Music’s biggest night was celebrated on February 4 (February 5 morning in India) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles in all its usual grandeur, despite the heavy rainfall that deluged Southern California over the weekend. Luminaries of the music industry gathered at the 66th Grammy Awards to hand out the awards in 94 categories at two separate ceremonies where women took centre-stage both as winners and performers. Taylor Swift registered a record-breaking win and Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers bagged important trophies, while Miley Cyrus, Karol G, Lainey Wilson and Victoria Monet were some of the major first-time winners of the night. Eilish, SZA, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and yesteryear icons Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell were some of the major performers at the high-voltage ceremony hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. Highlights.
INDIA WINS BIG
Shakti, the iconic fusion music ensemble, with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and singer Shankar Mahadevan, won the award for Best Global Music Album for This Moment. Showcasing the collaborative talents of legendary guitarist John McLaughlin along with Hussain, Mahadevan V Selvaganesh and Ganesh Rajagopalan, it is the group’s first studio album in more than 45 years.
The tabla maestro (picture on top) won two more Grammys, one for Best Global Music Performance for Pashto and another for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for As We Speak, along with American banjo player Bela Fleck, American bassist Edgar Meyer, featuring Indian flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. Mahadevan, who took the stage alongside Rajagopalan and Selvaganesh (picture above), gave a shout-out to McLaughlin and Hussain. “Thank you boys, God, family, friends and India,” said Mahadevan in his acceptance speech as he dedicated the award to his wife.
TEAMWORK
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell received the award for Song of the Year from pop legend Lionel Richie for What Was I Made For? from Barbie. “I feel crazy right now. I’m shocked ...,” she began, looking bewildered by the moment. She thanked the recording academy and her brother for being her “best friend in the world” and making her “the good person I am today. Thank you to Greta Gerwig for making the best movie of the year”. “We feel lucky, privileged... It’s hard to feel deserving, we certainly don’t feel it right now, just very humble and grateful,” said Finneas O’Connell.
THE HOST
In his fourth consecutive year hosting the Grammy Awards, Trevor Noah paid glorious tribute to all music-makers in his opening monologue, whether or not nominated at this year’s awards. “These people write the soundtracks of our lives,” he said. Throughout the show, he made his way through the audience and helped introduce awards even as he entertained the audience with jokes that genuinely appeared to amuse them.
RECORD FOR TAY
Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for Midnights, becoming the first artiste ever to win Album of the Year four times. With this win, Taylor moved past Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, who had each won the award three times.
“I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song,” she said, adding that she was feeling “mind blown”. “For me, the award is the work.” She accepted the honour from Céline Dion, who made a surprise appearance as a presenter following her stiffperson syndrome diagnosis. Earlier, Taylor also won Best Pop Vocal Album for the same album and made a surprise announcement in her characteristic style, while picking up the award on stage. “This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number... I know the way the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans. So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor said.
LATIN BEATS
Karol G bagged the Best Musica Urbana Album award. The Colombian singer-songwriter became a first-time Grammy winner, taking home the trophy for her album Mañana Será Bonito. “I promise you to give you my best always,” she said.
YOUNG BLOOD
One of the night’s biggest winners, pop and R&B singer-songwriter Victoria Monét won Best New Artiste, beating out fellow nominees Gracie Abrams, Fred again, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones and Noah Kahan. She also won Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album for Jaguar II, in the pre-show segment of the awards.
SPOTLIGHT ON BARBENHEIMER
Barbenheimer won backto-back Grammy honours at the Grammy premiere ceremony. George Drakoulias and Brandon Davis (picture on top) won Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for Barbie the Album. Oppenheimer, composed by Ludwig Göransson (picture above) also won the award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? From Barbie the Album also picked up awards for Best Song Written for Visual Media and Song of the Year. “Making this song saved me a little bit,” Eilish said of the ballad in the acceptance speech. Host Trevor Noah called Barbie music producer Mark Ronson one of the greatest producers of all time.
HONEST PERFORMANCE
Sitting in a regal chair, 80-yearold Joni Mitchell performed for the first time at the Grammy Awards, singing her timeless song Both Sides Now, in a rendition that can be described as honest, sublime and deeply powerful.
OFF THE MARK
Miley Cyrus won the Grammy for Record of the Year for Flowers, her first win in the category. The huskyvoiced former Disney Channel star — and daughter of Grammy nominee Billy Ray Cyrus — had never won a Grammy before. She also won for best pop solo performance for the same song. During a performance of Flowers at the ceremony, Cyrus ad-libbed several times, shouting: “Don’t act like you don’t know this song” and “I just won my first Grammy!”
AWKWARD MOMENTS
What’s a glamorous ceremony with some of the world’s biggest celebs without its embarrassing moments? While Jay Z accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award accompanied by his daughter Blue Ivy Carter, he used his acceptance speech to criticise the Recording Academy for snubbing his wife, Beyoncé.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”
We wonder what Beyonce will have to say to that, but it did look odd for an accomplished, successful artiste to complain at an awards show. Earlier, Killer Mike, a prolific musician and activist, who won three awards during the pre-show ceremony for Best Rap Album (Michael), Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song (both for Scientists and Engineers), had to be escorted out of the Crypto. com arena in handcuffs by a squad of police officers for an offence related to a physical altercation. In a post on social media later, the Los Angeles Police Department clarified that the singer had been booked on a misdemeanour battery charge and was being released.
IN MEMORIUM
Usually a sober collage that pays tribute to artistes who have passed away the previous year, this year’s segment turned into a rousing concert, closing out with a lively tribute to Tina Turner, introduced by Oprah Winfrey, and ending with a fiery, high-energy performance of one of Turner’s biggest hits Proud Mary by Fantasia (picture left). While paying homage to Sinéad O’Connor with a performance, Annie Lennox ended with a reference to the war between Israel and Palestine. “Artistes for ceasefire! Peace in the world!” she said after her song.
SONG OF THE YEAR: What Was I Made For? from Barbie
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Midnights, Taylor Swift
RECORD OF THE YEAR: Flowers, Miley Cyrus
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE: Flowers, Miley Cyrus
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (non-classical): Jack Antonoff
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM: Midnights, Taylor Swift
BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA: Barbie: The Album (Various Artists)
BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA (INCLUDES FILM AND TELEVISION): Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson, composer
BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIA: What Was I Made For? from Barbie: The Album
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE: Ghost in the Machine SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers
BEST POP DANCE RECORDING: Padam Padam, Kylie Minogue
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: I’m Only Sleeping (The Beatles), Em Cooper, video director
BEST NEW ARTIST: Victoria Monét
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE: Not Strong Enough, boygenius
BEST ROCK SONG: Not Strong Enough, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, songwriters (boygenius)
BEST ROCK ALBUM: This Is Why, Paramore
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM: The Record, boygenius
BEST JAZZ PERFORMANCE: Tight, Samara Joy
BEST SPOKEN WORD POETRY ALBUM: The Light Inside, J. Ivy
BEST RAP ALBUM: Michael, Killer Mike
BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM: As We Speak, Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
BEST GLOBAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE: Pashto, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
BEST GLOBAL MUSIC ALBUM: This Moment, Shakti
BEST FOLK ALBUM: Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live), Joni Mitchell
BEST AUDIOBOOK, NARRATION AND STORYTELLING RECORDING: The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Michelle Obama