2022 GRAMMYs: BEST OF THE NIGHT

- April 04, 2022

After a few months of delays, the 64th annual Grammy Awards were finally held in Las Vegas over the weekend. This year's show celebrated so much of the amazing music that has been released in the past year. Each category was really stacked with great releases, making it impossible to predict who would've ultimately won. The show overall didn't feel like it had as many memorable moments like it has in the past, especially in comparison to last year's show, but there were still some highlights that were worth sharing, both from the red carpet and the show itself.

The show opened with a performance by Silk Sonic, which is made up of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, with their song "777". They were some of the most notable winners of the night, winning both Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Leave The Door Open". In their acceptance speech, Anderson said, "We are really trying to remain humble at this point, but in the industry we call that a clean sweep.” I honestly didn't care for that song as much as the other nominees in those categories, or in comparison to some of the other Silk Sonic songs. On the other hand, it also wasn't surprising to see them win as Bruno Mars in particular has a history of sweeping many of the major categories with past releases. Like I said, those categories in particular had included so many nominees with songs that also felt like high contenders; like "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish, "driver's license" Olivia Rodrigo, "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X, and "Peaches" by Justin Bieber, among others.

Album of the Year, the biggest award of the night, was awarded to Jon Batiste for We Are. He had eleven nominations, the highest of any artist this year and also won five total. He is also the first black artist in 14 years to win this award, which is an amazing accomplishment in itself. I am not familiar with this particular album, but any time I see him perform on other award shows, or as the bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, it is evident how talented he is. I also loved his performance earlier in the night of "Freedom". His acceptance speech was also beautifully said, "I believe this to my core: there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most. It's like a song or an album is made and it almost has a radar to find the person when they need it the most."

Every year this is always one of the most controversial awards, especially if the winner is someone who isn't as commercially successful or a household name in the way some of the others are. But this was a very tight category this year and it really could've gone any way, because almost every artist nominated released career-defining albums this year. Many of them I actually included on my favorite albums of 2021 list; like Justice by Justin Bieber, Montero by Lil Nas X and Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. My best guesses for who I thought had the highest chances of winning were Taylor Swift's Evermore or Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever though, but maybe I'm just biased. Regardless, I am very excited to give the Album of the Year winner We Are a listen very soon!

Olivia Rodrigo also won her first Grammy this year, to no surprise! She had such a major breakout year with her single "driver's license" and her debut album, Sour, that I would've been surprised if she didn't win something. During the broadcast, she was awarded Best New Artist, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album. During the pre-show, she won Best Music Video for "good 4 u" and Best Pop Solo Performance for "driver's license. Her acceptance speeches were also very emotional for her, saying it is her "biggest dream come true". I also loved her performance of "driver's license", which was one of her best live vocal performances yet. The suburban set design also brought the song to life perfectly. She has had such a whirlwind of a year, and I'm excited to see her growth and where she goes from here!

Another favorite performance was of Billie Eilish with "Happier Than Ever", which is one of my favorite songs ever by her and such an electrifying performance. That song was made to be performed live! She also paid tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins, of The Foo Fighters, who passed away unexpectedly last week with a photo of him on her t-shirt during the performance.

I was surprised to see that Billie didn't win any awards this year, because she has been a notable Grammy winner for the past two shows and Happier Than Ever was such an incredible and career-defining release for her. Of course she had a record-breaking win at the 2020 show by winning all four of the major categories, as the first female and youngest to ever do so. It would've been cool to also see her be the first artist in history to win Record of the Year three years in a row, following "Bad Guy" in 2020 and "Everything I Wanted", in 2021, as well. Out of all the nominees that were "snubbed" this year, I was most surprised by that.

Lil Nas X also had another one of my favorite performances of the night, with a medley of "DEAD RIGHT NOW", "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" and "INDUSTRY BABY" featuring Jack Harlow. With the release of his debut album Montero last year, he showed that he isn't just another one hit wonder and has been releasing one great song after another ever since. He is such a fun and energetic performer with such a distinctive visual art direction. Not to mention that his 2020 Grammy's performance was one of my favorites ever!

Other performances I loved were Justin Bieber, Giveon and Daniel Ceaser singing "Peaches" (which I am so excited to hear live in just a couple of months!) and Lady Gaga singing a tribute to her longtime friend and collaborator, Tony Bennett, with "Love For Sale" and "Do I Love You"- after Tony retired from performing last year at the age of 95, she performed these songs solo from their latest album Love For Sale. Once again, she has shown how versatile of a performer she is and a wonderful tribute to Tony's legacy.

After asking to speak at the Academy Awards last week, President Zelinsky was turned down, but later was invited to the Grammy's to speak about the war happening in Ukraine. In a video message, he encouraged viewers to support their cause in any way they can, especially by spreading the word on social media. The powerful moment was followed up by a performance by John Legend singing "Free", accompanied by Ukranian artists Siuzanna Iglidan, Mika Newton and the poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. This segment was in collaboration with Global Citizen's Standup For Ukraine fundraising campaign.

Aside from the televised broadcast, there were so many awards that were announced beforehand that I also wanted to share. The winner of Producer of the Year (Non-Classical), was one of my favorite musicians ever, Jack Antonoff! He has produced every single one of my favorite albums of all time, but in the past year alone he has worked on one amazing album after another. With releases from Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, Clairo, and of course his own band, Bleachers - Jack has had such a busy year and never fails to create an absolute masterpiece with these artists. I still can't believe I had the once in a lifetime chance to meet him and hear him perform on the roof of Electric Lady Studios where so much of this music is made.

St. Vincent also won for Best Alternative Album with Daddy's Home, which was one of my top albums of 2021 and was so well deserved. I actually would've loved to have seen it in the mix for Album of the Year, but I'm glad it got any recognition! I was also rooting for Halsey's If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power, which was their first solo nomination. Both St. Vincent and Halsey released such incredible albums this year that redefined their sound in such a groundbreaking way, so I loved seeing both of their work being recognized.

In addition to all of the most notable moments from the show itself I always love to highlight some of my favorite fashion moments from the red carpet, as well!