Three key moments from Grammys night
The Grammys were held on Sunday in Los Angeles, and all the biggest names in music were there. A LOT happened.
Beyonce made history, but Harry Styles won the night’s biggest prize. Bad Bunny got the show started with some serious reggaeton.
Here are some of the night’s most important moments:
Bad Bunny, the biggest artist in the world
The most streamed artist in music, Bad Bunny, opened the night by exploding into the Arena and performing a medley of hits from his hit album “Un Verano Sin Ti.”
Trevor Noah, the show’s host, greeted him in Spanish, and the Puerto Rican pioneer said only his first name, “Benito.” The room then filled with colour and rhythm as bachata, merengue, and mambo music from Latin America played.
“I want to know if the Grammys are ready for the real party,” said the 29-year-old who has quickly become the face of reggaeton, a genre he has helped spread around the world.
Bad Bunny, who was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, made everyone feel something. Even Taylor Swift started to dance.
“Everyone wants to be Latino these days,” he said as a joke. “But they don’t taste good.”
The Best Musica Urbana Album Grammy went to Bad Bunny.
Half a century of hip-hop
Hip-hop stars like Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Method Man, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, and LL Cool J got the crowd on their feet to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the genre, which is thought to have started in the Bronx in 1973. This was probably the most exciting part of the night.
Jay-Z cheered from his seat during the fast-paced mix of hits from different decades. Nelly sang a few lines from “Hot in Herre,” and Lil Uzi Vert closed the tribute with a few lines from “Just Wanna Rock.”
The Recording Academy has been criticised for a long time for not giving hip-hop artists awards in the main Grammy categories and for not recognising hip-influence hop’s on music as a whole. The all-star performance went a long way towards finally putting the genre in the spotlight.
Remembering the dead
The annual Grammys tribute to those who have died in the music industry was even more emotional than usual. Quavo of the hip-hop group Migos paid tribute to his nephew Takeoff, who was shot and killed at the age of 28 late last year.
Quavo sang, “Days ain’t the same without you/I don’t know if I’m the same without you.” “I wish I had a time machine so that you could come with me. I miss the way you smile at me. Uncle and Phew forever.”
Kacey Musgraves started her set by singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” one of Loretta Lynn’s most famous songs. Lynn was a famous country singer who died at the age of 90.
And Mick Fleetwood, Bonnie Raitt, and Sheryl Crow sang “Songbird” by the late Christine McVie, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac and wrote many of the band’s most famous songs.
