The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019. The glamorous event took place at Staples Center in Los Angeles. This year's event was hosted by one of our generation's biggest vocal icons, Alicia Keys.
Among other amazing performers, we could see stages from Camila Cabello, Miley Cyrus, Janelle Monáe, Lady Gaga and the one and only Jennifer Lopez. As for presenters, we could see many interesting faces - such as the young rising singer Alessia Cara, actress and singer Anna Kendrick and an absolute stranger on the American soil, South Korean K-Pop group BTS, who have made their historical debut as the first K-Pop act to present an award at the renowned award ceremony. It's no wonder that all media platforms had their eyes on them.
And the Grammy goes to ...
RECORD OF THE YEAR It is no surprise that the Grammy for The Record of the Year went directly to Childish Gambino and his track "This Is America", which took not only America by storm. A controversial music video to a song with a great beat and a direct society oriented message is exactly what it takes to secure an award of this calibre. This song earned it's authors not only one, not two - but three awards during this big night. The Academy agreed on it being also a Best Rap/Sung Performance worthy and it also earned the title of The Song of the Year.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR The Grammy for The Album of the Year was taken home by a thirty years old country artist Kacey Musgraves, who was also awarded another trophy that same night for her lovely "cosmic country" album Golden Hour- a sweet record that transcends through genres, suitable for a great sunny day. If you aren't a fan of country music, this might be the album to change your mind. It has definitely changed mine. Ethereal tunes that well deserved Best Country Album, hands down. I personally highly recommend track "Oh, What A World".
BEST NEW ARTIST This year's Best New Artist is a lovely English singer and songwriter - her breakthrough song New Rules, which charted as number one on UK charts in summer 2017, might ring a bell. Hand in hand with British -American duo Silk City, famous for their work on the field of electronic music, they all managed to earn Best Dance Recording with their collaborative track Electricity, which features American DJ Diplo and English music producer Mark Ronson.
POP Lady Gaga took a new approach and surprised her fans with her sub-country album Joanne in October of 2016. Album's main track Joanne (Where do you think you're goin'?) earned her the award for Best Solo Pop Performance. Truly a song worth listening, as Gaga easily proved her vocal and songwriting abilities. It was no surprise that also Gaga's main song to her 2018 picture A Star Is Born's soundtrack Shallow, in which we can hear the American movie star Bradley Cooper, was named the Best Duo/Group Pop Performance, as it had charted as number one on AppleMusic in several countries for many weeks.
Would we be surprised if Ariana Grande's last year's album Sweetener wouldn't win the award for Best Pop Vocal Album? Most probably. Ariana showed her fans that she is the vocal queen they all take her for. Her main song of the album "God Is A Woman" was a huge hit and I was not surprised. Ariana is without a question one of the most vocally talented musicians of our generation. For people who aren't fans of modern pop music, I recommend giving a try to her song "No Tears Left To Cry", in which her vocal talent truly shines.
RAP The Best Rap Song award went to Drake's songwriting crew for "God's Plan". Definitely a great song that did very well right after its first release and still receives the radio spins it deserves. Furthermore, Drake did not disappoint with the official music video, either. What's there more to say? We just love Drake.
Kendrick Lamar, as one of the most nominated artists of the evening, received his award for his and one of America's most famous street artists Jay Rock's collaborative song King's Dead, This song tied as first with Anderson .Paak's track "Bubblin" and this tie resulted in them both receiving an award for Best Rap Performance.
The Academy came to a conclusion that last year's best rap album was Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy". It is definitely a statement album and Cardi B keeps on showing that she's not afraid to come for blood. Her strong personality and brave verses mix well with her powerful beats, making her a rival for artists, who are considered big sharks in the industry.
R&B Last but definitely not least, I would like to give a shout out to H.E.R. for winning the Best R&B Album and the Best R&B Performance. Her song "Best Part" in collaboration with Daniel Caesar, which secured her the latter award, truly took my breath away. I'd call it a perfect lazy Sunday morning song, or maybe even ethereal spiritual experience. This song absolutely made its way to my "Songs I will tirelessly recommend to everyone" list. An amazing artist I hope to see more of.
I will link the official Grammy webpage with the results here, for further information on artists or genres I have not covered.