At the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night, the 65th annual Grammy Awards were presented. With nine nominations, Beyoncé was the centre of attention leading up to the presentation as everyone watched to see if she would beat the previous record for the most Grammy awards received by an artist.
She now has 32 honours under her belt after winning four, breaking the previous record of 31 held since 1997 by the late conductor Georg Solti. After winning the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Beyoncé made history.
She gave a heartfelt speech in which she honoured her family, the queer community, and her uncle Johnny, who served as a major inspiration for her album Renaissance in 2022.
A Small Recap of what went down
The Recording Academy’s decision to give Harry Styles’ album Harry’s House the Album of the Year award significantly dampened the occasion. Many people criticised the organisation for not giving Beyoncé the award each of the four times she was nominated.
Bad Bunny, who began the ceremony with “El Apagón” and the merengue/bomba blockbuster “Despues de la Playa,” brought the Caribbean beat to the Grammys stage. The night was not just about the huge triumphs and disappointments; there were high-energy performances throughout the show.
A touching in-memoriam homage with Brandi Carlile, Mary J. Blige, Quavo, Maverick City Music, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Mick Fleetwood was another standout of the evening. A hip-hop anniversary tribute with a who’s who of the genre was another (minus more than a few notables).
The many Firsts
Many people earned their first awards tonight, including Viola Davis, who made history by being the third Black woman to acquire the most coveted position in the entertainment world. Davis received the EGOT after earning the Grammy for Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling.
Terms, a musician from Nigeria, got her first award tonight for her contribution to Future’s “WAIT FOR U,” which took home the prize for Best Melodic Rap Performance. As the first openly transgender woman to win the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Award for “Unholy” with partner Sam Smith, Kim Petras created history.
Album of the year goes to Harry Styles
There were many touching moments throughout the evening (such as when Brandi Carlile’s wife and children introduced her), some awkward ones (including quite a few of host Trevor Noah’s jokes), and several genuinely unexpected ones. Here are the highlights from the 65th Grammy Awards, including the finest, worst, weirdest, and most shocking moments—there were a few of them.
The entire arena was hushed for a second before Harry Styles was declared the winner of the coveted Album of the Year award. After that, anchor Trevor Noah unzipped the envelope and had a supporter read the name of Styles. When he entered the room to accept his award, Styles displayed the same level of disbelief as everyone else. He remarked in his speech, “I’ve been so so inspired by every artist in this category with me at several different stages in my life.
I’m truly appreciative. People on social media had been expecting Beyoncé to receive the night’s top prize for Renaissance after being passed up in the past, making it one of the most shocking moments of the evening.
