The 64th annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday April 3. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The ceremony was originally supposed to happen at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, but COVID-19 concerns caused it to be pushed to a later date. The night included performances from several nominees, including Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Silk Sonic, and Lady Gaga.
Singer-songwriter Jon Batiste garnered the most nominations this year with 11. Artists Doja Cat, H.E.R., and Justin Bieber came in a close second with 8 each. Batiste also ended up taking the most awards home at five, including the award for Album of the Year for his album We Are. Other nominees included Doja Cat’s Planet Her, Justin Bieber’s Justice, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s Love for Sale, and Taylor Swift’s Evermore.
Batiste also received awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the song “Leave the Door Open” as a part of the duo Silk Sonic alongside Bruno Mars. The song was the debut single for Silk Sonic, released back in March of 2021. They beat out the likes of Oliva Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, ABBA, and Billie Eilish. Silk Sonic also tied for the win with Jazmine Sullivan for the Best R&B Performance.
Olivia Rodrigo took home the award for Best New Artist, beating out artists such as Jimmie Allen, The Kid Laroi, and Saweetie. Rodrigo started her career as an actor on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark. She then became a cast member on the series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and began focusing on her music career.
She released her debut single “Driver’s License” in January of 2021, and it quickly topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Rodrigo the youngest artist to ever top the chart. The song was featured on her debut album Sour, which took home the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album Rodrigo also took home the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Driver’s License” against Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande.
Other wins in the “Pop” category included Doja Cat and SZA for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More”, and Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Love for Sale.
Jazmine Sullivan took home her first Grammy after being nominated 15 times over a 19-year career. She took home the Grammys for Best R&B performance and Best R&B Album for her album Heaux Tales. Tyler the Creator received the award for Best Rap Album for Call Me If You Get Lost, and The Foo Fighters received the award for Best Rock Album for Medicine at Midnight.
According to the New York Post, 8.9 million people watched the Grammys this year on CBS and Paramount Plus. This is barely up from last year’s 8.8 million, which was also an all-time low figure.
