Music’s greatest stars turned out in drive on the Grammys on Sunday in Los Angeles — and a LOT occurred.
Beyonce made historical past, however misplaced the night time’s greatest prize to Harry Styles. Bad Bunny opened the present with some severe reggaeton and First Lady Jill Biden confirmed as much as honor an Iranian artist.
Here are 5 key moments from Grammys night time:
Bad Bunny, world’s greatest artist
Bad Bunny, music’s most streamed artist, exploded into the Crypto.com Arena to open the night time, performing a medley of hits off his blockbuster album “Un Verano Sin Ti.”
Host Trevor Noah greeted him in Spanish because the Puerto Rican trailblazer launched himself just by his first title, “Benito.” The room then erupted in coloration and rhythm because the viewers was immersed in Latin sounds together with bachata, merengue and mambo.
“I want to know if the Grammys are ready for the real party,” exclaimed the 29-year-old who has quick turn into the face of reggaeton, the style he has globalized.
Donning a white tee shirt and denims, Bad Bunny left nobody unmoved, with even Taylor Swift launching into a couple of dance steps.
“Now everyone wants to be Latino,” he quipped. “But they’re lacking flavor.”
Bad Bunny went on to win the Grammy for Best Musica Urbana Album.
Fifty years of hip-hop
In in all probability essentially the most electrical second of the night time, a parade of stars from the world of hip-hop — from Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC to Method Man, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot and LL Cool J — acquired the viewers up on their toes to mark the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the style, seen as born within the Bronx in 1973.
The rapid-fire medley of hits throughout the a long time — Nelly provided a couple of bars of “Hot in Herre,” Lil Uzi Vert closed the tribute with a little bit of his “Just Wanna Rock” — had Jay-Z cheering from his seat.
The Recording Academy has lengthy been criticized for failing to honor hip-hop artists in the primary Grammy classes, and for being behind the instances when it comes to acknowledging hip-hop’s total affect in music. The all-star efficiency definitely went far in placing the style entrance and middle, ultimately.
Touching in memoriam
The Grammys annual tribute to these the music trade has misplaced was much more emotional than normal, with Quavo of the hip-hop act Migos honoring his nephew Takeoff, who was murdered late final 12 months in a taking pictures on the age of 28.
“Days ain’t the same without you / I don’t know if I’m the same without you,” sang Quavo. “I wish I had a time machine / Just so you can take a ride with me / I miss just how you smile at me / Unc and Phew until infinity.”
Kacey Musgraves opened the set paying homage to Loretta Lynn, the enduring nation singer who died at 90, by protecting Lynn’s iconic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
And Mick Fleetwood was joined by Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow in a touching efficiency of “Songbird” by Christine McVie, the late Fleetwood Mac artist who penned most of the beloved band’s most well-known songs.
Special award for Iranian music
In the night time’s most political second, First Lady Jill Biden got here to Los Angeles to current a particular Grammy for Best Song for Social Change.
That award went to 25-year-old Iranian pop singer Shervin Hajipour for his “Baraye” — an anthem for the protests which have rocked Iran for the reason that September 16 loss of life in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd arrested for an alleged breach of strict costume guidelines for ladies.
Hajipour was detained after his music went viral and later freed on bail. He will not be allowed to go away Iran.
Biden referred to as “Baraye” a “powerful and poetic call for freedom and women’s rights.”
Transgender singer Kim Petras makes historical past
Kim Petras and Sam Smith took dwelling the Grammy for greatest efficiency by a pop duo or group for his or her hit collaboration “Unholy,” which made Petras the primary overtly transgender lady to win within the class.
“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” Petras mentioned after Smith, who’s non-binary, urged her to simply accept the award.
“I grew up next to a highway in nowhere, Germany. And my mother believed me that I was a girl, and I wouldn’t be here without her,” she instructed the viewers in a speech that elicited cheers from her friends.
Petras and Smith later delivered a blazing efficiency of the music — a hellish, pink latex-clad present that featured flames, satan horns, whips and the German artist Petras in a cage.
© 2023 AFP