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Adrian Horton
Reigning best new artist Chappell Roan is here, making a statement as usual. Behold quite the reveal:
Benjamin Lee
It’s a tough time to spend a night giving out awards and celebrating some very well-paid musicians given the burning hellscape that is America and the world at large. It was something sidestepped by last month’s Golden Globes but things have worsened since then and with Trevor Noah as emcee, it’s hard to see him choosing to ignore what’s been going on.
Earlier this week, Harvey Mason, the music academy CEO, spoke about this with CNN:
“I think music has a unique ability, especially in these days, especially at a time when there’s so much division, there’s unrest – I think music and all the talented artists, Trevor our host, the music community will be used as a tool, as medicine, I think, to bring people together.”
Benjamin Lee
Since there are roughly 4000 Grammy categories, the majority of awards are handed out before the televised ceremony (which is essentially a long concert with a few awards on the side).
Here are some of tonight’s big winners already:
Best dance pop recording: Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Best music video: Doechii – Anxiety
Best Song Written for Visual Media: Huntr/x – Golden
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Sinners
Best rock song: Nine Inch Nails – As Alive as You Need Me to Be
Best global music performance: Bad Bunny – EoO
Best R&B song: Kehlani – Folded
Best rock album: Turnstile – Never Enough
Best R&B album: Leon Thomas – Mutt
Best pop duo/group performance: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
Best rap song: Kendrick Lamar ft Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
Adrian Horton
Some best new artist nominees making their case on the red carpet:
Benjamin Lee
Kendrick? Sabrina? Bad Bunny? KPop Demon Hunters? Some categories might be easier to predict than others but it’s still a tough year, one that the Guardian’s Ben Beaumont-Thomas was brave enough to gamble on here:
Welcome back!
Adrian Horton
The red carpet is open and the stars are pulling up to the Place Formerly Known As The Staples Center (the Crypto.com arena) in Los Angeles – welcome back to the Grammys!
The 68th annual music awards show / mega-concert has a tough act to follow – last year’s show, which aired just weeks after the devastating LA wildfires, combined heartfelt fundraising, a tribute to Quincy Jones, a long overdue album of the year win for Beyoncé and an all-timer best new artists line-up for a relatively filler-free four hours (I know). Kendrick Lamar was the big winner of the night, and could be again this year – he leads the field with nine nominations, followed by a return-to-form Lady Gaga with seven and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas with six.
Will Kendrick prevail again? Or will Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos become the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year? And will Justin Bieber impress in his first major performance in four years? Stick with us for all the highlights from “music’s biggest night”.
