with 88 career nominations. Her album Renaissance won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, making her the artist with the most Grammy wins in history.
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The night also featured several awe-inspiring and emotional performances. Lizzo’s performance of “Special” took us to church with her gospel choir. Harry Styles dazzled last night with his performance of “As It Was.” Kacey Musgraves also delivered a solemn performance to reflect on some of the music industry’s members who died in the past year. Sam Smith and Kim Petras also took the stage to perform their hit “Unholy.” R&B queen Mary J. Blige also stunned in her performance of “Good Morning Gorgeous,” reminding us all to wake up in the morning and love ourselves.
Hip-hop was honored last night with LL Cool J presenting a new award the Grammys pioneered with the Black Music Collective: the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. Dr. Dre took the award home and said how moved he was by it. He reminded people of how influential hip-hop was for his life.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and the show featured performances that honored the genre throughout the years with performances by Rev. Run, Public Enemy, Salt-N-Pepa, Ice T, members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Queen Latifah and more.
My highlights from this part of the show include when Queen Latifah came out because she created a path for women in the genre, as well as Missy Elliot’s performance and Busta Rhymes. This part of the Grammys was so significant not just because it celebrated hip-hop, but also because it shined a huge spotlight on the genre which was not even acknowledged at the Grammys in the past.
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The award for Record of the Year went to Lizzo for “About Damn Time,” and she dedicated her award to Prince.
“When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music,” she said. “I wanted to make the world a better place, so I had to be that change, to make the world a better place.”
Closing out this year’s award show for Album of the Year was Harry Styles for his album Harry’s House. Other wins last night included Viola Davis reaching EGOT status for her narration of her memoir Finding Me, Samara Joy winning Best New Artist and Kendrick Lamar taking home the Best Rap Album for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
The Grammys are always so star-studded and deliver captivating performances, and this year was no different, topped with some historical wins and important homages to musicians and music genres alike.
