The 65th annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday, February 5th. This year’s Grammys were met with both criticism and praise. With the hottest celebrities up against each other for the most prestigious awards in the music industry, the 2023 Grammys brought in 12.4 million viewers. The stakes were high for Album of the Year, with nominees including Adele, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Lizzo, and more. Performances included Bad Bunny, Lizzo, Harry Styles, and a star-studded tribute to hip hop. The award show prompted a lot of discussion among music fans everywhere. This article will delve into the highlights of the 2023 Grammy Awards and what people think about them. 

This year’s host was Trevor Noah, former host of The Daily Show. He is a South African comedian who has hosted the Grammys for the past three years. He delivered some questionable jokes, including a tasteless jab at President Biden’s classified documents scandal. For the most part, he was the typical host: making general jokes about pop culture, commenting on celebrities’ outfits, and keeping the audience somewhat entertained. 

Bad Bunny opened the ceremony with a lively performance of some of his hits. He paid homage to his Puerto Rican ancestry. His energetic showcase sparked a lot of dancing among the crowd. Even Taylor Swift was seen moving and grooving to Bad Bunny’s opening act. This performance was entertaining and a great way to start the show.

Lizzo delivered a dazzling performance of her biggest hits of the year. She transformed her songs into gospel-inspired vocal renditions. She paired her jaw-dropping vocals with incredible dancers. She gave it her all and it was amazing! Lizzo eventually won Record of the Year later in the night and made a heartwarming speech.  

Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their award-winning hit, “Unholy” in an over-the-top production containing fire, outlandish dancing, and almost Satanic imagery. The production level was far too high for such a mediocre song. 

2023 is the 50th anniversary of hip hop as a genre. To commemorate this landmark, a variety of hip hop stars paid tribute to the diverse history of the genre in a fifteen minute performance. Some of the performers included Ice-T, LL COOL J, Busta Rhymes, Future, Salt-n-Pepa, Missy Elliot, and many more. Artists that couldn’t attend the ceremony were listed on rolling credits in the background. This performance honored the diverse history of hip hop and the influence it had on music.

A recurring segment during this year’s ceremony was a fan-based roundtable discussion about which artist should win Album of the Year. Each artist had a “super-fan” who would share their reasons for why their favorite artist should win. The representatives were all different types of people from many different places. The “super-fan” of Harry Styles was an older woman whose granddaughter introduced her to his music. Before the Album of the Year was announced, Trevor Noah invited the super-fans onto the stage. Just before reading the name of the winner, Noah walked towards the older woman and had her announce the winner. Shaking with excitement, she read, “Harry Styles!”. The camera cut to Styles who sat, shocked and surprised, near tears with joy. He hugged all of the people around him (including his bestie, Lizzo) and went up to the stage to hug the super-fan. He gave a humble speech that ended up causing some controversy. 

In his speech, Styles claimed that “this doesn’t happen to people like me”. Millions of people on social media immediately criticized this statement. His statement was misinterpreted with people asserting that Styles meant that he had no privilege. Styles has been met with a lot of criticism that caused him to clarify what he meant. In actuality, Styles was referring to his upbringing in a small, working class town in England. He was referencing his simple childhood and the lack of nepotism playing into his stardom. 

All in all, the 2023 Grammys were definitely a major talking point. From extravagant red carpet looks to controversial speeches, this year’s ceremony was definitely entertaining to the average viewer.

Sources:

“2023 Grammy Awards’ Tv Ratings Rise from the Record Lows of Recent Years.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-02-08/2023-grammy-awards-tv-ratings.

“Hip-Hop History on Full Display during a Star-Studded Tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Featuring Performances by Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, Ice-T, Method Man, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes & More: 2023 Grammys.” Recording Academy, https://www.grammy.com/news/50th-anniversary-tribute-hip-hop-2023-grammys-run-dmc-busta-rhymes-ll-cool-j-queen-latifah.

IMDb. “Trevor Noah.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3696388/.

Images:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/bad-bunny-2023-grammys-performance-1235317379/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/lizzo-2023-grammys-performance-1235318314/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/sam-smith-kim-petras-2023-grammys-performance-1235318368/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/hip-hop-50-tribute-2023-grammys-performance-1235318219/

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/abba-super-fan-called-to-stage-at-sundays-grammy-awards-has-santa-rosa-con/?gallery=d6c27042-0821-4c5f-8f36-d964f1b5f05f

https://www.insider.com/grammys-harry-styles-aoty-acceptance-speech-reactions-backlash-2023-2