The Recording Academy organizes the Grammys every year, recognizing outstanding excellence in the recording arts and sciences. For the past 66 years, the academy has decorated hundreds of artists with awards considered the most prestigious and significant in the music industry. With the 67th Annual Grammy Awards being hosted last Sunday, February 2nd, the highly-anticipated music award telecast had plenty of highlights.
This year, the Grammys had a “renewed sense of purpose”, focusing on raising funds to support wildfire relief efforts in response to the recent series of wildfires affecting the Southern California area. Along with the fundraising efforts were performances from artists such as Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, St. Vincent, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga who sang tribute songs to the city of Los Angeles.
Some of the most exciting moments of the night came from first-time winners. With her and her dancers decked out in blue, the pint-sized performer, Sabrina Carpenter, sang the lead singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” off her latest album Short n’ Sweet. Accompanying her performance was the artist’s first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Album, nominated alongside the likes of Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine and Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Billie Eilish also performed at the Grammys, singing her popular song “Birds of a Feather” alongside her brother Finneas.
Following Sabrina Carpenter came the pink powerhouse Chappell Roan. Performing among an entourage of clowns in cowboy attire and a giant pink pony, Roan made her Grammy stage debut performing her song “Pink Pony Club”. Roan won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Accepting her award, the “HOT TO GO!” singer used her moment in the spotlight to bring attention to the mistreatment of artists in the industry by their labels, retelling her struggle with a lack of protection after being dropped by her previous label. “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” Roan read aloud from her notebook on stage. Her speech garnered lots of praise and attention from other artists on social media.
Another artist who turned up the stage at this year’s Grammys was Best New Artist nominee Doechii. Alongside her nomination in the big category, she also won the Grammy for Best Rap Album for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. The rapper’s win marks the first time since 2017 that a woman has won Best Rap Album—the third time overall. With previous winner Cardi B handing the award to Doechii, the moment was a passing of the torch to the next generation of rap.
In her speech, the rapper sent out a heartfelt message of inspiration, sharing, “I know that there is some Black girl out there. So many Black women out there who are watching me right now, and I want to tell you, you can do it. Anything is possible … you are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are and I am a testimony,” she concluded.
Accompanying her win was her performance among the Best New Artist Medley. Dressed in matching gray uniforms, Doechii’s background dancers grabbed at the rapper’s garment which tore away into a striking outfit underneath. She then performed her viral song DENIAL IS A RIVER and hot single CATFISH off the mixtape. Also included in the Best New Artist Medley were performances from Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey, and RAYE.
After he had announced boycotting the Grammys four years prior due to concerns over a lack of transparency and fairness in the awards process, The Weeknd made a surprise appearance on the telecast.
Performing new song “Cry For Me“ and hit single “Timeless” with Playboi Carti off his new album Hurry Up Tomorrow, the singer’s return came after the Recording Academy had completely overhauled its voting members, allowing for a more diverse voting body.
Bringing home the most Grammy awards that night was Kendrick Lamar, who had won five Grammys for his smash-hit single “Not Like Us”. He swept half of the categories in the Big Four (Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist) winning a Grammy for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The rapper also dominated the rap category with wins for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, as well as Best Music Video.
The final performance of the night was an explosively bratty showcase from Album of the Year nominee Charli xcx. The cultural zeitgeist performed highlights “Von dutch” and “Guess” off her recent studio album BRAT, the former winning Charli her first Grammy for Best Dance Pop Recording.
After a star-studded dance party on stage, Charli xcx went home with two other Grammys that night: Best Recording Package and Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Then came the final award of the night: the highly anticipated Album of the Year. This year, the award was presented by Anthony Marrone and members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, keeping with the award show’s focus on Los Angeles amidst the devastating wildfires. The Grammy for Album of the Year went to Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER.
The win marks a monumental achievement for Beyoncé and Grammy history. It’s the first time a Black woman has won the Album of the Year Award since Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999 (yes, a whopping 26 years) and the fourth time overall. It’s also Beyoncé’s first-ever Grammy award for Album of the Year.
It’s unbelievable to think that it’s taken the Beyoncé this long to bag the award, considering she holds the record as the most Grammy-awarded (35) and nominated (99) artist in history. The last time Beyoncé won an award in the Big Four categories was in 2010 for Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)—a whole 15 years ago.
In fact, it was a big night for Beyoncé. Along with Album of the Year, COWBOY CARTER also won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, becoming the first Black artist to do so.
After the album faced a bitter rejection from the Country Music Awards earning zero nominations, watching Taylor Swift hand the Grammy to a stunned Beyoncé (whose reaction quickly became a viral meme) felt like a sweet victory.
For more on Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER, read former Patriot Press Editor, Christian Jordan’s article here.
This year’s Grammys were both monumental and historic, awarding some of the best new artists on the scene while still shining a light on some of the veterans. With an exciting year of new music ahead of us, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards are promised to be just as interesting.
