Every year the Grammy Awards celebrates the best of pop music and this year was no different. We take a look back at the ceremony.
Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of receiving a Grammy. I could fondly remember practicing my speech in the mirror, holding a hairdryer resembling the impactful trophy. Through the tears, the excitement, and monumental achievements artists have received from this award, the Grammy Awards continuously intrigue my entire musical existence.
With the highly acclaimed object in form of a gilded gramophone, a Grammy is an award made by ‘The Recording Academy’ to recognise various achievements in the music industry.
The annual presentation ceremony is accompanied by various performances by artists from many different genres.
The Musical Trophy
The first Grammy award was handed out on May 4th, 1959. This musical trophy has been in the eyes of many musicians everywhere.
Although centred around American music, the artists on a global scale still strive for this musical achievement.
The Grammy Awards is a pivotal mark on an artist’s music career. This affirmation of artistic excellence is a dream many artists would love to achieve in their careers.
As this year marks the 63rd annual Grammy Award ceremony on March 14th, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA there were many great wins, some unfortunate losses, and much to discuss through the eyes of pop culture.
The three-hour and 45-minute ceremony were hosted by The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah. This year was filled with many changes, as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to fluctuate.
With no audience, the nominated artists and guests all wore masks with many fashionable accents. The attendees additionally sat at socially distanced tables.
Some artists live-streamed from their perspective areas of living, as they received awards through the online hemisphere. Tents were also placed to section off the various attendees.
Although the restrictions were prevalent, the performances were stacked with stellar acts including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Da Baby, Billie Eilish and mainstream newcomer Doja Cat.
The Highlights
The awards were well deserved as artists such as Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande took home Grammy’s for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Harry Styles graced the Grammy stage with his popular hit Watermelon Sugar. Rapper Da Baby stunned viewers with his lively incorporation of a gospel choir for his live performance.
Country shared a prominent part of the Grammy stage. With a strong female representation too, country artists such as Miranda Lambert, Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris gave the viewers jaw-dropping performances.
What captivated my attention the most, was Taylor Swift’s live set. With a new strong folk sound prominent on her latest album Evermore and Folklore, the pop singer impressed many with her sultry sound perfectly matched with the essence of folk music.
Taylor Swift additionally won album of the year for Folklore. She also became the first woman to win Album of the Year three times.
The unfortunate passing of music legend Little Richard, which was remembered by pop singer Bruno Mars, was a superb highlight as the music industry came together to give their musical condolences.
The Queen Beyoncé made Grammy history with a total of 28 Grammy’s won throughout her outstanding career thus far.
According to Vulture.com, the singer became the woman with the most Grammy awards ever as she accepted the trophy for Best R&B Performance for Black Parade.
However, performances were not just the centre of interest at the Grammy Awards. Fashion was a prominent forefront as indie rock nominee Phoebe Bridgers wore a designer a skeleton suit on the red carpet!
The Missing Ingredient
In my humble opinion, the overall show seemed to lack a communal feeling as the COVID-19 measures limited much of the interaction with artists.
Additionally, the ceremony seemed to lack a general flow, and many of the artists were confused as to what to do, what camera to look into, and how to navigate through the safety measures.
Host Trevor Noah seemed to have some awkward moments as some jokes didn’t quite land in the socially distanced space.
However, this would be expected given the lack of audience and live-crowd interaction.
Much of the let-downs can come from the crucial fact that implications were very limited. However, the ceremony seemed very lazy and not put together.
Although many positive happenings came out of this year’s ceremony, some were not pleased.
Artists such as pop singer, The Weeknd publicly stated their mistreatment and disappointment with the ceremony by boycotting the event.
From a musical artist’s perspective, much of the greatest music created this year was done by independent artists! As the music world becomes an exclusive clique of mainstream artists, much of independent artist’s achievements have been overshadowed.
No matter what, music still has the power to bring people together! We will see who wins next year at the 64th annual Grammy Award.
Photos: Shutterstock
This year’s Grammy Awards were affected by COVID-19 and so have music festivals. How will they look in the new normal?
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