Photo courtesy of Billboard
The 63rd Grammy Awards were held on Sunday, March 14 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The entire event was held in person, unlike other 2021 award shows such as the Emmys and the Golden Globes, which opted for partially or entirely virtual events. Hosted by Trevor Noah, the night was filled with live performances and big wins for artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
Grammys night was kicked off with performances of “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles, “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell as well as “The Steps” by HAIM. The majority of Grammy winners were announced prior to the official start time via a livestream, but the bigger categories were saved for the live show. While the performances were held inside the Staples Center, the award ceremony was conducted outside, where social distancing was enforced, and nominees and guests donned masks as part of their signature fashion looks.
Megan Thee Stallion was presented the award for Best New Artist by 2020 nominee Lizzo, and she then went on to win two more categories: Best Rap Performance (“Savage” feat. Beyoncé) and Best Rap Song (“Savage” feat. Beyoncé). Her win in the Best New Artist category made her the first female rapper to receive the award since 1999.
Beyoncé broke a record with her wins with Megan Thee Stallion and her win in Best R&B Performance for “Black Parade,” receiving the most Grammys for any female artist. She now has 28 Grammy awards, and even her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, won an award.
“Fetch the Bolt Cutters” by Fiona Apple took home two Grammys, one for Best Alternative Music Album and one for her Rock Performance of “Shameika.” Artists like Doja Cat (three nominations), Phoebe Bridgers (four nominations), DaBaby (four nominations), HAIM (three nominations) and BTS (one nomination) were completely shut out.
Taylor Swift went home with the Album of the Year award for “Folklore,” and left album-inspired easter eggs in her acceptance speech. Earlier that night she performed “cardigan,” “august” and “willow” as she lay upon a bed of moss in a dreamy wonderland.
Billie Eilish, who received five Grammys in 2020, went home with two more for Record of the Year for “everything i wanted” and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “No Time To Die.”
Dua Lipa received a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for “Future Nostalgia” after performing “Levitating” feat. DaBaby and “Don’t Start Now” earlier that night in an action-packed performance.
Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B made noise with their performance of their song “WAP,” which was heavily censored but still raised complaints from viewers for its vulgar content.
The various performances of the night highlighted many female artists and celebrated the creativity of an industry heavily impacted by COVID-19 throughout the past year.
