By: Maggie Kelly | Staff Writer
The 65th annual Grammy Awards aired last Sunday, February 5 in Los Angeles. As always, the ceremony delivered moments ranging from disappointing to inspiring. Nevertheless, the awards are addicting to watch every year, as the biggest names in music meet to celebrate each other’s and their own success.
Most Disappointing:
While award shows for such elite people certainly have their problems, I never believed that actual bad manners were one of them. However, after watching the Grammys this year, the change in the audience was obvious. Trevor Noah’s jokes were tough to watch and rarely landed well with the audience. The best he seemed to have was calling Harry Styles hot, and all that accomplished was Lizzo rolling her eyes next to him and making everyone else uncomfortable. Audience members barely tried to hide their disgust and confusion as winners were announced, and after victors like Styles took the stage to accept their trophy, other audience members actually took to yelling their displeasure. Such behavior was hard to watch, as it reminded me of a class of children arguing, not some of the most celebrated names in music history.
Most Confusing:
The award for Song of the Year is one of the most coveted awards of the night. This year, the category was stacked with contenders like Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele and Kendrick Lamar. As the nominees were announced, I recognized every song except one, Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That.” And seemingly out of nowhere, it was the winner. Everyone was confused, including Bonnie Raitt herself. As someone who considers Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” to be a true masterpiece, I was somewhat upset about the turn of events, but after Raitt’s speech of honest gratitude, I’m willing to give the song a shot.
Most Surprising:
I’m fairly sure I could defend Harry Styles through anything, but I was sad to see that I needed to defend him after the Grammys. At first glance, he was having a rough night. His performance was packed with anxiety, and it didn’t measure up to his usual talent level.
However, one of his backup dancers took to social media quickly after the ceremony, explaining that a drastic error occurred on stage. The rotating floor, on which Styles and the dancers were performing, was spinning in the wrong direction, forcing them to rethink the entire routine as they performed it. After taking a closer look, you can see Styles attempting to signal the crew that there was something wrong, and his nervousness during the song makes a lot more sense.
Best Performance:
To be honest, I had no idea that this year officially marked the fiftieth anniversary of the hip-hop genre. I was pleasantly surprised by the tribute performance that included legends like Scarface, Queen Latifah, JAY-Z and Lil Baby. They raced through fifty years of music history, but every switch in the music had the audience on the edge of their seat, eager to see what came next.
Most Inspiring:
In previous years, award ceremonies like the Grammys seemed to be dominated by one specific artist. This year, however, the winners came from a variety of genres and backgrounds. Personally, I found that it made the award show much more enjoyable to watch. One of these artists was Kim Petras, who alongside Sam Smith, won big in the Best Pop Duo Performance category. She became the first transgender woman to win the award, and used her time to deliver one of the most moving speeches of the night, thanking the transgender artists that came before her.
Beyoncé, although she did show up fashionably late, left the ceremony as the most decorated Grammy winner in history. Her record-breaking win was amazing to watch, as she has been active in the music industry for as long as I can remember. It was great to see winners like Kim Petras and Beyoncé accept their awards for such hard work, and watch them continue to break down barriers in the music industry.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons and RawPixel
