The Grammy Awards show highlights stars

By Olivia Valkner, staff writer
Photo courtesy of Flickr.com

From feather boas to mask fashion, the 63rd annual Grammy Awards provided an entertaining, star-studded and of course socially distant show this past Sunday. 

Modified to meet COVID-19 guidelines, the show was hosted by Trevor Noah, who guided viewers between a very intimate indoor stage for performances and an elegant outdoor tent to present awards in front of the nominees for that particular award. 

Need not fear if you missed the show, as Newswire has collected a list of the most noteworthy awards, outfits and hip-hop happenings of music’s biggest night.

Harry Styles, sporting a multitude of feathered scarves, opened the night with his smash hit “Watermelon Sugar” and left with the first Grammy of his career for Best Pop Vocal Performance, thanks to his quarantine summer anthem.

Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak captured the attention of viewers with their debut performance as the band Silk Sonic, offering a nostalgic Motown-esque sound with their debut single “Leave the Door Open.” Paak walked away with an award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “Lockdown.” 

Dua Lipa danced her way through a pop fairytale performance featuring multiple costume changes and collaboration with DaBaby on recent hit “Levitating.” Lip walked away with the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year.

Taylor Swift, with her posse of producers and musical engineers, won the award for Album of the Year for her reimagined Folklore. She entertained with a fantastical, cabin set, sparkly blue dress and a well-polished vocal performance.  

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion collaborated to enliven the night with their smash earworm “WAP”, which was rather entertaining, though not meant for young audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

Megan Thee Stallion made quite the showing at her first Grammys to round out her successful year with her smash hit, “Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé).”

Wearing a neon orange dress and facemask to match, Megan Thee Stallion posed on the red carpet with her three awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.

Beyoncé herself, after a seemingly relaxing year from music, walked away with a couple of awards (in addition to the two she shares on “Savage”) including Best R&B Performance for  “Black Parade” and Best Music Video for “Brown Skin Girl.” 

With a new total of 28 Grammys, Beyoncé cemented her reputation as the most decorated female winner, and the recipient  of the most awards of the Grammys outright. 

However, she did not walk away from the night without sharing a win with her daughter Blue Ivy, who starred in “Brown Skin Girl,” winning a Grammy at just 9 years old.

Billie Eilish accepted yet another Grammy for Record of the Year to follow up her domination of the award show last year. 

Having accepted the award for “Everything I Wanted’” Eilish announced her “embarrassment,” and specifically praised Megan Thee Stallion, saying that the award “genuinely goes to her.” 

Eilish, after winning this last award of the night, now has a total of seven Grammys at the age of 19.

The pandemic has especially impacted small, independently-owned venues that have not been able to hold shows in person for over a year now. 

The Academy Awards, recognizing the importance of these businesses in the music industry, asked some of these independent owners to present various awards this year as a way to raise awareness for and provide support to these venues.

The Academy made it clear that this year’s presentation was not only about the winners of the awards, but rather a celebration of the music community and its fans as a whole. 

The show included unique nods and appreciations for the unifying power that music possesses. This theme was implemented found weaved throughout the show in award announcements, acceptance speeches and performances alike.