Photo Courtesy of NY Daily News
The craziest part of the 2019 Grammy Awards was that no one seems to be talking about them. Between a country album winning Album of the Year, the lengthy list of no-shows, and Cardi B’s live performance, which Rolling Stone called “a pocket dimension of kinetic energy within the comatose body of music’s biggest night,” there should be a lot to talk about. Unfortunately, the Hamilton academic calendar will not stop for Cardi B, so if you missed her performance — like Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Ed Sheeran did — or the whole ceremony, here is everything you need to know.
Camila Cabello made Grammy history by becoming the first Latina artist to open the ceremony, performing a theatrical version of her hit song “Havana.” Following her performance, Record of the Year and Song of the Year were awarded to Childish Gambino for “This is America.” Best New Artist was won by breakout artist Dua Lipa, but the real surprise came when Album of the Year went to
Golden Hour
by Kacey Musgraves. While Musgraves previously won the 2014 Grammy for Best Country Album (
Same Trailer Different Park
) and Best Country Song (“Merry Go ’Round”), she was up against albums like Cardi B’s
Invasion of Privacy
, Drake’s
Scorpion
, Post Malone’s
Beerbongs & Bentleys
as well as
Black Panther: The Album
, making her one of the underdogs. Musgrave also took home the Best Country Song award for her song “Space Cowboy” and Best Country Solo Performance for her song “Butterflies.”
Cardi B made Grammy history by becoming the first female artist to win Best Rap Album for her 2018 album
Invasion of Privacy
after performing her newest single “Money” during the ceremony.
The next shock of the night came when multiple nominees and winners were revealed to have not shown up to the ceremony. While rapper Childish Gambino became the first artist to win both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, he did not show up for reasons unknown to even the person who accepted the award on his behalf. This came as a huge surprise, as it is rare to have an artist nominated in multiple prestigious categories not show up. Childish
Gambino, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar refused offers to perform during the ceremony, and controversy surrounded Ariana Grande’s decision to skip the Grammys after the Academy denied her request to perform her single “7 Rings.” Lamar and Grande won awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album respectively, but both did not attend. Drake was present to receive the award for Best Rap Song for his song “God’s Plan.” Other nominees such as Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, Jay Z, and Kanye West were also not present.
A point of debate surrounding the 2019 ceremony and the Grammys in general is the opinion that it is getting increasingly out-of-touch with current musical trends. The 2019 Grammys focused heavily on its annual tribute portion, where artists paid homage to Dolly Parton — who was given a five-track throwback tribute — and Diana Ross. Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, and Smokey Robinson performed a lengthy Motown tribute that included songs by Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and Donny Hathaway. While the Grammys always dedicate a portion of their ceremony to this tribute section, there was discussion about what demographic the award show caters to, and if the award show represents the current trends of younger generations.
Overall, the 2019 Grammys were much more eventful than people seem to be making them out to be. Musgraves surprised some, Gambino confused many, and Cardi shocked all. Maybe next year people will actually watch.
