What will we remember about this edition?
On Sunday, April 3, the 64th edition of the Grammy Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This edition anointed Jon Batiste, Olivia Rodrigo, Foo Fighters and Silk Sonic as “Best Album of the Year” and “Best New Artist”
Just as any long-awaited global live event teaches us (See Oscar Night 22 and Will Smith’s infamous slap in the face), the Grammy gala also reserved some unforgettable “surprise” effect moments.
Let’s take a step back with a necessary premise: for a few years now, the Recording Academy has been experiencing internal struggles due to thought-provoking accusations of exploitation, dealing and corruption that has invested the CEO that have pushed some of music’s biggest stars to defect and publicly renounce the legitimacy of the Grammys, such as Drake and The Weekend.
Kanye West, on the other hand, was banned due to his “troubling” behavior and latest social media outbursts about his Ex-wife and new partner.
So far “all” well.
The first “unforgettable” moment of these Grammys are precisely related to the awarding of Sir Kanye West.
1) Kanye West’s phantom award ceremony
Kanye wins two awards: “Best Melodic Rap Performance” and “Best Rap Song“; after the announcement, the room does not applaud nor does it show the slightest involvement, there is no connection with the winner while a Billy Porter shows himself particularly impaired by the strange situation that has been created, he tries as best he can to dissolve the tension with a few jokes, without succeeding.
2) Baptiste’s performance and speech
The big winner, the real revelation of these Grammy Awards was definitely him, Baptise, who took home five awards, including best album of the year for “We Are“. His is the story of a boy born to a family of jazz musicians in New Orleans, who climbed the charts from the bottom rung, the one always occupied by those who eventually manage to redeem themselves.
The performance of “Freedom” on the piano was sublime, with classical, bebop, jazz and hip hop inflections, and brought the room to its feet for an immense standing ovation. To cap it off, her heartfelt thank you to her parents.
3) Olivia Rodrigo’s debut
We’ll be hearing a lot about Olivia; since the single “Drivers License,” her career has soared upward, with millions of views on social and streaming records.
On Sunday, Rodrigo proved on music’s biggest stage that “Drivers License” isn’t just a trend on TikTok, but a ballad that defines a generation and an era.
4) Billie Eilish’s Tribute to Taylor Hawkins
Billie Eilish gave one of her best performances with a charismatic performance of the song that gives its name to her album “Happier than Ever“, sporting an oversized T-Shirt with the face of Taylor Hawlins, the famous drummer of Foo Fighters who died less than a month ago.
The charisma-filled performance captured the energy that the late Hawkins often embodied with the Foo Fighters: a touching and unforgettable moment
5) The Lil Nas X Medley
“Satanist,” outrageous, provocative: no contemporary artist understands the zeitgeist like Lil Nas X; who delivered one of the liveliest and most beautiful performances of the night with a medley of his album “Motero.”
What moment will you remember this edition of the Grammys for?
WORDS: Manuela Palma
