Everyone gets an award during night of music at the Grammys
On Feb. 5, music royalty gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers in a night full of song, dance and laughter. Graphic by SUKHMAN SAHOTA, art director
An unforgettable Grammys was back in 2012 when Adele’s name was called out six times in one night. That was not the case this year.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards, televised live Feb. 5 on CBS, brought a night full of music, dancing and laughter to the audience. However, the days of a clean sweep of awards by one artist are long gone — with countless artists picking up a gilded gramophone this year.
The Panther breaks down the most memorable moments, big award winners and performance highlights at this year's Grammys.
The Fans
The Grammys are normally all about a congregation of the world's most famous artists in the music industry. However, this year, the show brought the fans to the big screen because without the admirers of famous people, celebrities would not have a career. The show highlighted the fans this year and brought a devotee of each of the nominees for album of the year.
At a roundtable, each fan stated their case as to why their favorite artist should win album of the year. These clips of fans discussing the stars were shown three times during the show and when it was finally time to announce album of the year, they were revealed to be at the Grammys.
Awards for Everyone
Album of the Year: Harry Styles
Harry Styles dominated the touring world last year and the Grammys were the cherry on top of his epic year. He won both album of the year and pop vocal album for his 2022 album release “Harry's House.”
All of the people who were fans of Album of the Year nominees were invited up on stage to present the award with host Trevor Noah. After opening the envelope, Noah walked over to a 78 year-old Harry Styles fan, Reina Lafantaisie, who exclaimed “Harry Styles." She was then met with a big hug from her idol.
Unfortunately, the event seemed a bit like déjà vu from another time Beyoncé lost an award. During Harry Styles' speech, an audience member yelled “Beyonce should have won.” Taylor Swift, who similarly was interrupted by Kanye West by her VMA win back in 2009, stood up in the audience during Styles's speech as a sign of solidarity. Harry gracefully finished his speech about the respect he had for his peers.
“I think on nights like tonight it’s important for us to remember there is no such thing as best in music,” Styles said during his speech. “I don’t think any of us sit in the studio making decisions on what is going to get us one of these.”
Record of the Year: Lizzo
When the record of the year award was announced, Lizzo sat in disbelief for a solid five seconds when her song “About Damn Time” winning. Lizzo’s speech was a love letter to humanity and the inherent good in people, which she tries to mirror in her music.
“I wanted to make the world a better place, so I had to be that change to make the world a better place,” Lizzo said. "I'd like to believe that not only can people do good, but we just are good."
Lizzo is the first Black woman to win record of the year since Whitney Houston in 1994 for "I Will Always Love You.”
Song of the Year: Bonnie Raitt
Following Bonnie Raitt’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award, she returned to win song of the year this year with her classic vocals and meaningful lyrics in her song "Just Like That." Much like Lizzo, Raitt was in shock when she won, as her mouth dropped.
“I’m so surprised," Raitt said during her speech. "I don’t know what to say. This is just an unreal moment. I don’t write a lot of songs, but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one and what this means for me and for the rest of the songwriters.”
The song was inspired by the touching story Raitt had heard about a mother donating her deceased son's heart and meeting the recipient.
Best New Artist: Samara Joy
Rounding out the big 4 is Best New Artist, Samara Joy. Joy is a jazz singer who has released 2 albums “Samara Joy” in 2021 and “Linger Away” in 2022. She got a standing ovation from the whole Grammy audience upon her Grammy win as her song “Guess Who I Saw Today” gracefully played in the background of her tearful win.
“All of you have inspired me because of who you are. You express yourself for exactly who you are authentically so by just being myself, by being who I was born as, I'm so thankful,” Joy said.
Record-breaking awards
Sam Smith and Kim Petras
Sam Smith is a Grammy veteran who went into the night with three Grammys under their belt from previous years. Kim Petras earned her first Grammy on Sunday when she and Smith won Best pop duo/group performance for “Unholy.”
Smith is the first openly nonbinary person to win a Grammy and Petras is the first openly transgender person to win a Grammy, making it a double history-making moment. Smith gave this moment to Petras and let her thank all the people that supported her on this journey to the Grammys.
“I grew up next to a highway in nowhere Germany, and my mother believed me that I was a girl, and I wouldn't be here without her and her support," Petras said in her speech.
Beyoncé
With her Renaissance World tour around the corner, Beyoncé kick started her big year off with four Grammy wins, making her the person with the most Grammys ever with 32. Georg Solti, a Hungarian-British conductor, had previously set this record at 31.
Beyoncé won two awards before the televised show, which included best traditional R&B performance and best dance recording. That brought her Grammy count up to 30 Grammys all together. The first award Beyoncé won on Sunday during the televised show was best R&B song for “Cuff It.”
There was only one problem. Beyoncé wasn't there.
“The upside of hosting the Grammys in LA is that everyone can be here," Noah told the audience. "The downside of hosting the Grammys in LA is the traffic. Beyoncé is on her way.”
Nile Rodgers and Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, who served as co-writer and producer on “Cuff It," accepted the award on her behalf. Luckily, Beyoncé was there to accept her record-breaking award for best electronic dance album, “Renaissance.” She was given her award by Viola Davis, who had become an EGOT winner that same night due to her audiobook recording winning a Grammy.
Tobias Jesso Jr.
It was the first year an award for songwriter of the year, non-classical was handed out. The Recording Academy created this award after launching a songwriters and composers wing which supports the craft of songwriting.
Tobias Jesso Jr., who co-wrote “When We Were Young” and “To Be Loved” by Adele, “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan and “Boyfriends” by Harry Styles was the first to be honored with this award.
Simultaneously, three days later it was reported he sold his whole catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management.
Other Awards
Adele
Following the epic surprise meeting between Adele and Dwayne Johnson, a meant to be moment occurred when Johnson presented her with the award for best pop solo album.
After having a celebratory hug with her friend, Lizzo, Adele elegantly walked up to the stage in her burgundy velvet dress to receive her award as the winning song “Easy on Me” serenaded the audience.
“I wrote this first verse in the shower when I was choosing to change my son’s life and he’s been nothing but humble and gracious and loving to me the whole time” Adele said.
Taylor Swift
Most artists plan for a four minute music video to accompany their new single. Taylor Swift, on the other hand, plans for a 10-minute short film to accompany her song “All Too Well 10 Minute Version” that she released on her “Red: Taylor’s Version” album.
The short film features Sadie Sink and Dylan O’brien who hold an 11 year age gap to mirror the age gap between Swift and Her ex Jake Gyllenhaal.
While Taylor Swift wrote and directed the short film, Saul Germaine, the producer, won the Grammy for Best Music Video but praised Taylor's work on it.
Groundbreaking Performances
Bad Bunny Opener
The night started off with an epic Latin dance music number by Bad Bunny. The performance consisted of a “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa” mashup. There were dancers in yellow, green and pink skirts dancing through the aisles, accompanied by pink and yellow lights to give a tropical club vibe.
It wouldn’t be a night at the Grammys if Taylor Swift didn’t bust out her supportive dance moves. Luckily, viewers were able to see her “Shake It Off” to every performance in true Taylor Swift fashion, which was especially seen during Bad Bunny's performance.
50 Years of Hip Hop
Another moment for the history books was the celebration of 50 years of hip hop. Not only was this a monumental moment for hip hop, but for the audience who was able to see over 20 performers in the span of under eight minutes.
Busta Rhymes busted out his quick-fire rapping skills and internet audiences pointed out Jay-Z has never smiled more in his life watching a performance.
The performance grew as it started with the pioneers of hip hop such as Grandmaster Flash and Scorpio and moved onto the next generation of hip hop icons such as LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa. It then moved forward to Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah, who dominated the ‘90s.
Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Chris Stapleton Tribute to Berry Gordy
The Grammys don't mess around with star power, which is why Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson teamed up with Chris Stapleton to pay tribute to Berry Gordy, who founded Motown Records 60 years ago.
The performance started with the epic voice of Wonder singing “The Way You Do the Things You Do” by the Temptations, which was written by Robinson. Stapleton joined Wonder with a guitar as they started singing “Higher Ground” by Wonder. Robinson’s bright blue tuxedo then appeared as he sang his song “Tears of a Clown.”
Harry Styles’ Turntable Fail
Just when you thought Harry Styles would take a break from performing, he comes out in a rhinestone fringe one-piece and sings “As it Was” for probably the one millionth time in the past year.
Although his performance might have looked completely in Harry fashion, all the dancers were actually doing the routine completely backwards.
“Our turntable started spinning in reverse, backward, freaking all of us out on live television and there was nothing we could do to stop it,” Brandon Mathis, one of Styles’ dancers, said in an Instagram story that was later reshared countless times on Twitter. “So after a week of rehearsing this piece perfectly going this way, the moment it's time to perform it starts going this way. We (had) to troubleshoot and do a complete piece in reverse.”
Despite this hiccup, the performance was no less than what one would expect from a concert-pro and his team.
Not even a turntable mishap could bring the energy down at the 65th Annual Grammys as the crowd was filled with love and support for one another along with endless banter throughout the night.