This last Sunday, March 14, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards were held with a limited audience of just the performers and nominees. Hosted by Trevor Noah at the Los Angeles Convention Center, as opposed to the usual location of the Staples Center, there were tons of huge records, singles, videos, and artists up for the awards. I, of course, have my personal issues with the Grammy’s, however it is still an awesome experience to see everyone be awarded for their musical talents. The famous Record of the Year award consisted of many different nominees including "Say So" by Doja Cat, "Rockstar" by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, "Savage" by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé, "Circles" by Post Malone, "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa, "Colors" by Black Pumas, "Black Parade" by Beyoncé, and the winner “everything i wanted” by Billie Eilish. Album of the Year, also having a list of popular and talented artists, ultimately went to Taylor Swift’s “folklore.” This record was released in July of 2020 and absolutely adored by fans and some critics alike. She performed her hits “cardigan,” (which was also up for Song of the Year but lost to Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar”), “august,” and “willow.” I think not only her performance at the Grammys, but her albums throughout the past year, have shown how much she’s grown from her older style, up to her pop phase, and now full circle. She’s back to what she truly wants to do and that’s a more folk, but still pop influenced, style. She’s faced extreme backlash all throughout history in the media due to her style, her fanbase, and more. I think, out of the nominations for this Grammy, she absolutely deserved the win. (Other nominees for Album of the Year included "Chilombo" by Jhené Aiko, "Black Pumas" (Deluxe Edition) by Black Pumas, "Everyday Life" by Coldplay, "Djesse Vol. 3" by Jacob Collier, "Women in Music Pt. III" by Haim, "Future Nostalgia" by Dua Lipa, and "Hollywood's Bleeding" by Post Malone. As I mentioned, not only was Taylor Swift up for Album of the Year, but Song of the Year as well. Other nominations included artists like H.E.R., Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Beyonce and more. Ultimately, the Song of the Year Grammy went to “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R., released in June of 2020, this song acted as a sort of tribute or anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement and received lots of praise for its message. In fact, despite the Grammys’ questionable history regarding racism, there were lots of black people and people of color who won awards this year! Which segways perfectly into this years’ Artist of the Year Award, going to Megan Thee Stallion. Other nominees included Doja Cat, Noah Cyrus, Phoebe Bridgers, and more. Megan performed twice at this years’ Grammys; once with Cardi B for “WAP” and once with a remix of “Body” and “Savage.” Now, Megan’s style of music is certainly not for everyone, and most probably wouldn’t suspect it’s mine either. However, I think her performance was absolutely amazing. The unique mixture of big band sounds with her ‘savage” demeanor of rapping and performing was a perfect combo for the first Grammy awards of the 2020s. Now, it wouldn’t be me writing this article if I didn’t, of course, mention Harry Styles. Styles’ was up for three awards, Best Music Video, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Solo Performance. He ultimately won Best Pop Solo Performance for his summer anthem, “Watermelon Sugar.” You see, I have mixed feelings about this award, as “Watermelon Sugar” is, in my opinion and the opinion of many other fans, one of his worst songs. He was probably more deserving of the Best Music Video award for his “Adore You” music video, however, that’s just my opinion… As I said, this would not be my review if I didn’t go on at least a little bit of a tangent about Harry Styles, however I will stop here. One last award I will go into detail about, of course, goes to the man himself… “former presidential candidate turned rapper ” Kanye West. This year, Kanye won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for his 2019 album “Jesus is King.” Kanye and the Grammys have a… unique relationship to say the least. The artist has 70 nominations and 22 under his belt, some of which include: Best Rap Album in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, multiple awards in Best Rap Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and so many more. But how can one forget 2018’s Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical award going to Kanye and shortly after, he released a video of himself urinating on it… but that is yet another tangent for another time. If you’d like to see a list of other winnings this year, you can by clicking the link right here. Overall, there were many talented artists that won awards this year, despite so many social, political, and health issues. I think it’s great we were even able to hold a Grammy awards, despite my personal issues with the presentation as a whole. Evelynne Spencer
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