Not a hall full of world stars, but mouth masks and matching glamourous outfits socially distanced outdoor performances: the 63rd Grammy Awards, the most important American music awards, also adapted to the corona pandemic in Los Angeles on Sunday. Winners include HER, Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé. The latter broke the record for the most Grammys ever won by a female artist.
A bunch of awards have already been handed out during a ‘premiere’ live stream, because even a three and a half hour long show would not be enough. It was therefore richly provided with edge animation. Between the jokes of host Trevor Noah and the many performances by artists such as Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, the most coveted figurines were handed out.
The prize for admission of the year went to Everything I wanted from Billie Eilish, album of the year was Taylor Swifts Folklore. This made Swift the first woman to win the prize three times: in 2010 she was already awarded the coveted Grammy Fearless and in 2016 for the album 1989.
The American R&B singer HER won the Grammy for song of the year. I Can’t Breathe was released in the wake of the protests following George Floyd’s death last spring, calling for an end to racial discrimination and police brutality. The song title refers to the last words of both Floyd and Eric Garner, a black American who died of asphyxiation during his arrest by police in New York in July 2014. HER also received a shared award for Better Than I Imagine, which became best R&B song.
American rapper and singer Megan Thee Stallion has been named best new artist. She released her first studio album last year – Good News – especially the singles Savage and WAP did well. Doja Cat and Phoebe Bridgers were also nominated in the category.
Megan Thee Stallion also won best rap song and best rap performance, together with Beyoncé Savage. Beyoncé also won a Grammy together with daughter Blue Ivy for music video Brown Skin Girl and one for best R&B performance for Black Parade. Enough to break the record of the most Grammys ever for a female artist: the 39-year-old singer has collected 28 Grammys in her career, a record for a female artist.
These are the most prominent winners:
Record of the Year: ‘Everything I wanted’, Billie Eilish
Album of the Year: ‘Folklore’, Taylor Swift
Best R&B Performance: ‘Black Parade’, Beyonce
Best Pop Vocal Album: ‘Future Nostalgia’, Dua Lipa
Best Rap Song: ‘Savage’, Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyonce
Song of the Year: ‘I Can’t Breathe’, HER
Best Pop Solo Performance: ‘Watermelon Sugar’, Harry Styles
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
Best Rap Performance: ‘Savage’ – Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé
Best Pop Duo / Group Performance: ‘Rain on Me’ – Lady Gaga With Ariana Grande
Best Country Duo / Group Performance: ‘10,000 Hours’ – Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
Best R&B Album: ‘Bigger Love’ – John Legend
Best Rock Album: ‘The New Abnormal’ – The Strokes
Best Music Video: ‘Brown Skin Girl’ – Beyoncé – Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Jenn Nkiru, Video Directors; Lauren Baker, Astrid Edwards, Nathan Scherrer & Erinn Williams, Video Producers
Best R&B Song: ‘Better Than I Imagined’ – Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring HER & Meshell Ndegeocello)
Best Country Album: ‘Wildcard’, Miranda Lambert
Best Rap Album: ‘King’s Disease’ – Nas
Best Rock Song: ‘Stay High’ – Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
Best Rock Performance: ‘Shameika’ – Fiona Apple
Best Alternative Music Album: ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ – Fiona Apple
Best Dance Recording: ‘10% ‘- Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis
Best Dance / Electronic Album: ‘Bubba’ – Kaytranada