Look, of all the awards shows in existence, this one has become increasingly disappointing over the years. And I’m sure I’ve complained about it before, but there is no love for actual rock! More on that later. Anyway, after an almost entirely virtual Golden Globes, which I personally didn’t mind, but tanked with other viewers, the Grammys decided to have a more in person and outdoors ceremony which was actually pretty cool! Let’s get into it!
Unexpectedly, almost all of the performances were top 40 artists like Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, BTS, and Megan The Stallion. Of the top 40 music that exists today, not much of it impresses me, so while I checked most of the performances out and was genuinely impressed with their talent, they still weren’t what I’d prefer to see honoring great music. Truly though, everyone sounded pretty spectacular, and I think a big part of that had to do with the fact that there was no audience. I didn’t have to try and fight to really hear the artist over the roar of the crowd. Definitely made me appreciate them all more.
My personal favorite performances that I caught were brought to you by Haim, Dua Lipa, and BTS. They brought the energy in a unique way and still sounded flawless. That’s what live performances should be! And they all managed to move around a bunch, which I know other people care about. Harry Styles also sounded nice, but I thought his performance was a bit dull to open the ceremony with. Another thing I enjoyed was seeing artists tribute those who have passed during the In Memoriam section of the night. Highlight was that Brittany Howard/Chris Martin collaboration!
Now, onto the awards. None of the live winners are ever from the rock categories which is beyond frustrating. That means all we saw were the same handful of pop artists who have been winning over the years. Here’s looking at you Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. Also, even though Beyonce doesn’t do it for me, I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out her historical achievement in winning the most Grammys of any artist ever. Pretty cool! Otherwise nothing was really all that exicting in terms of winners, but you can check them all out here.
Overall, I thought the format of the Grammys this unique year was well thought out and executed. It was nice to see artists all together in the same spot honoring each other. And although I’m sure it was odd to perform for almost no one, it allowed the performances to be extremely creative if they wanted them to be, but above all, it allowed them to be good! And finally, I really appreciated that most of the presenters of the night got to talk about their music venues, reminding us all of how important it is to beat this virus so we can start celebrating music how it was intended – in a live setting! Until next year, when we hopefully get some more decent nominees.