Phoebe Bridgers won the most awards at the 66th Grammy Awards, winning three awards for her band Voygenious and one for featuring on a song by SZA. SZA entered the night with the most nominations for album (Taylor Swift's “Midnight”), record (Miley Cyrus' “Flowers”) and song (Billie Eilish's “What Was I”). He was denied the greatest honor of all. Made For?”) — but took home three trophies. Victoria Mone was named best new artist, and Swift's album win broke a Grammy record in that category. The show was particularly entertaining, sophisticated, and thoughtful, featuring some memorable performances and some raw acceptance speeches. Overall, it's a raw take on pop music, without a center and subject to change at any time.
Best Playing Pop Star: Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo
Two of the night's strongest performances came from young women who used the piano to accompany their wispy, stratospheric high notes, commenting on fragility and the tyranny of beauty. The first was Billie Eilish, who wowed the audience with a sparse and deeply emotional recitation of her Barbie ballad, “What Was I Made For?,” which was later named song of the year. It startled me into silence. The second was Olivia Rodrigo, who punctuated the rock-opera hit “Vampire” with a dizzying high note, riffing on the song's theme while coating herself in gushing fake blood. Each performance, in its own way, felt like a rebuttal to the harsh standards many young women are held to. Eilish's work was about the pain of being objectified. Rodrigo reimagined the same kind of pressure that horror movies have. They both understood the power of a little theatricality.Lindsey Zolaz
Best Debut Grammy Performance: Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, 80, has been singing the prison folk ballad “Both Sides Now” since she was 23, but every time she plays it, she reinterprets its infinitely wiser lyrics. It seems so. Her rendition at the Grammys (her first performance at an awards ceremony, which comes as no surprise given how underappreciated and disrespected Mitchell has felt in the industry for most of her career) was laid-back. With jazz in the background, it was both melancholy and light-hearted. She arranged the familiar melody so that she could riff on it. Mitchell's performance, which showcased the resonant timbre and impressive range she has diligently strengthened since she suffered her aneurysm in 2015, felt like a brief magical visit from her musical gods. was.Zolatu
Best Surprise Roast: Jay-Z
The award comes as Jay-Z (24 wins, 88 nominations) and Beyoncé (32 wins, the most in history) have been mainstays of the Grammys and have dominated the ceremony's camera time over the past decade. was not a shock. The couple appeared as surprise attendees on Sunday night. But when Jay-Z won Dr. Dre's Global Impact Award, the night's hosts spoke out about his past disdain in the rap category and his repeated disdain for Beyoncé in the all-genre Album of the Year award. He strongly criticized the Recording Academy. “We love you guys. We want you guys to get it right,” he said in a cheeky, seemingly off-the-cuff remark. He noted the math behind Beyoncé's total number of wins, amassed primarily in the R&B and Urban Contemporary genre categories, saying, “I mean, even by your own standards, that doesn't work.” Jay It wasn't the first time Z called out the Grammys for barbed lyrics aimed at the academy after going 0-for-8 in the 2018 tournament. But on another night, his speech was called out when Black artist SZA received the most nominations but was shut out in the biggest category.Elena Bergeron
Worst Hip Hop Comedy: Travis Scott
Last year's Grammy Awards featured a hilarious tribute to hip-hop's 50th anniversary, with a truly impressive lineup ranging from LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Ice T, and De La Soul's Pozdonous to Glorilla and Lil Uzi Vert Did. Mark the occasion. Hip-hop this year? Mainly represented by Travis Scott, joined by Playboi Carti, who delivered strangely bloodless performances of “My Eyes,” “I Know,” and “Fein.” The performance culminated in a collision of flames and folding chairs that looked like something out of the movie Mad Max. If everyone can't bring it, why not bring ice spice?ben sisario
Great for knowing yourself: SZA
SZA, who won Best R&B Song for “Snooze,” ironically almost missed the moment. When Lizzo read her own name for the first time, she finally came out from backstage gasping for air. “I was getting dressed, I took a shot, and I ran over here,” she says, launching into her endearingly ad hoc speech, which gives off more of her personality than her busy, bombastic performance. It was clearly shown. The moment seemed to hit her like a wave and she turned visibly pale. Then, she paused, cut her speech short, and delivered her best line of the night before rushing off stage. “I'm not a charming cry. Good night!” Zolatu
The best salvation elegy: memorial
The “In Memoriam” portion is always an awkward moment for the Grammys, and it often turns into an embarrassment. This year, we found the right performer and the right tone. Stevie Wonder opened with a tribute to Tony Bennett, whose version of “For Once in My Life” inspired Wonder's very different hit version. Years later, they recorded the song and performed it as a duet. Wonder could have simply praised Bennett's musical talent, but he also spoke warmly of Bennett's early years and his lifelong commitment to the civil rights movement.
Annie Lennox, with rhinestone tears on her face, then performed the deeply painful 'Nothing Compares 2 U' in honor of Sinead O'Connor, backed by Wendy and Lisa from Prince's band The Revolution. He sang and declared at the end: Artists seeking ceasefire and world peace. Jon Batiste and singer Anne Nesby take Bill Withers' songs from the plaintive “Ain't No Sunshine'' to full-on gospel with “Lean on Me.'' And after receiving a verbal compliment from Oprah Winfrey, Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, with her lung capacity and gold lamé dress and less dancing prowess than her high heels, performed in “Proud Mary.” A tribute to Tina Turner. This time it was a memorial about the way recorded music preserves life force: memories, not endings.parel
Best Newcomer Cher Award: Miley Cyrus
With her hair sprayed and stacked to the heavens, covered in barely-there Bob Mackie sequins, and ad-libbing in a vampy alto, 31-year-old Miley Cyrus slowly transformed into Cher for this year's Grammy Awards telecast. It was proof that he was. All in the best possible way. Cyrus won two Grammy Awards during the telecast (the first of her career) and dazzled with her quirky speeches, but her turn as a star came with relatively solid, straightforward pop tunes. It was when they performed “Flowers''. Charismatic and hilarious asides. “Why are you pretending not to know this song?” she asked the audience between lyrics, never missing a beat. Hannah Montana is still the perfect entertainer!Zolatu
Worst commercial in Las Vegas: U2
U2 performed their rather mediocre latest single, “Atomic City,'' for the first televised glimpse inside the Sphere, James Dolan's $2.3 billion state-of-the-art arena in Las Vegas. But the majesty of the venue was difficult to capture on TV, and the director of the pre-recorded segment tried to compensate for it with endlessly swooping, disorienting camerawork, which was nauseating. They might have been playing “Vertigo.”Zolatu
Best “About Time”: Women rule the night
A year after Taylor, “Barbie,” SZA, Voygenius, and Cyrus' “Flowers,” the ladies were always set to give a strong performance at the Grammys. But they didn't just show up, they totally carried the night. Every competitive award given out during the telecast was won by a woman, and the night's biggest tally was all-female: SZA, Victoria Mone, “Barbie” and Voygenious (plus three from the band Bridgers). 4th). From Eilish's poignant performance of “What Was I Made For?” – Wearing cat-eye sunglasses and a 1960s sweater like Peggy Olson in Mad Men – Tracy Chapman's watery eyes, Mitchell's joy and Swift's queen embracing her fourth album this year The story of the night was all about excellence, from the confidence of women to the voices of powerful women. No offense to Stevie Wonder or Billy Joel for rocking this song. But it was ladies night. And the time has come.Cisario
Best Unannounced Performer: Tracy Chapman
The intro and video assembly facilitated a performance by Luke Combs, who was nominated for country hit single for his faithful version of Chapman's 1988 song “Fast Car.” This song is about hope, low-wage work, longing for escape, and crushing disillusionment. But when the cameras entered the stage, the acoustic guitar was in Chapman's own hands. Chapman has long been marginalized by the music industry and hasn't toured since 2009. Smiling, calm and beaming, she played the song's instantly recognizable intro, then sang it with gentle authority, the melancholy depth of her voice intact. Combs exchanged her verses with her, looked around the stage as if she couldn't believe she was there, and sometimes interjected with her lyrics. Although they were next to each other, Chapman was the center of everyone's attention, and rightly so.parel
Best Unannounced Presenter Award: Celine Dion
Since announcing more than a year ago that she suffers from the neurological disease Stiff Person Syndrome, and all her concert dates subsequently canceled, Celine Dion has created the soundtrack for “Titanic” and the entire concept of Las Vegas. She is a Canadian songstress who has rejuvenated her. Her concert residencies are little known. But she made a triumphant and truly surprising return as an unannounced presenter for her album of the year. Dressed in her thick golden-brown coat, she recalled winning the award for “Falling in to You” in 1997, opening her envelope and calling out Taylor Swift's name. is. It felt like a fitting, monarchical entrance for the occasion, and Dion's presence was a reminder that even if she wasn't singing, she was still here and still a star.Cisario
The worst way to make a long show even longer: video introductions.
Performances by Combs, SZA, Scott, Cyrus, and Joel were showcased by well-produced interview segments. Even though it was meant to build anticipation, it didn't and felt like it stalled. I couldn't help but think that each song was missing space for a different musician to play.parel
