Last year, the focus was on the fires that devastated Los Angeles and this year during the ceremony of the 68th annual Grammy Awards, was the current administration’s immigration crackdown that has recently turned tragically deadly. "ICE OUT" pins were worn by many in attendance and several artists made subtle yet passionate comments during their acceptance speeches including Billie Eilish who accurately proclaimed that "No one is illegal on stolen land".
For his sixth and final time as host, Trevor Noah largely continued to focus on playfully teasing the starry audience, rattling off Grammy statistics and rousing the crowd to give a performer or winner another round of applause. One notable change is that Noah, no longer feeling constrained with concern about his future on the show, delivered more pointed political jokes with one reference to Trump and the Epstein files which has sent the President into a litigious tizzy.
As always, the Grammys ceremony is less about handing out awards and more about the performances that you won't see anywhere else. And this show did not disappoint. Bruno Mars kicked off the show with a guitar-driven version of "APT", his duet with K-pop star, Rosé before returning later his band, the Hooligans to perform his new single, "I Just Might". Justin Bieber delivered a literally stripped down performance of "Yukon" from his nominated album, "Swag" in just his underwear and socks. Sabrina Carpenter reliably brought her campy style to the show with an airport setting for her performance of "Manchild" while Lady Gaga went darker for a manic version of "Abracadabra". And just like last year, all of the eight nominees for Best New Artist were given a spotlight to perform on the telecast with some (Lola Young, Leon Thomas and the eventual winner, Olivia Dean) faring better than others (Addison Rae, Katseye and Sombr).
But the highlight of the evening turned out to be a lengthy, "In Memoriam" musical tribute. It began with a lovely rendition of "Trailblazer" by country music legend, Reba McEntire, accompanied by Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson, shockingly making her very first appearance on the Grammy stage. Then an all-star rock line-up that included Post Malone, Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns N' Roses, paid tribute to the late heavy metal artist, Ozzy Osbourne by blasting through with a rousing version of Black Sabbath's, "War Pigs". The set concluded with Ms. Lauryn Hill, who had not appeared on the show since 1999, leading a memorable tribute to D'Angelo and Roberta Flack that was incredibly packed with an impressive group of performers that featured Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, Leon Thomas, Jon Batiste, Lalah Hathaway, John Legend, Chaka Khan and Wyclef Jean, who reunited with his former Fugees bandmate on stage to close with Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song".
While he was unable to perform due to his contractual commitment for his upcoming half-time show on the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny still made a major impact on the show with him winning Album of the Year for "Debí Tirar Más Fotos", becoming the first winner with a Spanish-language recording. The thirty-one performer also won two more awards for Best Música Urbana Album and Best Global Performance. Kendrick Lamar also scored big by winning five of his nine nominations which included Record of the Year for his musical tribute to the late Luther Vandross that featured SZA. Cher, a recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award this year, made an appearance to present Record of the Year. While it ended up being a bit of a mess with missed cues and the winners unable to decide who would speak, this iconic legend looked incredible and contributed to an unforgettable night. And Billie Eilish along with her brother, Finneas made history by becoming the first artists to win Song of the Year three times.
This is the final year the Grammys will air on CBS after fifty-four years of broadcasting the ceremony. The show will begin a ten-year deal on ABC, Hulu and Disney+ starting next year and taking it through to 2036. Time will tell if this will just be a continuation of the show's traditions or begin an exciting new chapter for the Grammys.
Here is a partial list of winners of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards:
Album of the Year: "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" - Bad Bunny
Record of the Year: "Luther" - Kendrick Lamar with SZA
Song of the Year: "Wildflower" - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Olivia Dean
Best Pop Vocal Album: "Mayhem" - Lady Gaga
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "A Matter of Time" - Laufey
Best Pop Solo Performance: "Messy" - Lola Young
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: "Defying Gravity" - Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
Best Dance/Electronic Album: "Eusexua" - FKA twigs
Best Dance/Electronic Recording: "End of Summer" - Tame Impala
Best Dance Pop Recording: "Abracadabra" - Lady Gaga
Best Remixed Recording: "Abracadabra (Gesaffelstein Remix)" - Gesaffelstein, remixer (Lady Gaga, Gesaffelstein)
Best Rock Album: "Never Enough" - Turnstile
Best Rock Performance: "Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back to the Beginning" - Yungblud featuring Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman and II
Best Rock Song: "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, songwriters (Nine Inch Nails)
Best Alternative Music Album: "Songs of a Lost World" - The Cure
Best Alternative Music Performance: "Alone" - The Cure
Best R&B Album: "Mutt" - Leon Thomas
Best Progressive R&B Album: "Bloom" - Durand Bernarr
Best R&B Performance: "Folded" - Kehlani
Best Traditional R&B Performance: "Vibes Don’t Lie" - Leon Thomas
Best R&B Song:"Folded" - Darius Dixson, Andre Harris, Kehlani Parrish, Donovan Knight, Don Mills, Khris Riddick-Tynes and Dawit Kamal Wilson, songwriters (Kehlani)
Best Rap Album: "GNX" - Kendrick Lamar
Best Rap Performance: "Chains & Whips" - Clipse, Pusha T and Malice featuring Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams
Best Rap Song: "TV Off" - Jack Antonoff, Larry Jayy, Kendrick Lamar, Dijon McFarlane, Sean Momberger, Mark Anthony Spears and Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay)
Best Traditional Country Album: "Ain’t in It for My Health" - Zach Top
Best Contemporary Country Album: "Beautifully Broken" - Jelly Roll
Best Country Solo Performance: "Bad as I Used to Be (from "F1: The Movie")" - Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: "Amen" - Shaboozey and Jelly Roll
Best Country Song: "Bitin’ List" - Tyler Childers, songwriter (Tyler Childers)
Best Americana Album: "Big Money" - Jon Batiste
Best American Roots Performance: "Beautiful Strangers" - Mavis Staples
Best Americana Performance: "Godspeed" - Mavis Staples
Best Folk Album: "Wild and Clear and Blue" - I’m With Her
Best Jazz Vocal Album: "Portrait" - Samara Joy
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: "Southern Nights" - Sullivan Fortner featuring Peter Washington and Marcus Gilmore
Best Alternative Jazz Album: "Live-Action" - Nate Smith
Best Jazz Performance: "Windows — Live" - Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade
Best Traditional Blues Album: "Ain’t Done With the Blues" - Buddy Guy
Best Contemporary Blues Album: "Preacher Kids" - Robert Randolph
Best Gospel Album: "Heart of Mine" - Darrel Walls and PJ Morton
Best Latin Pop Album: "Cancionera" - Natalia Lafourcade
Best Tropical Latin Album: "Raíces" - Gloria Estefan
Best Reggae Album: "Blxxd & Fyah" - Keznamdi
Best African Music Performance: "Push 2 Start" - Tyla
Best Musical Theater Album: "Buena Vista Social Club" - Marco Paguia, Dean Sharenow and David Yazbek, producers (Original Broadway Cast)
Best Comedy Album: "Your Friend, Nate Bargatze" - Nate Bargatze
Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording: "Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama" - Dalai Lama
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: "Sinners" (Various Artists); Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson and Serena Göransson, compilation producers; Niki Sherrod, music supervisor
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Includes Film and Television): "Sinners" - Ludwig Göransson, composer
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" - Ejae, Park Hong Jun, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (Huntr/x: Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami)
Best Music Video: "Anxiety" - Doechii
Best Music Film: "Music by John Williams" - John Williams
Best Album Cover: "Chromakopia" - Shaun Llewellyn and Luis “Panch” Perez, art directors (Tyler, the Creator)
Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical): Amy Allen
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical): Cirkut
