If you’re anything like me, you’re in college with a schedule busier than you can manage. Last night during the Grammys I was at our weekly Her Campus meeting, but that didn’t stop me from going home right after meeting and turning it on. Well, okay, first I met with a study group, then I watched the Grammys. Unfortunately, I have an exam today. Ugh.
Anyway, if you missed any parts of the show like I did, here are some of most notable moments from the 59th Annual Grammy Awards:
Adele
Adele absolutely dominated the Grammys last night. She took home the awards for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Solo Performance.
In one of last night’s biggest “aww!” moments, Adele confessed that she didn’t deserve to win Album of the Year. Instead, she gave a direct shout-out to Beyoncé, who was also up for the award, by saying, “You are our light. And the way that you make me and my friends feel, and the way that you make my black friends feel is empowering and you make them stand up for themselves and I love you, I always have and I always will.”
AWWWW. If you are to take anything away from last night’s show, go watch the clip of Adele’s speech because it is so heart-touching. Celebrities supporting other celebrities is such a beautiful thing.
Drake and Chance the Rapper
Drake won the award for Best Rap Song, as well as Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Chance the Rapper also won big at the Grammys, snagging the title of Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance. His winning these awards was a huge accomplishment for the artist, who released his music independently and through streaming websites. He also performed at the awards, complete with a full gospel choir.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé won the awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade and Best Music Video for “Formation.”
Beyoncé also sang at the awards in an absolutely flawless performance (but did we expect anything else?). The performance started out with her mother, Tina Knowles, introducing her super successful and super pregnant daughter. Beyoncé recited poetry and sang “Love Drought” and Sandcastles,” all while showing off her pregnant belly and just generally being the queen she is. Her performance relied heavily on some pretty extraordinary visuals (like when her daughter, Blue Ivy, ran around the stage…and then suddenly turned into like fifteen Blue Ivy’s), but overall, Beyoncé left the audience stunned.
David Bowie
Some of the most meaningful awards of last night’s show were awarded to David Bowie. He posthumously won the categories of Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance, and a music engineering prize. These awards come just too late for the famous singer, who died last January: Bowie had never won a musical Grammy before, though he did win a different Grammy, one for Best Music Video, in 1985.
Other Big Moments
Politics were, of course, mentioned a few times during the show. During their performance, A Tribe Called Quest made a few obvious references to our new President and his policies. At one point during the performance, dancers broke through a prop wall, and women in traditional Islamic dress took to the stage. Katy Perry also brought politics into the awards, though (only slightly) more subtly: she wore an armband that said “Persist” and, at one point, the Constitution flashed up on the screen during her performance.
So if you missed anything from last night’s show, don’t worry: consider this your recap of all the important parts!