On February 2nd, CBS televised the 67th annual Grammy’s ceremony, the biggest night in music. Records were broken, drama was started, and millions were watching.
Pre-Show Drama
The Grammy’s has been a very contentious topic over the past few months, as many of the world’s most popular artists released music last year. Some of these include Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Sabrina Carpenter, and more.
Many of these artists had never received a Grammy before. Sabrina Carpenter has been in the music industry since 2014 and has never been recognized with the prestigious award. Chappel Roan on the other hand, who was also never given a Grammy, was attending with only her first album.
Last year, Taylor Swift broke the record that she had previously tied with most album of the year wins. Before last year, she had three wins, with her albums ‘Fearless,’ ‘1989,’ and ‘folklore.’ Then, during the 66th Grammy’s, she won album of the year for her 10th studio album, Midnights. She was again nominated for album of the year this year, with her album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ (TTPD.)
Beyonce is the artist with the most Grammys, receiving a grand total of 32 wins. She is followed by Sir George Solti, sitting at 31. There was a lot of contention, regarding if and how much further Beyonce would extend her lead. She was also nominated for the Album of the Year award, one which she has never won, despite disagreement from the public.
Another artist receiving a lot of support was Ariana Grande, the multi-talented superstar, most recently leading in the ‘Wicked’ film, and also released a new album, ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ earlier in the year. Despite the massive waves this album was making, it was not nominated for any of the major three categories, although it did receive nominations for some lesser awards such as Best Pop Vocal Album.
Award Show
This year, many of the artists received awards before the televised show, as only 9 out of the 94 categories are broadcast. Both Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX won their first Grammy’s before the ceremony. Other notable winners from before the show include Beyonce and Miley Cyrus’s ‘II Most Wanted,’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us.”
Once the show began, many notable artists began to receive awards. Doechii won Best Rap Album for her mixtape ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal,’ becoming the third female artist to win the award, and giving the star her first Grammy. Later in the evening, she gave a showstopping performance with intricate choreography and fast-paced lyrics. The Grammy winner also released a track entitled ‘Nosebleeds.’
Sabrina Carpenter won Best Pop Vocal Album, marking her second-ever Grammy. This win cemented her McDonald’s dinner, as the singer had never eaten McDonald’s and vowed not to until she won her first Grammy.
While some fans of Ariana Grande share love for Sabrina Carpenter due to their similar vocal abilities and ranges, other fans were upset with Carpenter for “stealing,” the award, even though the artists don’t have a vote in who wins.
Throughout the night, many of the artists up for awards gave show-stopping performances. Sabrina Carpenter sang a jazzified rendition of her hit song ‘Espresso,’ before switching back to the classic version, mashing it up with her other single, ‘Please, Please, Please.’
Chappel Roan performed the worldwide sensation ‘Pink Pony Club,’ dressed up like a cowgirl/princess, alluding to the name of her album, ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.’ She also won the highly prestigious award, ‘Best New Artist,’ marking her first Grammy win.
During her acceptance speech, Roan called out record labels for not properly taking care of the artists that they sign, through a lack of pay and access to healthcare/insurance. While speaking, Chappel said, “We’ve got you, but do you got us?”
This act was followed by Roan kickstarting a fundraising campaign for small artists who were not being paid livable wages. Many notable stars, such as Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Noah Kahan matched Roan’s $25,000 donation.
Beyonce won the ‘Best Country Album,’ award for ‘Cowboy Carter,’ sparking a lot of debate among fans and viewers of the event. Many thought that Beyonce wasn’t truly a country artist as this was her first entry into the genre, and thought she didn’t deserve to win. This was contested by country legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, who specifically worked on the project to give their “stamp of approval.”
Kendrick Lamar swept in all categories in which he was nominated, winning for his song ‘Not Like Us,’ which topped the charts all year long. It took home ‘Best Music Video,’ ‘Best Rap Song,’ ‘Best Rap Performance,’ ‘Song of the Year,’ and ‘Record of the Year.’ This gave Lamar two out of four of the big four category wins.
Finally, the big award of the night; Album of the Year. There was very fierce competition in this category, as most albums released in the consideration period entered into this category redefined genres, and changed culture.
In an effort to honor the heroes of the L.A. fires, Los Angeles firefighters presented the award. When the envelope was opened, ‘Cowboy Carter’ by Beyonce was announced as Album of the Year. As previously mentioned, this was Beyonce’s first Album of the Year win, and she dedicated it to Linda Martell, an artist featured on the album, who was the first black country singer to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Unfortunately, some artists, like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande walked away without any awards and were “snubbed,” which is a word the internet coined for someone who did not receive the recognition they deserved. This is not to take away from the immense success of their albums, but the Grammy’s voted on by 13,000 appointed academy voters, so popularity is not a metric that decides a Grammy.
