The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards
Illustration by Allie Leeds
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards aired on Sunday, March 14, after being postponed for two months due to COVID-19 concerns. The show, hosted by political commentator, producer, and comedian Trevor Noah, accommodated to social distancing protocols by moving production from its usual home, The Staples Center, to an open-air rooftop across the street. There was no live audience, performance stages were spaced out, and nominees and their guests wore masks when sitting at spread-out tables.
It has been a year since any live audience concerts have been held in Los Angeles, and music lovers were excited to see their favorite artists perform and accept awards again. “I'm gonna try and get all my schoolwork done early, and just watch the [show],” said Emily Sabinas, a freshman at Santa Monica College (SMC), who hopes to obtain a music industry minor.
As for some of the top awards of the night, Taylor Swift took home the Album of the Year award for “Folklore,” making Swift the first female artist to win this award three times. Billie Eilish, who swept last year's Grammys, took home the Record of The Year award for “Everything I Wanted,” and H.E.R. won Song of the Year for “I Can’t Breathe,” which was written in response to the murder of George Floyd. When accepting the award, H.E.R. said, “I didn’t imagine that my fear and that my pain would turn into impact.”
Artist Megan Thee Stallion had a big night for her first year at the Grammys, winning Best New Artist. She also picked up awards for both Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for the collaboration on her song “Savage,” with fellow Houston native, Beyonce.
That win helped Beyonce make history as her 28th Grammy gives her the most wins of any female artist. She is tied with Quincy Jones, who also has 28 awards, but conductor Sir Georg Solti has the most Grammys with a total of 31.
Grammy winning pianist and composer John Beasley poses inside his studio in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on Friday, October 11, 2020. Beasley won his first Grammy in the category for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for his Afro-Cuban arrangement of the the jazz standard “Donna Lee” on the album “MONK’estra plays John Beasley” released in August of 2020. Beasley was nominated for four Grammy’s this year and for a total of nine in his storied career.(The Corsair | Photo Kevin Tidmore October 11, 2020.)
Santa Monica Native John Beasley took home his first Grammy, for “Donna Lee,” a Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella winning song. Both of Beasley’s parents are former SMC music department educators. Beasley reflected on his time attending Santa Monica High School, saying "we had great teachers, great music programs, and I would not be who I am today, musically, if not for those great teachers."
The spotlight was shown on a few local theaters, with employees from the Troubadour, Apollo Theater, and Hotel Cafe presenting awards. It has been about a year since any of these venues have hosted concerts. As an avid pre-pandemic concertgoer, Sabinas has channeled her love of music by attending virtual concerts. “Even though it's not the same, at least I get to say that, hey, I'm there live,” she said.
Artists from various genres performed, from pop artists like Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, to rap artists like Cardi B and Roddy Rich. Country stars Marren Morris, Miranda Lambert, and Mickey Gunton, the first black female artist to be nominated in a country category, all took the stage. Lionel Richie, Brandi Carlile, Bruno Mars, Anderson Paak, Brittany Howard, and Chris Martin all performed for the "In Memoriam" portion of the night; a tribute honoring the music industry professionals that have passed away.
Lil Baby used his performance of his Best Rap nominated song, “The Bigger Picture,” to bring attention to police brutality. The act started off with a reenactment of the murder of Rashard Brooks, a Black man who was shot by police after falling asleep in his car in a Wendy’s drive-thru in June 2020. During the performance, Tamika Mallory, a social justice activist, delivered a speech saying, “President Biden, we demand justice, equity, policy, and everything else that freedom encompasses.”
The Recording Academy has received recent backlash for its lack of diversity. Some artists, like The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, and Zayn, have called out the Grammys’ nomination process as being unfair. Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, spoke on the Academy’s plans during the show, saying, “we hear the cries for diversity, the pleas for representation, and demands for transparency…This is not a vision for tomorrow, but the job for today."
As Megan Thee Stallion said while accepting her award for Best Rap Song, “Music really helped a lot of us get through the pandemic.” This socially distanced event acted as a few hours of escape where fans were able to watch their favorite artists perform at the iconic award show again.
