The 65th Annual Grammy Awards aired this past Sunday, Feb. 5th, and honestly, I think this was a very event-packed Grammys in comparison to previous years. That’s not to say that I was delighted with everything that went down at this year’s Grammys, but for the most part, it did its job of entertaining my friends and me. Here are my personal top 10 2023 Grammys moments (in no particular order).
- Bad Bunny’s opening performance
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It’s not that I didn’t know who Bad Bunny was before watching his opening to the award show; of course, I’ve heard of him. He’s an international sensation. I’ve seen many of his performances before and he’s always being talked about on Twitter. However, there was something so electrifying about his performance medley of “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa” that I immediately made the mental note that I need to get more into him and his work.
- Viola Davis earning her first Grammy, granting her EGOT status
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A couple of hours before the award show aired, Viola Davis won her first Grammy for Best Audio Book and Best Narration & Storytelling Recording for the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me. Earning this award made Davis an EGOT winner, or a person who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. But what’s even more celebratory is that this made her the third black woman to receive all four major awards, joining first and second recipients Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson.
- Taylor Swift being the best hype girl ever
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I was already surprised to even see Taylor at the Grammys because I hadn’t heard anything about the “All Too Well” singer attending. But the most shocking about her being there was getting to see just how much fun she was having. From Bad Bunny to Steve Lacy, Taytay was on her feet dancing like there was no tomorrow. As someone who’s been a fan of Taylor for so long, it was so heartwarming to see her have such a good time at the show.
God bless whoever made this compilation - Beyoncé in all of her glory
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Simply put, nothing I could say could ever fully encompass how outstanding Beyoncé is. From the minute host Trevor Noah voiced her name (to let everyone know she was running late), something shifted in me and she was the only thing on my mind. I genuinely remember screaming out loud when she was shown in the audience for the first time. Anyways, what I’d like to highlight about Beyoncé is that she made history that night and became the most awarded artist in Grammys history with her 32nd win for Best Dance/Electronic Album for her latest album “RENAISSANCE.” Her acceptance speech brought me to tears; she is so special.
- Lizzo in all of her glory
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There’s so much to cover with Lizzo, as well. It was a great night for black women, what can I say? First, she’s so fun to watch no matter what she’s doing. Her reactions to any mention of Beyoncé were so relatable I really felt like she got me. Additionally, her performance of “Special” was so moving and uplifting, I really recommend everyone watch it. In tandem with Beyoncé, Lizzo also kind of made history that night. Until Lizzo won with “About Damn Time,” a black woman had not won Record of the Year since Whitney Houston with “I Will Always Love You” in 1994. In a very exciting and joy-sparking acceptance speech, Lizzo shouted out Prince and Beyoncé as inspirations.
- The Album of the Year Situation
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As one of the few upsetting moments of the night, I cite the announcement and acceptance of AOTY. In what can only be called an unexpected upset, Harry Styles beat out both Bad Bunny and Beyoncé for album of the year with Harry’s House. No hate to Harry, I loved the album, but this was so shocking to me and to hordes of other viewers. But what makes matters so much worse is that when accepting his award, Styles went on to say, “Things like this often don’t happen to people like me,” which I’m not going to get into, but is a little strange to hear from a white man when against artists of color who are often robbed of awards like this. Congratulations?
- Samara Joy winning her first two Grammys
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Black jazz singer, Samara Joy, won her first two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album for Linger Awhile. Before winning her awards, I had never heard of her, but the very short clip of her song that was played as Joy made her way to the stage blew me away.
- BTS Snub?
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After being nominated for Best Duo/Group Performance for the third year in a row, world-renowned South Korean boy band, BTS, lost to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s “Unholy.” Armies around the globe voiced their frustrations after the group lost this award in addition to their two other nominations this year for Best Music Video and Album of the Year for their work with Coldplay on “Music of the Spheres.” As a fan of BTS myself, I was also a little upset at their loss since I’m well-versed in their history and just how hard they work on their music.
- Kim Petras making history
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Speaking of Kim Petras, she made history by being the first openly trans woman to win a Grammy for her collaboration with Sam Smith for “Unholy.” It’s so nice to see members of the LGBTQ+ community recognized on scales as large as this!
- Stevie Wonder’s breathtaking performance
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Out of left field, living legend Stevie Wonder gave an incredible performance with fellow Motown legend Smokey Robinson and country star Chris Stapleton. From the minute it started my friends and I were dancing and singing along. I truly think this was one of the best performances of the night.
Of course, there are other moments that left me speechless (every time Adele was on camera and the monumental 50-year anniversary of hip hop performance), but these were the biggest events of the night to me.