The 2021 Grammys last night were incredible. Trevor Noah did a fantastic job hosting music’s biggest night. In the beginning, he gave a lovely monologue, then gave mini interviews to some of the artists throughout the event. He also provided some comic relief, especially with references to life in quarantine. The performances were impressive. There were great videos and speeches during the show.
Congratulations to all the winners of the 63rd Grammys.
Here some highlights separated into three parts: Performances, Videos, and Awards.
Highlights
Performances
-The Opening Acts: Impressive!
*Harry Styles Watermelon Sugar
*Billie Eilish All I wanted
*Haim The Steps
– Black Pumas Favourite Colours: The performance had a vibe of bringing people together, especially in hard times.
-DaBaby featuring Roddy Rich – Rockstar: The duo sang with passion, along with the presence of choir singers.
-Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez Dakiti: The sound was catchy, and it was lovely to hear a song sung in Spanish.
-Dua Lipa gave two incredible performances of two of her hits:
* Levitating featuring DaBaby
* Don’t Start Now
-Silk Sonic – Leave The Door Open: Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak formed a group called Silk Sonic, whose performance had a nostalgic vibe, an homage to the 70s music, Reggae & Soul, and the ode to Elton John with those sunglasses.
-Tributes to Artists we lost over the year featured incredible live performances:
*Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak’s homage to Little Richie singing two classics: Long Tall Sally & Good Golly, Miss Molly.
*Eddie Van Halen homage with the guitar standing in the centre of the stage – a lovely ode to the late guitarist.
*Lionel Richie paying tribute to Kenny Rogers with the classic hit Lady
*Brandi Carlisle paid tribute to John Prine with the song I Remember Everything
*Brittany Howard with Chris Martin (piano) performing during the rest of the tributes segment with her single You’ll Never Walk Alone – She sang with heart and soul, honouring the artists we lost in a year.
*In the end, there was a lovely homage to the late Grammys director Walter C. Miller.
-Country Music segment: A fantastic group of three talented female Country artists who marked the genre. Each singer sang with heart and soul.
*Mickey Guyton – Black Like Me – A touching performance with a choir-style performance. It’s a relevant song, full of heart.
*Miranda Lambert sang her hit Bluebird: Impressive!
*Maren Morris The Bones: She sang this upbeat song from the heart. It’s an inspirational piece.
Featuring John Mayer playing the guitar.
Side Note: The nominees for Best Country Album were all women.
That’s incredible!
-Lil’ Baby The Bigger Picture: Outdoor performance in the streets with the presence of activist Tamika Mallory, actor and activist Kendrick Sampson, and Killer Mike.
It was more than a performance; it was also a story about police brutality in the U.S. Tamika Mallory delivered a profound speech addressing the president. Also, Killer Mike performed a verse from Run The Jewels’ Walking in the Snow from the 2020 album RTJ4 in a duo with Lil’Baby.
It was powerful!
-Doja Cat – Say So: Great Music and loved the futuristic look of the costumes. The choreography was also fantastic.
–B.T.S. –Dynamite: The Korean K-Pop group was phenomenal last night. The recreation of the GRAMMYs stage in South Korea was impressive. Then, it got even better when the guys went to the roof-top to finish the rest of their famous hit.
-Roddy Ricch Medley sang two of his hits with style and impressive choreography. His performance on the piano was remarkable.
*Heartless
*The Box
Video Segments (Variety)
-The videos about each nominee for Record of the Year were detailed and gave a great understanding of each artist.
*honouring various music, theatres, clubs & bars
-Troubadour
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Fact: Elton John performed there.
-Apollo Theatre
Location: Harlem, NY
Story: Billy Mitchell, the tour guide of the Apollo Theatre. He used to work there running errands for the legendary singer James Brown. However, he briefly stopped working there when Brown told him to get his grades before coming back to run errands for him. Mr. Mitchell got into the honour roll. This theatre is a monument for African American artists, crew and audience members- it has a rich history. I hope to visit there someday.
Billy Mitchell presented the R.A.P. Song of the Year, won by H.E.R.
-Hotel Café
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Story: It’s a bar where people can gather in an intimate bar to hear incredible music, as told by the café’s bartender Candice Fox’s perspective.
She presented the Pop Album of the Yeat.
Awards (highlights)
-Beyoncé broke the record of the most Grammys won, which is now 28 awards won by one artist. Good job!
-Best New Artist: Meghan The Stallion
-Song of the Year: Her – I Can’t Breathe
-Album of the Year: Taylor Swift – Folklore
-Music Educator Awards: Dr. Jeffrey Murdoch
-Lifetime Achievement Awards given to various people, including the late Tejano artist Selena
-Ringo Starr presented the award for Record of the Year.
Winner: Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted
What an incredible show the 63rd Grammys were. Trevor Noah was terrific and dynamic as a host. Congratulations again to all the winners of the 63rd Grammys!
Flora Youssef
