It’s officially every entertainment lover’s favorite season… award season! This year marks the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which Trevor Noah will be hosting for the third time in a row. It’s been a groundbreaking year for so many artists, many of whom have shattered record after record. With all of the incredible nominations, I could see another version of the iconic Kanye West speech interruption in the near future.
While fans are waiting for Frank Ocean to drop new music and the potential Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez collab, it’s only right to have some fun with all the amazing 2022 releases.
Whether you’ve listened to all of the nominations or are mainly watching the show for the celebrity gossip (and to see if Harry Styles and Taylor Swift reunite again), no one wants to watch an award show on their own. What better way better to celebrate all the music of 2022 than to throw your own campus watch party? Here’s how to do it.
- Talk To Your Resident Assistant.
-
As a former RA, housing staff loves to help create events that will help build community on the floor or residence building. Depending on where you go to school, your RA probably gets a certain amount of money just for floor events. You should be taking advantage of this opportunity to not have to fully fund your party! Having a housing staff member help with the event will also help with attendance numbers.
Your floor common space will probably have the best seating and TV setup, and will provide a larger space than your dorm room. Your RA will be able to help you set up the space and may even have access to any adapters you need to stream the show.
If you’re worried about your RA possibly bringing down the vibes, you could host a private afterparty for just friends back at someone’s apartment. Besides, everyone knows the red carpet and the afterparty are always the most fun, anyways. This way, you get the best of both worlds. *Cue the Hannah Montana transition music.*
- Figure Out your Grammys goal.
-
I don’t know about you, but personally I love watching the award show red carpets. I feel like fans get to learn so much about the artists — and even better, you get to fantasize about being an interviewer and having your own Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield moment.
Although the red carpet is always a good time, streaming the red carpet and the actual awards show plus an afterparty is basically the same amount of effort as a full time job. Also know that most people will only come for part of the event if you choose to include all three sections, so don’t take it personally.
It’s definitely more of a commitment, but I would say if there’s interest, go for it! You could even send out a poll to your floor or building beforehand to see if it’s worth it.
- Make the Entire show a Game.
-
Having games that people can play, especially during breaks, could be the saving grace for the watch party attendees that haven’t done their Grammys homework.
You could make Bingo cards with typical awards show antics. If you don’t want to make your own, you can find versions on Pinterest.
If you’re down to make your own cards (or edit the one you found), here are some ideas:
- Celebrity group selfie
- A winner goes over the speech time limit
- Wardrobe malfunction
- Forgets who their wearing
- Says they didn’t write a speech
- Dyed their hair for the show
- First red carpet appearance as a celeb couple
- First-time winner
Another easy activity to do is to print off a list of all the nominees and have people guess who will win each category. Before the show starts, collect all of the votes and see who got the most right. If you have the budget, the winner could get a prize, or even their own mini Grammy!
If you and your friends enjoy trivia, creating a trivia game based on the year’s Grammy Award nominees could be your winning idea! The questions could be based on the nominated songs, albums, and artists of the year. You could also mix in some “finish that lyric” questions. Trivia will bring extra energy into your watch party and get the crowd to work together.
- Find your screen time.
-
A watch party isn’t a watch party if there are technical issues! Make sure to plan ahead for all the adapters, cords, and anything else you might need to set up the award show. If you don’t have the necessary adapters, ask your floor group chat or your media studies friends to help you out with one to use for the night. Any media students might even be able to sign some equipment out from your university for free!
Make sure you get the correct time of the show! This year, the Grammys are on Sunday, Feb. 5. The show will air from 8 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. ET on the official Grammys website, and on CBS. You can also watch it live and on demand on Paramount Plus if you (or a friend) have a subscription!
The red carpet starts earlier in the night and will be aired on the Grammys website, as well as the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel.
At the end of the night, try your hand at the iconic (and chaotic) award show selfie with all of your favorite watch party attendees!
