Grammys 2023: Harry Styles, Beyoncé win big

Recap of the biggest night in music

And the Grammy goes to… PHOTO CREDIT: myscena.org

On Sunday, the Recording Academy and Trevor Noah hosted a historic 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which celebrated the 50-year anniversary of the invention of hip-hop, and in which Beyoncé claimed multiple all-time records and four awards.

The Grammys were highlighted by the narrative surrounding Beyoncé and her album “Renaissance.” While there was little promotion for the album, it won four awards over the course of the night, including “best electronic/dance recording” and “best R&B song” with two before the main show, “best traditional R&B performance” and “best R&B album.” 

These four awards turned Beyoncé into the most-awarded artist in Grammy history, with 32 total. She was nominated for nine awards as well, tying her with her husband, Jay-Z, for the most nominations of all time at 88. During the show, Beyoncé was late to arrive due to Los Angeles traffic and was not present to accept her first award of the night.

Kendrick Lamar almost swept the rap category, receiving three of the four rap awards, only losing “best melodic rap performance” to Drake and Future. “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers,” Kendrick Lamar’s impactful and personal record, claimed “best rap song” and “best rap performance” with “The Heart Part 5,” and the album as a whole won “best rap album.” 

The night was not without controversy, however. Song of the year, an award given to the best-written and composed song, was awarded to Bonnie Raitt, with her song “Just Like That.” Upon its announcement, many viewers took to social media to express their opinions on the announcement. “Just Like That” was not expected to win by many viewers, with many online expressing that they had not ever heard of Raitt, a blues singer who was most popular in the ‘80s, nor the winning song. Others argued that other nominees were more relevant or broke records, such as Harry Styles’ “As It Was” or Beyoncé’s “Break my Soul,” and that one of those songs should have been selected instead.

“Record of the year,” an award more oriented on the performance than the songwriting, was much less controversial. While this award was also quite competitive, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” was seen as one of the favorites. Her speech afterward acknowledged those who led her to pursue music in the manner she did, including Beyoncé and Prince. Upon Prince’s passing, Lizzo decided she would dedicate her life to making positive music in a landscape that lacked positivity. As such, she dedicated her award to him.

The last award of the night was “album of the year,” acknowledging the entire album, rather than a single track. Among the nominees were artists whose names had been called multiple times prior throughout the night: Abba, Adele, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlisle, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo and Harry Styles. Styles came out on top with his album “Harry’s House,” which included four songs that reached top-ten on Billboard’s Hot 100. 

Styles, along with four of his fellow nominees for the award, performed limited sets earlier in the night, between awards. Bad Bunny opened the show with a high-energy performance of two songs from his nominated album, “Un Verano Sin Ti.” This was followed by a performance of “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlisle. Lizzo also performed “About Damn Time,” and “Special,” highlighted by a backing gospel choir, and Harry Styles followed with “As it Was.” 

Mary J. Blige took part in a tribute to the genre of hip-hop, which is generally considered to have been invented 50 years ago. In this tribute, more than 25 performers took part in a medley covering a half-century of music. 

As always, the Grammys paid tribute to those in the music industry who passed away over the previous year. Kacey Musgraves performed “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to Loretta Lynn. Quavo, a member of Migos, performed Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” in tribute to Takeoff, a member of the group who passed in November. Lastly, Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt performed Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” to pay tribute to Christine McVie.

While the Grammys are an annual event, it is not often the night holds so much history. Now that it has passed, however, the cycle begins again, and every major release becomes the next “album of the year” candidate. Look forward to next year’s ballot potentially including releases by artists such as Paramore, Lana Del Rey and other big names slated to release music in the coming year.