By Gaby Maldonado
The 64th annual Grammy Awards took place at the beginning of April, lighting up Las Vegas, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena after a long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The award show to recognize extraordinary work in the music industry left many remarkable achievements and events.
Starting off, 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo who quickly became pop’s brightest new star, displayed a spot-on performance at the Grammys with her hit single “driver's license.” She appeared sitting in a white vintage car with a matching white dress and recreated the scene from her iconic music video. Rodrigo was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including song, record, and album of the year. She is the second teenager in two years to be up for the major Grammy awards after
Billie Eilish, who was then 18, in 2020. At the end of the award show, Rodrigo won best new artist, best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance.
The performance that most stood out to fans was BTS’s “Butter” performance. The performance opened with Jungkook flying from the rafters while the other BTS members were scattered around the audience, displaying a James Bond theme. At this time, fans had a strong reaction when they saw Kim Taehyung (V) sitting with Olivia Rodrigo. They were having a conversation when V leaned over and whispered something in Rodrigo’s ear. Fans reacted excitedly and this scene quickly went viral. The boys then all hit the stage and delivered a show stopping performance. The vocals, the stage props, and the choreography were spectacular. They left viewers in awe when they changed outfits halfway through their performance and even jumped through laser beams. Although BTS lost the award of Best Pop Duo/Performance for “Butter” by Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More,” BTS delivered one of the best performances of the night.
Additionally, American musician Jon Batiste dominated the Grammys with a total of 11 nominations and surpassed well-known artists that took over the charts such as Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber. Batiste was nominated in many different fields including R&B, Jazz, American Roots Music, Music for Visual Media, and more. Out of 11, Batiste took home five awards, including one of the most major categories, Album of the Year. He won the award for his 2021 studio album We Are and is the first Black artist to win Album of the Year at the Grammys in 14 years. Batiste also hit the stage performing his song “Freedom” which was filled with lively colors, costumes, props, and dancers. He led everyone to get up and dance enthusiastically, leaving them with great vibes.
Finally, one of the most significant moments from the Grammys was the powerful speech from Ukraine’s president. The Grammys shared a videotaped message from Volodymyr Zelensky who shared the horrors of the war but also the importance of music. He stated, “The war. What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people.” It is difficult to focus on an award show while there are millions facing terrible conditions in a war, but Zelensky told everyone how music has the power to share information. "Support us in any way you can, but not with your silence," he continued. "Fill the silence with music. Fill it today to tell our story," He urged. Following the heartfelt speech, John Legend performed his new song titled “Free,” joined by Ukrainian musicians Mika Newton and Siuzanna Iglidan, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. Since the battle began early this year, many musicians have joined the fight against Russia and have helped Ukraine in many ways.
These are only some of the many notable events from this year's Grammys, but every musician that was nominated for an award should be proud of their success.
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