The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday night (February 2) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony for the fifth consecutive year, which kicked off with a fitting tribute to Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires. L.A. band Dawes (whose brothers, Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith lost their homes and recording studio in the fires) were joined by John Legend, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard, and Brad Paisley for a fitting cover of Randy Newman’s iconic anthem, “I Love L.A.”
Love for the City of Angels continued throughout the ceremony, from Billie Eilish sporting a Dodgers hat during her performance of “Birds of a Feather,” to Chappell Roan – who won Best New Artist later in the ceremony – performing her love letter to Los Angeles, “Pink Pony Club,” and Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ touching duet on the Mamas & the Papas classic, “California Dreamin’.’” They were also encouraging donations to fire relief efforts throughout the ceremony, with QR codes on the screen and throughout the venue, and paid TV advertisements throughout the broadcast supporting small, independent L.A. businesses hit hard by the fires.
The ceremony also featured an all-star tribute to the late music legend Quincy Jones, led by Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Cynthia Erivo, Lainey Wilson, and Jacob Collier, which included an arena-wide singalong on the anthem, “We Are the World,” and Janelle Monáe covering Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough.” The In Memoriam segment was led by a short tribute to One Direction’s Liam Payne, soundtracked by Coldplay’s Chris Martin singing his band’s recent ballad, “All My Love.”
As for the awards, Kendrick Lamar was the night’s biggest winner, taking home Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video for his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us.” Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department received a standing ovation when a group of them presented Album of the Year to Beyoncé for Cowboy Carter, her first ever win in the Grammys’ top category in her illustrious career. Doechii became only the third woman ever to win the Best Rap Album Grammy for her record, Alligator Bites Never Heal, joining previous winners Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. Sabrina Carpenter took home Best Pop Vocal Album for Short N’ Sweet, and scored the Best Solo Pop Performance trophy for her smash hit, “Espresso.” Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ current chart-topper won a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Charli XCX won her first ever Grammys, claiming Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Brat, while her catchy single, “Von Dutch,” was awarded Best Dance Pop Recording. Chris Brown was awarded Best R&B Album for 11:11 (Deluxe), and Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran took home Best Latin Pop Album.
In the Rock categories, St. Vincent was the biggest winner on the night, taking home Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Music Performance for “Flea,” and Best Alternative Music Album for All Born Screaming. Two UK music legends won rock’s biggest awards, as The Rolling Stones won Best Rock Album for Hackney Diamonds, and the Beatles won Best Rock Performance for their celebrated “final” song, “Now and Then.” Best Metal Performance went to Gojira, Marina Viotti & Victor le Masne for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!),” which caught everyone’s attention at the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris this summer.
As for the Country awards, Beyoncé was the night’s big winner in the genre, taking home Grammys for Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “II Most Wanted,” her collaboration with Miley Cyrus. Best Country Song was awarded to Kacey Musgraves for “The Architect,” while Best Country Solo Performance went to Chris Stapleton for “It Takes a Woman.” Sierra Ferrell was another big winner on the night, as her Trail of Flowers won Best Americana Album, “American Dreaming” took home Best Americana Performance and Best American Roots Song, and “Lighthouse” was awarded Best American Roots Performance. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ Woodland won Best Folk Album, while Billy Strings‘ Live Vol. 1 was awarded Best Bluegrass Album.
