The 65th Grammy Awards Recap
It’s Beyonce’s world, and we’re all living in it…
by ALI ROSENBERG ★ FEBRUARY 11, 2023
From Beyonce beating the record for the most Grammys to Kim Petras being the first transgender woman to win the award for Best Pop/Duo Performance, the 65th annual Grammy awards were something you simply couldn’t miss.
The 65th Grammy awards were kicked off by comedian and host Trevor Noah. However, the night started off with Harry Styles taking home the first Grammy of the evening for Best Pop Vocal Album (causing the Harries to be absolutely buzzing). Beyonce took home the second award of the night (Best R&B Song) but was fashionably late and unable to accept her award, but she’s Queen Bey, so who can blame her?
In between all of these honorable awards, Viola Davis had taken home the award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, leading her to achieve EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. This makes her the third Black woman in history to achieve this prestigious award. Davis became the eighteenth person to attain this status—she’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she’s the moment.
“Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the award for Best Pop/Duo Performance, making history as Petras is the first transgender woman to win this award. Kim slays, and when she shared this monumental moment with the crowd, they went wild with support.
To withhold the title of Best Pop/Duo Performance, Petras and Smith put on one of the most well-executed performances in Grammy history. Somehow, the duo was able to outdo their Saturday Night Live performance by taking a different spin on the song, adding more of a horror effect. The duo was dressed head to toe in iconic red leather ensembles, surrounded by dancers that were also complying with the red aura that they most certainly accomplished.
Additionally, Bad Bunny delivered an unforgettable performance that paved the way for Latin music. He sang two fan favorites, “Después de la Playa” and “El Apagón,” while incorporating Puerto Rican culture and fervor into his performance.
Since Renaissance was named the winner of the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, Queen Bey made history and broke the record of holding 32 Grammys as an individual artist. In her speech, Beyonce thanked everyone who helped her achieve this huge milestone. We love a humble queen.
Although Beyonce surpassing the record for the most Grammys held by an individual seems like a tough act to follow, somehow, the performance honoring the 50th year of hip-hop was able to do the job. This musical masterpiece was all thanks to Questlove and he definitely did the hip-hop community justice. The medley was led by LL Cool J and Queen Latifah but additionally featured around thirty other individual artists. Absolute chefs kiss.
To wrap up, the night was the highly anticipated award for Album of the Year. The major competitors were, of course, Beyonce's Renaissance and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House going head to head for the distinguishable honor. When “Harry’s House” was announced as the 2023 Album of the Year, Beyonce fans in the crowd were heard shouting crude remarks such as, “get off the stage” and “Beyonce should’ve won.” Regardless of the feedback, we all stan Harry for being completely unbothered. Harry’s House dominated my playlist.
Of course, with any large-scale event, there comes tons of tea and controversy. This year, people were gossiping about J-Lo reprimanding Ben Affleck on camera and how Madonna’s facial structure suddenly changed. J-Lo was caught on camera telling Ben Affleck to ‘sit up’ and then completely switching up immediately after she realized she was quite literally on air. Many speculators thought he was noticeably bored and unhappy. Fans were also taking their confusion to Twitter, wondering why Madonna, the queen of pop, had changed her face and whether it was intentional.
But to write about the Grammys and not mention the red carpet would be a total injustice. Annually, the red carpet is one of the most interesting and crucial portions of any award show. Harry Styles, of course, stole the show with an outfit only he could pull off wearing an Egonlab x Swarovski crystalized, patchwork jumpsuit that had all the fans talking. But Styles wasn’t the only celebrity that had people talking. Cardi B’s sculptural royal blue dress by Gaurav Gupta was unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. Fans deemed that the outfits worn by other celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo and Megan Fox were snoozers.
Credit: Elle
But one thing is for sure… it was definitely a Grammy to remember and iconic, to say the least. What more could you ask for than an entertaining show that honors the music we all know and love?
Cover Photo Credit: Instagram @beyonce