The 2021 Grammys – Recap – 03/15/2021
Beyonce made history last night as she racked up her 28th win and became the most awarded female artist ever in the history of the Grammy Awards. Mid-way through the night she tied for the record as she shared a win with Meghan Thee Stallion for Best Rap Song, for “Savage,” but the big moment came about 15 minutes later, when her song “Black Parade” was announced as the Best R&B Performance. Looking surprised as she approached the stage, Beyonce said, “I’m so honored.” Overall, Beyonce has acquired 79 career nominations.
As the first performing act on stage, Harry Styles sang “Watermelon Sugar” for his first ever Grammy performance. He later won Best Pop Solo Performance for that song. He wore black leather pants and an open leather jacket, with no shirt, showing off a few tattoos.
From an outside patio in Los Angeles, with the Staples Center as the back drop, host Trevor Noah kept the audience entertained between performances and acceptance speeches. The audience was made up of performers and nominees seated at small tables of 2 and 3, all wearing masks.
A few of the big winners of the night included Taylor Swift for Album of the Year for Folklore. Dua Lipa won Best Pop Vocal Album for Future Nostalgia. Song of the Year went to H.E.R. for “I Can’t Breathe.” And while the Best R&B Album went to John Legend, Miranda Lambert won Best Country Album.
The three and a half hour show was stocked with stellar performances from artists such as DaBaby, BTS, Taylor Swift, and Silk Sonic featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak
Some of the awards were announced by iconic venue owners and managers from cities like New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
The night ended with Ringo Starr of The Beatles announcing Billie Eilish as winner of Record of the Year for “Everything I Wanted.” This marked her 2nd year in a row for this award.
PERFORMANCES AND HIGHLIGHTS
In a video prior to his performance DaBaby said, “Being a father is the best thing that ever happened to me.” Dressed in solid white, including rhinestone gloves and rhinestone shoes, and sang “Rockstar.”
Taylor Swift performed on a set that seemed to be a sequel to her video. It was made to look like a cabin in a deep green forest.
First time Grammy nominees BTS performed “Dynamite.”
Dua Lipa who started the night with 6 nominations began her performance in a pink dress and then stripped down to pink glittery bra and panty like ensemble with net hose and pink go-go boots. She was surrounded by dancers dressed in pink.
Three female country artists were spotlighted back to back… Mickey Guyton sang “Black Like Me.” Miranda Lambert performed “Bluebird.” Maren Morris performed “Bones” with John Mayor singing along and playing guitar.
Black Pumas performed following a video introduction that included interview with the members.
Doja Cat gave an amazing performance of “Say So.”
Megan Thee Stallion said, “Even on the days you feel like quitting, don’t quit because it is possible to achieve all your dreams.”
In a video interview, Post Malone said, “I’m super shy. Performing is absolutely terrifying.” He performed “Hollywood’s Bleeding.”
Roddy Ricch gave a stunning performance of “The Box.”
Sporting her trademark green hair, Billie Eilish sang “Everything I Wanted” standing on top of a car.
Silk Sonic featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak performed in true 70’s fashion, wearing orange, wide lapel jackets with matching slacks.
WINNERS:
There are 83 Grammy categories. Below are the major category winners.
Record of the Year: “Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish
Album of the Year: “folklore,’’ Taylor Swift
Best R&B Performance: “Black Parade,” Beyoncé
Best Pop Vocal Album: “Future Nostalgia,” Dua Lipa
Best Rap Song: “Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion, featuring Beyoncé
Song of the Year (songwriter’s award): “I Can’t Breathe,” H.E.R., Dernst Emile II and Tiara Thomas
Best Pop Solo Performance: “Watermelon Sugar,” Harry Styles
Best Country Album: Wildcard, Miranda Lambert
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: “American Standard,” James Taylor
Best Dance/Electronic Album: “Bubba,” Kaytranada
Best Rock Album: “The New Abnormal,” the Strokes.
Best Alternative Music Album: “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” Fiona Apple
Best Progressive R&B Album: “It Is What It Is,” Thundercat.
Best R&B Album: “Bigger Love,” John Legend
Best Rap Album: “King’s Disease,” Nas
Best Jazz Vocal Album: “Secrets Are the Best Stories,” Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: “Trilogy 2,” Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade
Best Gospel Album: “Gospel According to PJ,” PJ Morton
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: “Jesus Is King,” Kanye West.
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: “La Conquista del Espacio,” Fito Páez
Best Reggae Album: “Got to Be Tough,” Toots and the Maytals
Best Spoken Word Album: “Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth,” Rachel Maddow
Best Comedy Album: “Black Mitzvah,” Tiffany Haddish
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: “Jojo Rabbit.”
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: “Joker”
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Andrew Watt.
Best Music Video: “Brown Skin Girl,” Beyoncé with Blue Ivy
Best Music Film: “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” Linda Ronstadt
For more winners, highlights, and to check out the performances go to GRAMMY.COM
