Los Angeles: Megan Thee Stallion was the big winner at the 63rd Grammy Awards, winning three trophies in a night when Beyonce broke the record for most number of Grammy wins. Scoring an individual haul that stands at 28 Grammys, Beyonce has now surpassed the record previously held by Alisson Krauss.
Taylor Swift also entered the record books. With her Grammy for Album of the Year for “Folklore”, she became the first singer-songwriter to win the prize three times, and overall fourth musician to achieve this feat.
Megan won three Grammys — Best New Artist, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance — at the in-person live/virtual ceremony hosted by Trevor Noah on Sunday night (Monday according to India time) that had as a highlight an extended in-tribute section honouring those who died in the last one year.
“There’s going to be stages that are intricately designed to be socially distanced but at the same time engaging with the people, so it’ll feel like you’re there at some sort of music-festival-meets-awards-show-meets-special-concert just for you at home,” Noah said in his opening monologue.
Wearing an open jacket and boa, drawing a joke from host Noah about the same, Harry Styles opened the ceremony with his hit, “Watermelon sugar”, which also saw him win the Best Pop Solo performance category this year.
The opening act also included performances by Billie Eilish, joined by her brother and collaborator, Finneas, who performed “All I ever wanted”. Haim performed “The steps.”
Following the first award, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s performance of their song “Rockstar”, joined by a choir of older white people in what looked like judge’s robes, laid the foundation for what was going to be a vocal night for Black musicians.
Perhaps the strongest voice at this year’s Grammy Awards was that of Atlanta-based rapper Lil Baby who once again raised the issue of treatment of the Blacks in the US, with a powerful performance of his song, ‘The bigger picture,’ which was released amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year.
Three awards presented during the telecast went to protest songs. “Lockdown”, released by Anderson .Paak, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, won for Best Melodic Rap Performance. “I can’t breathe”, by H.E.R. won Song of the Year. “Black parade,” Beyonce’s own release, from her “Black Is King” film, won Best R&B Performance and saw her become the singer with most number of Grammys.
Beyonce’s record-breaking win came after her wins in the Best Music Vdeo category for “Brown skin girl”, which she shared with daughter Blue Ivy, and Best Rap Performance, which she shared with Megan Thee Stallion for their song “Savage (remix)”. Apart from sharing the award with Beyonce, Megan also won the inaugural award of the night — Best New Artist.
“I don’t want to cry. It’s been a hell of a year, and we made it,” said Megan while accepting her award.
She also set the stage on fire with her performances of her songs, “Body”, “Savage” and “Up”, and with three wins out of four, she was the star of the night, till Ringo Starr announced that Billie Eilish won the Record of the Year, making it her second consecutive win in the same category. Even Eilish couldn’t believe she had won the award.
“I was going to write a speech about how you deserve this but then I was like, there’s no way they’re going to choose me,” Eilish said. “I was like, it’s hers. You deserve this. You had a year that I think is untoppable. You are a queen. I want to cry thinking about how much I love you,” she added.
The list if winners:
Record of the year: Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
Album of the year: Folklore by Taylor Swift
Song of the year: I can’t breathe by Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
Best pop solo performance: Watermelon sugar by Harry Styles
Best pop duo/group performance: Rain on me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
Best R&B album: Bigger love by John Legend
Best R&B performance: Black parade by Beyonce
Best traditional R&B performance: Anything for you by Ledisi
Best progressive R&B album: It is what it is by Thundercat
Best R&B song: Better Than I imagined by Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndeogeocello and Gabriella Wilson
Best new artist: Megan Thee Stallion
Best rap performance: Savage by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyonce
Best rap song: Savage by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyonce
Best rap album: King’s disease by Nas
Bets melodic rap performance: Lockdown by Anderson .Paak
Best traditional pop vocal album: American standard by James Taylor
Best music video: Brown skin girl by Beyonce
Best song written for visual media: No Time to Die by Billie Eilish
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media: Jojo Rabbit
Best score soundtrack for visual media: Joker by Hildur Guonadottir
Best global music album: Twice as Tall by Burna Boy
Best dance recording: 10% by Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis
Best dance/electronic album: Bubba by Kaytranada
Best contemporary instrumental album: Live at the Royal Albert Hall by Snarky Puppy
Best rock performance: Shameika by Fiona Apple
Best metal performance: Bum-Rush by Body Count
Best rock album: The new abnormal by The Strokes
Best rock song: Stay high” by Brittany Howard
Best alternative music album: Fetch the bolt cutters by Fiona Apple
Best country solo performance: When my amy prays by Vince Gill
Best country duo/group performance: 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber
Best country album: Wildcard by Miranda Lambert
Best country song: Crowded table” by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna
Best new age album: More Guitar Stories by Jim “Kimo” West
Best jazz vocal album: Secrets are the best stories by Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Perez
Best improvised jazz solo: All blues by Chick Corea
Best jazz instrumental album: Trilogy 2 by Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade
Best large jazz ensemble album: Data Lords by Maria Schneider Orchestra
Best Latin jazz album: Four Questions by Arturo O’farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Best gospel performance/song: Movin’ On by Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music
