Sunday Feb 2, the 67 Grammy Awards took place in the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles. The event was also aired live on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount +. For the fifth straight year, Trevor Noah hosted the event.
The biggest award of the night was saved until the very end when Beyoncé won the award for Album of the Year with “Cowboy Carter.” Despite Beyoncé being the most nominated artist in Grammy history with 99, it was her first time winning that award.
She also won Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. For both album wins many viewers were surprised by the academy’s choice and felt it was not deserved, yet many agreed with the decision as well. People criticized the award because they felt that she is not a country artist but a pop artist.
Maggie Long (11) said “The award that was given to Beyoncé for Best Country Album was not deserved. Chris Stapleton and all of the other artists were actual country artists and they created albums that everyone loves.”
Kendrick Lamar swept all five categories he was nominated for including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Not Like Us.”
A change that was new this year was that everyone nominated for Best New Artist performed their music. These nominees included Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan who have become major stars in the past year. Ultimately, Chappell Roan won the award and in her speech she advocated for healthcare by record companies for all artists, especially young ones.
Sabrina Carpenter, nominated for six, won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album with “Short n’ Sweet” as her first ever Grammy win.
Another nominee for Best New Artist, Doechii won Best Rap Album with “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”
There was a surprise performance from The Weeknd, featuring Playboi Carti, who ended a years-long boycott of the award show as he formally labelled it corrupt.
Other performances included Billie Eilish and Charli XCX who both received 7 nominations for the awards. Eilish did not win any of her awards but Charli XCX won three Grammys.
Taylor Swift did not win any of the six awards she was nominated for or perform, but she presented the award for Best Country Album to Beyoncé, an award that she won in 2010 for “Fearless.”
Throughout the award show, Trevor Noah reminded viewers at home, the celebrities at the Grammys and corporate sponsors to donate to fire relief efforts. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sang “California Dreaming” to recognize the strength of California in the face of the devastating wildfires.
The final award was presented by Los Angeles County firefighters to thank them for the hard work they put into their jobs.
There was a tribute to Quincy Jones performed primarily by Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe and Stevie Wonder by singing some of the famous songs he produced.
Chris Martin of Coldplay sang the memorial tribute to the people who have died in the past year. The slideshow began with videos of Liam Payne in One Direction who tragically died in the fall.
When asked for opinions on the award show as a whole Tessa Cowsill (11) said, “I loved the overall show and I thought this year was much more entertaining!”
