Ah, The Grammy Awards. Music’s biggest night of the year. And everyone was just blessed with the 58th Grammy Awards Show this year. Of course, like any other awards show, some moments stood out more than others. This year really had something for everyone though.
First, you have Taylor Swift, slaying as usual, opening the show with “Out of the Woods” – her most recent single. Accompanied by her on stage was Jack Antonoff (of ‘Bleachers’ and ‘fun.’), who co-wrote the song with Taylor. If you happened to catch Taylor on her 1989 World Tour this past summer, then you definitely recognized the light up bracelets throughout the room that were all coordinated to go off at certain times. With the second most nominations for the night at a total of seven, Taylor Swift walked away with Album of the Year for “1989,” Best Pop Vocal Album, also for “1989,” and Best Music Video for “Bad Blood.” In her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, Taylor made the point to let everyone know that she is the first woman to win the award twice. You go TSwift!
Music superstars John Legend, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan, Meghan Trainor, and Tyrese Gibson all came together to pay homage to the undeniably talented and successful Lionel Richie – who soon joined them on stage as they all performed a range of his greatest hits.
Kendrick Lamar absolutely blew everyone away with his performance of the night. He’s being highly praised for his combination of rap with jazz and other styles of music. He definitely delivered with his performance and appealed to a wider range of audiences, no doubt growing his already large fanbase. The expectations were high for Kendrick Lamar who had the most nominations of the night with an amazing 11 total. He proudly walked away with Best Rap Performance for “Alright,” Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “These Walls,” Best Rap Song for “Alright,” and Best Rap Album for “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Kudos to Kendrick for a great night!
The Broadway cast of Hamilton performed live from Broadway in New York City and soon after won for Best Musical Theater Album, deservingly so.
Adele, naturally, brought the entire room to their feet with her performance of “All I Ask.” But was there ever any doubt that Adele wouldn’t deliver an incredible performance? Of course not, she’s insanely talented and has one of the strongest voices in the music industry today.
Now the best part of many people’s night – Justin Bieber. He did a beautiful acoustic version of “Love Yourself” followed by an awesome performance of “What Do Ü Mean” with Skrillex and Diplo. Justin Bieber definitely stole many hearts last night – did you see how adorable he was with his little brother on the red carpet?! Also, a big congratulations to Justin Bieber for taking home his first Grammy award for Best Dance Recording with “Where Are Ü Now,” shared with Skrillex and Diplo.
Let’s not forget Lady Gaga’s incredible tribute to the late and great David Bowie. Lady Gaga brought the spirit and energy needed to pay the perfect tribute to such an insanely talented artist. She paid homage to him when she arrived on the red carpet (or even before that by having his face tattooed on her earlier this week!). No doubt David Bowie has influenced many artists today, Lady Gaga being no exception to that.
Sadly, the music industry has lost many greats in this past year. Chris Stapleton, Gary Clark Jr, and Bonnie Raitt all came together for a tribute for the late and great musician, B.B. King. Not to be forgotten, The Hollywood Vampires (comprised of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp) also came together to honor another late and great musician, Lemmy. Earlier in the night, we also saw Pentatonix along with Stevie Wonder perform a tribute for Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. After their performance, we saw another tribute by the Eagles, Bernie Leadon, and Jackson Browne for Glenn Frey of the Eagles.
Many other great musicians were recognized for the evening including:
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars for the unbelievably catchy “Uptown Funk” taking the title of Record of the Year.
Ed Sheeran won for Song of the Year with “Thinking Out Loud” – a favorite among many.
Meghan Trainor tearfully and gratefully accepted her award for Best New Artist.
Alabama Shakes took home Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Don’t Wanna Fight.”
The Weeknd also earned himself a Grammy for Best R&B Performance for “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey).”
Chris Stapleton took home Best Country Album for “Traveller.”
No doubt the 58th Grammy Awards had some great moments that will surely be remembered for years to come. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! Don’t forget to continue to support music in schools!