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The 65th annual Grammy Awards was nothing like its previous years. In short, it wasn’t boring. With the best of artists under one roof, the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles witnessed a slew of iconic moments and phenomenal performances that blew the audience away. From Beyonce’s historic win to Kim Petras becoming the first trans woman to take the coveted award home and celebration of 50 years of hip-hop, the Recording Academy this year marked the biggest wins and best of celebrations. Here’s a lowdown of the most memorable moments from last night’s star-studded award night.
1. Beyonce becomes the most awarded Grammy artist ever
She’s the ultimate G.O.A.T, ‘nuff said! After surpassing late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record of 31 Grammy Awards, Queen B became the most-awarded artist in the history of Grammy, with 32 awards to her name. She was nominated for nine awards, and even though she lost to British singer Harry Styles in album of the year category, she won four awards including best dance/electronic music album for ‘Renaissance’, best dance recording for ‘Break My Soul’, best traditional R&B performance for ‘Plastic off the Sofa’ and best R&B song for ‘Cuff It’.
In her acceptance speech, the pop superstar said, “I’m trying not to be too emotional. I’m trying to just receive this night. I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you, God. I’d like to thank my uncle Johnny who’s not here, but he’s here in spirit.” Further to thanking her family, she also added, “I’d like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing the genre.”
2. Kim Petras, the first transgender woman to win her category
It was a remarkable achievement for the LGBTQ+ community, as Kim Petras became the first trans woman to take home a Grammy in the best pop duo/group collaboration category for her song ‘Unholy’ with Sam Smith, who also became the first non-binary artist to win a Grammy.
In her powerful acceptance speech, the 30-year-old singer thanked the entire queer community, “I just want to thank all the transgender artists who kicked the door open in order for me to be here tonight. I grew up next to a highway in Germany. And my mother believed that I was a girl and I wouldn’t be here without her and her support and everyone who believed in me to this point.”
3. Adele’s emotional acceptance speech
After winning three Grammys for her hits ‘Someone Like You’, ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ and ‘Hello’, she won her fourth for best pop solo performance for ‘Easy on Me’. Dedicating the award to her son Angelo, the teary-eyed 34-year-old said, “I wrote this first verse in the shower when I was choosing to change my son's life; he's been nothing but humble and gracious and loving to me the whole time.”
4. The celebration of 50 years of hip hop
Among all the incredible performances at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, the celebratory act of hip-hop's 50th anniversary has to be the most iconic and memorable one. The 10-minute tribute to hip-hop featured 33 most popular artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim, Method Man, Nelly, Too $hort, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and the LOX, to name a few. Some of the classics performed were P.E.'s ‘Fight the Power’, Bus-a-bus' ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See’, ‘The Message’, and Nelly's ‘Hot in Herre’.
The best part? Those who couldn’t be a part of it, their names were displayed at the backdrop. Not just that, American rapper and seven-time Grammy winner Dr Dre was honoured with the inaugural Dr Dre Global Impact Award where he spoke about how hip hop became his lifeline when he started out in Compton.
5. Viola Davis, the third black woman to achieve EGOT status
Davis has joined Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Rita Moreno and Mel Brooks in the bandwagon of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. She won the Grammy for audiobook, narration and storytelling recording award for Finding Me and has made history by becoming the third black woman to achieve the prestigious status.
While receiving the honour, she said, “Oh my God, I wrote this book to honour the six-year-old Viola, to honour her, to honour her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything. And it has been such a journey. I just EGOT! Everybody who was a part of my story, and the best chapter yet, my loves (husband Julius Tennon and 12-year-old daughter Genesis, you are my life and my joy, the best chapter in my book. Thank you!”
Photo: Instagram/Recording Academy