For years, the GRAMMYs have been quite a predictable and uninspired affair, playing it safe by repeatedly favoring the same industry darlings like Taylor Swift while falling short of its reputation as “Music’s Biggest Night.”
But this year’s ceremony, held on Feb. 2, was a surprising return to form. It benefited from a year of music so strong that there were not many wrong choices to be made.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Up-and-coming artists like Chappell Roan and Doechii were recognized, while the Recording Academy made up for past snubs by awarding mainstays like Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé.
Here’s a breakdown of The Big Four (Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Best New Artist).
Kendrick wins both Record and Song Of The Year for blistering diss track “Not Like Us”
The explosive feud between rap titans Kendrick and Drake dominated the hip-hop world (and broader pop culture) in the past year, with Kendrick’s diss track “Not Like Us” becoming the defining moment of the battle.
Kendrick took to the stage in Canadian tuxedo — an ironic choice of outfit given Drake’s Canadian background, which was mentioned on the track. The GRAMMYs attendees, notably including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, seemed to dance to and shout the now iconic line, “Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.”
But with an audience full of Hollywood elites chanting to a track about deceit, misconduct and exploitation, you had to wonder: Is the call coming from inside the house?
“Not Like Us” swept each of the five categories it was nominated for — Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video and, most of all, Song and Record of the Year — the same number of GRAMMYs Drake has won in his entire career.
In his acceptance speech, Kendrick honored Los Angeles, saying, “We’re gonna dedicate this one to the city.” The track is itself a celebration of the West Coast hip hop scene, with a distinctive style that was fully embraced in Kendrick’s latest album, GNX.
Despite “Not Like Us” having an undeniable impact, its double win as both Record and Song Of The Year seems like a missed opportunity to spotlight something else. Many nominees were just as worthy — if not more so — most notably “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish, who had a career-defining year yet left without a win.
“Not Like Us” thrived on the energy of the moment, and is not one of the strongest displays of Kendrick’s artistry, songwriting or lyricism, yet this is also the first time he has ever won in the Big Four categories.
In many ways, it felt like the GRAMMYs overcorrecting for one of their most egregious mistakes of all time: awarding Macklemore for Rap Album Of The Year in 2013 over Kendrick’s critically acclaimed good kid, m.A.A.d city.
To add onto this victory lap, Kendrick headlined this year’s Super Bowl at New Orleans, while Drake is sure to crank his legal team into fifth gear in preparation for yet another lawsuit.
At long last, Beyoncé wins Album Of The Year for Cowboy Carter, but does she deserve it this time?
Everything Beyoncé touches seems to, by default, become a monumental moment in pop culture. For some, her long-overdue win for Cowboy Carter sort of feels like an industry apology for snubbing the acclaimed Beyoncé (2015) and Lemonade (2017) — akin to when Martin Scorsese won Best Director for The Departed in 2007 and not for Goodfellas back in the 90s.
The recent GRAMMYs reignited the discourse about if Cowboy Carter is actually a country album. While it won both Album Of The Year and Best Country Album, there was prominent backlash for it’s not being reflective of the genre, with other nominees being more in line with the traditional ideal of country.
In Beyoncé’s acceptance speech, she acknowledged this conversation on genre, stating, “I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists.” Previously, she has even claimed that “[this] ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
Beyoncé’s statement certainly rings true for Cowboy Carter, which blends multiple ideas rather than fitting neatly into one and challenges the typical understanding of Americana and country through the lens of their Black roots.
Beyond the genre debate, the bigger narrative is the GRAMMYs’ long-standing tendency of completely mishandling major artists only to overcorrect years later. Despite being the most-awarded artist in GRAMMY history, Beyoncé had never won Album of the Year before.
Meanwhile, nominees like Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, Charli XCX’s Brat, and Chappell Roan’s The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess arguably had stronger and more interesting cultural moments this year compared to Cowboy Carter.
Maybe one of these artists will receive their own “rectification award” in the future, while another deserving artist gets snubbed — thus continuing the cycle forever.
Chappell Roan proves her title as Best New Artist with bold performances and statements on the industry
Every so often, the GRAMMYs make a decision so undeniably correct and so unlike their usual instincts that it briefly restores faith in their integrity. Chappell Roan winning Best New Artist is one of those moments.
While all the nominees have had a successful year, none felt as authentic or original as Chappell Roan. For one, Benson Boone’s performance of “Beautiful Things” has earned comparisons such as “Gen Z Imagine Dragons,” and Teddy Swims comes across to me like a spin-off side character from Post Malone’s world.
Roan’s win signals a shift in pop music towards something bolder, realer and more refreshing. This level of authenticity is less evident in fellow nominee, the Disney-born-and-bred Sabrina Carpenter, or in the pop mainstay Taylor Swift. Roan’s style of anti-PR take on fandom and the theatrical, drag-inspired look and aesthetic make her a standout. This was also reflected in her eclectic performance of “Pink Pony Club.”
Most notably, Roan took the opportunity to call out record labels for not providing health insurance for artists, stating: “I told myself that if I ever won a GRAMMY and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially developing artists.”
Few artists would dare challenge multi-billion-dollar industry giants on their own stage and, in turn, make their win greater than a trophy.
Charli XCX and Doechii take home awards in other categories
Two of the best performances from the night were from Charli XCX, who transformed the stage into a slice of a totally insane rave party to backdrop “Von dutch” and “Guess,” and Doechii with her brazen performance of “CATFISH” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” which brought out the spirit of hip-hop and her artistry through intricate choreography.
Both artists were nominated in major categories but won elsewhere. Charli’s Brat, a major contender for Album of the Year, won Best Dance/Electronic Album, though it unfortunately meant electronic icon Four Tet lost.
Doechii, up for Best New Artist, won Best Rap Album for Alligator Bites Never Heal, becoming the third female rapper to do so after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. She ended her speech with a message to Black girls: “You are exactly who you need to be, to be right where you are, and I am a testimony.”
Hardest-to-watch moment and final thoughts
As expected, there were minor controversies over the course of the night. Most notably, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), who was nominated for “CARNIVAL” in the Best Rap Song category, sought to make a spectacle out of his appearance — almost recreating a 2009 VMAs, Part Two moment. But this time, the focus shifted to his wife, Bianca Censori, who took minimalism to a new level by wearing nearly nothing at all on the red carpet.
This stunt sparked enough controversy about Censori’s agency in the relationship to make her the most Googled person the following day, causing Ye to post that “[they] beat the Grammies [sic].”
Still, this didn’t detract from the night’s highlights, which also focused on the Los Angeles wildfires through fundraising efforts and a celebration of the city’s culture.
This year’s GRAMMYs felt like a rare moment where the Recording Academy got more right than wrong, highlighting artists that represent change in music while finally giving long-overdue recognition to artists who have shaped it.
