History was made at the 64th Grammys held on April 3. Over the years, a lot of artists have spoken out against the validity of the Grammys and the process of awarding and nominating the right music and artist — but to a lot of artists, it still holds importance and recognition for the work they put into the world and industry.
Notable winners included Sza and Doja Cat winning Best Pop Duo, the first Grammy either artist has won. When accepting the award, Doja got emotional and had this to say: “I like to downplay a lot of sh*t but this is a…it’s a big deal.” Rapper Tyler the Creator racked up his second Rap Album of the Year award for “Call Me If You Get Lost.”
R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan won her first two Grammys as well for her project “Heaux Tales.” When accepting the award for R&B Album of the Year, she said, “I think that I wrote this project to deal with my own shame and unforgiveness around some of the decisions that I made in my 20s that weren’t favorable, and, thank you, but it ended up being what is a safe space for black women to tell their stories, for us to learn from each other…laugh at each other, and not be exploited at the same time, and that’s what I’m grateful for, so shout out to all Black women who are just living at their lives and being beautiful I love you all…” Her other Grammy was for R&B Performance, in a tie with Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” and her song “Pick Up Your Feelings.”
Speaking of Silk Sonic, the Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars duo took home Grammys for Song, Record and R&B Performance of the Year awards, which Paak called a “clean sweep.” Jon Batiste’s “We Are” won for Album of the Year, Olivia Rodrigo took home Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Baby Keem won Best Rap Performance, his first Grammy, for his record with Kendrick Lamar. Country artist Chris Stapleton won three Grammys for Best Country Song (“Cold”), Best Country Album (“Starting Over:) and Best Country Solo Performance for (“You Should Probably Leave”).
Notably, Lil Nas X didn’t win any of the awards he was nominated for, and he took to Twitter to tell his fans last night was my favorite performance yet. and a fun night in general. we lost all our grammies but that just mean[s] it’s time to go even harder! love y’all.”.”
Black Coffee won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Subconsciously,” Foo Fighters won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Album for “Medicine At Midnight” and “Making A Fire.”
Although it’s important to highlight the artists who won their well-deserved Grammys, it’s also important to highlight notable artists who haven’t won yet and we hope to see on the stage. Artists like Nicki Minaj, Sia, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Miley Cyrus, and others are still prominent in the music business.
Isaiah Ireland is a first-year Media & Culture major. II978280@wcupa.edu