While the 2021 Grammy Awards, held on March 14, had no live audience to cheer their favourite musicians this year, it still brought all the fireworks one has come to expect from the music fraternity over the last six decades. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Centre and some stars tuned in virtually to receive their awards.
Celebrities like Taylor Swift in a flowery Oscar da la Renta, Megan Thee Stallion in an orange Dolce & Gabbana, Harry Styles in plaid Gucci blazer paired with a purple boa, Dua Lipa in a shimmery Atelier Versace, Lizzo in Balmain, Beyoncé in Schiaparelli LBD, DaBaby in printed Dolce & Gabbana, BTS members in Louis Vuitton and Trevor Noah in Gucci graced the red carpet dressed to the nines.
The 2021 Grammy awards ceremony was hosted by The Daily Show’s Noah who brought in the punches in his opening monologue. He started with how “This year’s Grammy’s is going to look a little different, I’m not going to front, the whole thing is going to be pretty different. But it’s going to be even more exciting because our nominees will be sitting at those tables for their awards, so right now there’s more tension in that tent than at a family reunion at Buckingham Palace.”
And ended the 2021 Grammy awards show with “Tonight, we’re hoping this is all about what 2021 can be, full of joy, new beginnings and coming together, never forgetting what happened in 2020, but full of hope for what is to come. Let’s do this people.”
The show thrilled fans who tuned in from across the globe as it featured pre-recorded and live performances by artists like Harry Styles, Post Malone, Doja Cat, Maren Morris and John Mayer, and Miranda Lambert. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion got social media talking when they teamed up for a rendition of their hit single, WAP, with a prelude of Stallion’s Body, Savage and Cardi B’s latest, Up. Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak gave their debut performance as the band Silk Sonic with the song Leave the Door Open.
K-pop band BTS brought their A-game while performing Dynamite, which was also nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance but lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s Rain on Me.
The 2021 Grammy Awards was not without some milestones. Beyoncé, nominated in nine categories, made history as she became the female artist with most Grammy wins, 28. She equalled Alison Krauss at 27 when she won Best Rap Performance with Megan Thee Stallion for Savage. She then crossed the mark by winning the Best R&B Performance for Black Parade. Beyoncé is now tied with producer and multi-instrumentalist Quincy Jones for the second most Grammy wins. The late conductor Georg Solti is the most decorated Grammy winner with 31.
Taylor Swift also set a benchmark by becoming the first female artist to win the award three times when her album “Folklore” won the 2021 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. She won it for her album “Fearless” in 2010 and for “1989” in 2015.
Other big winners of the night were Billie Eilish who took home Record of the Year for Everything I Wanted and Harry Styles who won his first-ever Grammy in the 2021 Grammy awards, for Watermelon Sugar in Best Pop Performance category.
Here is the list of all the winners of the night:
Record of the Year
Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted
Album of the Year
Taylor Swift – Folklore
Song of the Year
H.E.R. – I Can’t Breathe
Best New Artist
Megan Thee Stallion
Best Pop Solo Performance
Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – Rain On Me
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
James Taylor – American Standard
Best Pop Vocal Album
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Best Dance Recording
Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis – 10%
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Kaytranada – Bubba
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Snarky Puppy – Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Best Rock Performance
Fiona Apple – Shameika
Best Metal Performance
Body Count – Bum-Rush
Best Rock Song
Brittany Howard – Stay High
Best Rock Album
The Strokes – The New Abnormal
Best Alternative Music Album
Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Best R&B Performance
Beyoncé – Black Parade
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Ledisi – Anything for You
Best R&B Song
Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello – Better Than I Imagine
Best Progressive R&B Album
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Best R&B Album
John Legend – Bigger Love
Best Rap Performance
Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Best Melodic Rap Performance
Anderson .Paak – Lockdown
Best Rap Song
Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Best Rap Album
Nas – King’s Disease
Best Country Solo Performance
Vince Gill – When My Amy Prays
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
Best Country Song
The Highwomen – Crowded Table
Best Country Album
Miranda Lambert – Wildcard
Best New Age Album
Jim “Kimo” West – More Guitar Stories
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Chick Corea – All Blues
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez – Secrets Are the Best Stories
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Trilogy 2
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Maria Schneider Orchestra – Data Lords
Best Latin Jazz Album
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Four Questions
Best Gospel Performance/Song
Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music – Movin’ On
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
Zach Williams & Dolly Parton – There Was Jesus
Best Gospel Album
PJ Morton – Gospel According to PJ
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Kanye West – Jesus Is King
Best Roots Gospel Album
Fisk Jubilee Singers – Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album)
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album
Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
Rito Paez – La Conquesta del Espacio
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Natalia Lafourcade – Un Canto por México, Vol. 1
Best Tropical Latin Album
Grupo Niche – 40
Best American Roots Performance
I Remember Everything – John Prine
Best American Roots Song
John Prine – I Remember Everything
Best Americana Album
Sarah Jarosz – World on the Ground
Best Bluegrass Album
Billy Strings – Home
Best Traditional Blues Album
Bobby Rush – Rawer Than Raw
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Best Folk Album
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – All the Good Times
Best Regional Roots Music Album
New Orleans Nightcrawlers – Atmosphere
Best Reggae Album
Toots & the Maytals – Got to Be Tough
Best Global Music Album
Burna Boy – Twice As Tall
Best Children’s Music Album
Joanie Leeds – All the Ladies
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
Rachel Maddow – Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
Best Comedy Album
Tiffany Haddish – Black Mitzvah
Best Musical Theater Album
Jagged Little Pill
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Jojo Rabbit
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Joker
Best Song Written for Visual Media
Billie Eilish – No time to Die
Best Instrumental Composition
Maria Schneider – Sputnik
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
John Beasley – Donna Lee
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Jacob Collier – He Won’t Hold You
Best Recording Package
Desert Sessions – Vols. 11 & 12
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Wilco – Ode to Joy
Best Album Notes
The Replacements – Dead Man’s Pop
Best Historical Album
Mister Rogers – It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Beck – Hyperspace
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Andrew Watt
Best Remixed Recording
Saint Jhn – Roses (Imanbek Remix)
Best Immersive Audio Album
Due the COVID-19 pandemic, the Best Immersive Audio Album Craft Committee was unable to meet. The judging of the entries in this category has been postponed until such time that we are able to meet in a way that is appropriate to judge the many formats and configurations of the entries and is safe for the committee members. The nominations for the 63rd GRAMMYs will be announced next year in addition to (and separately from) the 64th GRAMMY nominations in the category
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, “Babi Yar”
Producer of the Year, Classical
David Frost
Best Orchestral Performance
Los Angeles Philharmonic – Ives: Complete Symphonies
Best Opera Recording
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus – Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Best Choral Performance
James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers – Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Pacifica Quartet – Contemporary Voices
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Richard O’Neill – Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton – Smyth: The Prison
Best Classical Compendium
Isabel Leonard – Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Christopher Rouse – Rouse: Symphony No. 5
Best Music Video
Beyoncé – Brown Skin Girl
Best Music Film
Linda Ronstadt – Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India.