The annual Grammy Awards were upon us once again on March 14. It was a ceremony filled with wins, losses, incredible performances and history made by some of music’s biggest names. Let’s dive into a recap of the night narrated by “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, from the awards to the performers and their outstanding looks!
Harry Styles opened up the show with a standout performance of his hit song “Watermelon Sugar” from his sophomore album “Fine Line.” Styles paraded around the stage in his leather two-piece and green feather boa reaffirming to everybody watching how much of a star he really is. Harry Styles also took home his first-ever Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar.”
In the current COVID-19 stricken world, the Grammys had to do things a little bit differently this year. Many of the music artists executed live performances in the same large ballroom-type space. So we got to see the camera pan over from the Haim sisters’ rock performance of their song “The Steps” to Black Pumas’ soul jam “Colors.” Audiences also saw Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell perform a breathtaking version of “Everything I Wanted.” This gave a more close-knit feel to the Grammys. Usually, it’s all a spectacle-“Music’s Biggest Night”- but Sunday seemed to be more of a celebration of the electricity of music rather than seeing who could put on the biggest show and who would sweep every category.
Above all, Sunday night was an incredible night for women in music. Megan Thee Stallion was one of the biggest winners of the night, taking home awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “Savage” featuring Beyonce. Stallion gave an amazing performance of “Body” and “Savage” with singer Cardi B, for a heavily-censored, yet still incredible, performance of “WAP.” Dua Lipa took home the very-deserving award for Best Pop Vocal Album for “Future Nostalgia” and gave a glittering, 80s vibe to her medley of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now.”
The biggest history-maker of the night was none other than the true queen herself: Beyonce. She took home four Grammys Sunday night, officially making her the most-awarded artist in Grammy history with 28 Grammys.
Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for her impeccable July album “Folklore,” making her the only woman ever to win Album of the Year three times and the fourth artist overall to do so. The other two AOTY wins went to Swift’s “Fearless” (2010) and “1989” (2016). Other winners of this category included notable performers like Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra. Swift also gave a woodland-fairy-in-the-forest type performance of a medley featuring “Cardigan” and “August” from “Folklore” and the lead-single “Willow” off her follow-up album “Evermore”.
Nineteen-year-old Billie Eilish won Record of the Year for “Everything I Wanted” and dedicated her speech to Megan Thee Stallion, who she believed truly deserved the award. Nevertheless, Eilish is now the only woman ever to win Record of the Year two years in a row as she took home the same award last year for her record “Bad Guy.”
The 63rd Grammy Awards was an overall feel-good night that celebrated music and artists, as well as the businesses that have been left struggling through this pandemic. However, the Grammys still have a long way to go in terms of inclusion, proper representation and recognition for Black artists in major categories. So, let us hope the Grammys makes the true effort towards inclusivity for all.
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