Michele Crowe/CBS While this year’s Grammy nominations may have given hip-hop some long-overdue respect, in the end, it was a mainstream pop star who actually took home the Grammy gold. But a perceived lack of adventurousness in the awards was perhaps balanced by the number of political statements sprinkled throughout the evening.
Bruno Mars went six for six at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, winning every single category he was nominated in, including Record, Album and Song of the Year for his song “That’s What I Like” and his album 24K Magic. Accepting his award, Bruno paid respect to the other nominees in the category, including JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar, and also dedicated the win to the songwriters of the ’90s who’d inspired his album: Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Babyface.
As for Jay, he went into the ceremony with the most nominations — eight — but was shut out of every single category. Kendrick won four of the seven Grammys he was up for, and swept the rap categories. Accepting Best Rap Album for DAMN., the Compton native thanked hip-hop itself for showing him “the true definition of what an artist was.”
“From the jump, I thought it was about the accolades and the cars and the clothes,” he said. “But it’s really about expressing yourself, putting that paint on the canvas for the world to evolve for the next listener, the next generation after that.” Lamar also paid tribute to his heroes Jay, Nas and Puff Daddy, and ended by saying “Jay for president!”
Kendrick also took part in the show’s politically-charged opening, in which he performed his song “XXX.” with some help from U2‘s Bono and the Edge and a huge crowd of soldiers in fatigues, backed by images of the American flag. The words “This is a satire by Kendrick Lamar” were flashed on screen, and then comedian Dave Chappelle interjected, “The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America.”
Kendrick then performed “DNA.” surrounded by men in pink hoodies who were “gunned down” one by one as images of the Statue of Liberty were projected in the background.
After commenting on race relations, the show also tackled immigration. Camila Cabello took the stage and gave a speech in support of D.A.C.A., aka “Dreamers.”
“I’m a proud, Cuban-Mexican immigrant, born in eastern Havana, standing in front of you on the Grammy stage in New York City,” said the chart-topping star. “And all I know is that just like dreams, these kids can’t be forgotten and are worth fighting for.”
Later in the show, U2 were shown performing their song “Get Out of Your Own Way” from a barge in the New York’s Hudson River, with Lady Liberty in the background. During the performance, which was pre-taped Friday night, Bono reportedly said, “Blessed are the s***hole countries, for they gave us the American Dream.”
After his performance of his nominated “1-800-273-8255,” rapper Logic said, “To all the beautiful countries filled with culture, diversity and thousands of years of history. You are not a s***hole. You are beautiful.” Logic performed the song with Khalid and Alessia Cara; Alessia was named Best New Artist earlier in the evening. In her speech, she said, “I want to encourage people to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot.“
The show also tackled the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements in a big way. Many of the presenters and performers — both male and female — wore or carried white roses in solidarity with Time’s Up. Then Janelle Monae took the stage and gave an impassioned speech. “We come in peace but we mean business. And to those who would dare try to silence us, we offer two words: Time’s up. We say time’s up for pay inequality. Time’s up for discrimination. Time’s up for harassment of any kind.”
“Time’s up for the abuse of power,” she continued. “Because…it’s not just going on in Hollywood, it’s not just going on in Washington, it’s right here in our industry. And just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that doesn’t serve us well. So let’s work together…Women and men as a united music industry, committed to creating safe work environments, equal pay and access for all women.”
Monae then introduced Kesha, who’s spent three years in a legal battle with her producer Dr. Luke, who she has accused of emotionally and sexually abusing her; he has denied the charges. She documented her journey in her nominated album Rainbow, and performed her powerful nominated single, “Praying,” with help from Camila Cabello, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Bebe Rexha and Julia Michaels, all of whom were wearing white.
Ironically, Kesha, Pink, Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga, all of whom are among pop music’s most powerful voices, were bested in the Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance categories by a man: Ed Sheeran, who wasn’t present.
Another powerful emotional moment came when Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne, who’d all performed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas that ended in a massacre of nearly 60 people, sang Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven.” It was a tribute to those victims, as well as the victims of the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. The victims’ names were displayed behind the artists.
And while President Trump escaped any truly overt criticism, one of the best-received segments of the night was a mock-audition for celebrities recording the audio book version of Michael Wolff‘s scandalous Trump book, Fire and Fury. Among the auditioners: John Legend, Cher, Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, DJ Khaled and, finally, Hillary Clinton, who got a massive cheer.
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