By: Faith Lam '23
The biggest night in music, and the most anticipated night for music fans. The 2023 Grammy’s was a night of snubs and wins all around for the artists. This was the first time in three years that they had full attendance at the newly named Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
With a full red carpet, covered by Laverne Cox who talked to artists from Machine Gun Kelly to DJ Khaled, we saw some interesting looks and a theme of glitter and leather on the carpet. Some highlights include Shania Twain’s polka dot suit with a vibrant red wig, designed by Harris Reed. She stated that her outfit was an homage to Harry Styles and their shared love for Reed’s work over the years. Speaking of Harry Styles, he blessed the carpet in a multi-colored Swarovski crystal jumpsuit that had heads turning. Harry had three outfits, including a white suit with a sparkly top underneath, a classy yet very stylish choice for him. Another big moment was the return of Taylor Swift to the Grammy red carpet. Taylor arrived in a midnight blue two piece styled by Joseph Cassell. She caught everyone’s attention in a very “Midnights” look to prove once again that it is, in fact, Taylor Swift’s world. Brandi Carlisle also made a statement in a custom Versace suit joined by her wife and two daughters for the evening. If there’s one thing Brandi Carlile always does well, it is a classic look with a fun twist.
The actual award show, which was hosted by Trevor Noah, had some moments we will be talking about all year. Bad Bunny, who opened the show with a performance, had the biggest artists dancing to his hits accompanied by a group of dancers on stage. Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, took home the award for Best Musica Urbana album for ‘Un Verano San Ti’. Then, of course, there was the very memorable performance of “Unholy” from Sam Smith and Kim Petras. The two wore devil inspired outfits with a series of dancers and even a cage on the stage. They proved once again that they are incredible performers with vocals that will even impress your mother. The two then took home the award for Best Pop Duo or Group Performance, this made a historical moment as Petras was the first Trans woman to ever win this award. However, this wasn’t the only moment of history being made. Beyoncé, who showed up fashionably late, is now the most awarded artist in Grammy history. Queen B also is now tied for the highest number of nominations with her husband JayZ. The night really was all about Beyoncé, as artists were starstruck by her presence and she took home multiple awards for her album “Renaissance”. We saw an emotional moment from Lizzo as she accepted her award for Record of the Year. In her speech, she thanked Beyoncé for being an inspiration to her, and how she made Lizzo want to make music that people can feel good listening to. Lizzo had an incredible performance of her song “Special”, with vocals that we can all only dream of.
The big performances include tribute songs performed by people like Kacey Musgraves, and an emotional performance by Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Bonnie Raitt. The three did a rendition of “Songbird” from Fleetwood Mac’s iconic album “Rumors”, to honor Christine McVie. She was the keyboardist and vocalist for Fleetwood Mac, and she passed in 2022.
Other big performers included an incredible one by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Chris Stapelton as well as the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop. This performance was star-studded with big names like Missy Elliot, LL Cool J, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, Nelly, and so many others. The performance was everything we expected, from the high energy to the iconic setlist, and with an incredible list of performers.
We also saw a highly deserving win for Jack Antonoff, who won producer of the year. He worked on incredibly successful albums this year, from The 1975’s “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” to Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”. Speaking of Taylor, she took home the award for Best Music Video for her iconic “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) The Short Film”. She was, however, snubbed for Song of the Year for “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)” which caused a riot on Twitter that night. It’s an award she has never won so fingers crossed she takes it home next year for her record-breaking album “Midnights”. She did, however, have a fun night hanging out with friends and catching up with Harry Styles, who proved that even the Grammy’s is Harry’s House. Harry showed up with a number of nominations after a massive two years on tour, which will continue this year. He performed the record-breaking hit “As It Was” in a custom Gucci silver ensemble. His performance was a take on the music video for the song, joined by his incredible band. It was revealed by one of his dancers that the spinning stage they performed on spun the wrong way during the performance. The performance was excellent and no one could tell that there had been a production malfunction. Harry proved that there truly is nothing he can't do. He took home two Grammys, now making him a three-time winner. Harry won arguably the most coveted award in music, Album of the Year. His reaction was an emotional one, as he hugged his friends and even a fan who presented him with the award. In a very eloquent speech, Harry said “Things like this don’t happen to people like me”, which had all of us feeling nostalgic of a 16-year-old Harry on X factor with One Direction all those years ago in 2010.
It’s safe to say that the 2023 Grammy Awards was one for the books. The winners were well deserved, depending on who you ask on Stan Twitter, and the performances were incredible. We ended the night without a headline scandal, but headline worthy wins, fashion moments, and celebrity interactions. Now, all we music fans can do is wait another year for the next memorable Grammy night.
All Photos Courtesy of Getty Image
Edited by: Genna Cottingham '23, Katarina Radulovic '24, Natalia Cseh '23, and Ms. Brilliant
Fair Use Disclaimer
The images and contents in this article are under Fair Use: Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Comments