BTS, Kanye West and Billie Elisho

The music may sound stale – but the feelings were real.

Many of the 64th Annual Grammy Nominated Songs and AlbumsSunday’s ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas looked downright pristine bumped from January to April,

But there were some moments that made the night bigger than the music.

First, there was Video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his country’s war with Russia, “War. What’s the opposite of music? The silence of cities that were ruined and people killed,” he said.

then, there was Lady Gaga leaves no dry eyes at home as she performs solo in tribute to Tony BennettHis 95-year-old colleague and co-nominee, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was not able to make the show.

And, of course, there was Tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, While this was realized too soon—after Foo Fighters, having canceled their scheduled performances, had already won three awards—it reminded us all that “Everlong” doesn’t last forever.

Still, without any clear favorites—like Adele, who will attend the 2023 Grammys with her blockbuster album “30”, For what didn’t qualify this year — or any Beyoncé performance (sorry, she was already booked for the Oscars last weekend), music’s biggest night wasn’t much to care about.

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The spoils were fairly evenly divided: lead nominee John Battist was the top winner of the night with five gramophones, including the coveted Album of the Year for his LP “We Are”. This was followed by four wins for retro-soul super duo Silk Sonic, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Leave the Door Open” and three for 19-year-old pop princess Olivia Rodrigo, including Including Best New. Artist. And even Bennett, who was otherwise turned down with Gaga, received one final Grammy—his 19th—for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Surprise: Jazmine Sullivan

At the premiere ceremony, held before the main broadcast, Silk Sonic and Jazmine Sullivan tied for best R&B performance for “Leave the Door Open” and “Pick Up Your Feelings” respectively. 1 pop and R&B smash hit by the retro-soul super-duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson was always going to be tough. Pak, Sullivan certainly deserved her first Grammy after 15 nominations. The losing streak is finally over for a deserving R&B diva — and everyone wins.

Surprise: Silk Sonic

Song of the Year seemed to be a two-way showdown between two women who redefined a young female pop star – Olivia Rodrigo (for “Driver’s License”) and Billie Eilish (for “Happier Than Ever”) Is. , But Silk Sonic proved that old-school soul men still deserve seats at the top of the table for “Leave the Door Open” on music’s biggest night. And Rodrigo’s “drivers license” performance blew up after seeing Silk Sonic’s Bruno Mars and Anderson open the show with one of the most spectacular throwbacks from the ’70s. Pak Dalal accepting his gramophone certainly felt that justice had been done.

Snub: Kanye West

Usually when an artist gets an Album of the Year nomination—as Kanye West did for “Donda”—they’re pretty much guaranteed to rule their genre-specific album category. But Yeezy lost out to Tyler, Creator and their “Call Me If You Get Lost” LP in a premiere event held before the main telecast. Although West has won two other rap categories (Best Rap Song and Best Melodic Rap Performance) for hip-hop star “Donda” – who was reportedly turned down at the Grammys because of her recent bad behavior – Clearly his style hasn’t received the kind of support from the Recording Academy it has received in the past.

Surprise: Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Ritto

It was certainly great to see the great Joni Mitchell on the Grammys stage alongside another legend, Bonnie Raitt, to present the performance of Brandi Carlyle. At 78 years old, Michelle has suffered from health problems that have made her more reclusive in recent years. But, starting Grammy weekend, she was awarded the Musicians Person of the Year on Friday night, even joining in for the song “Big Yellow Taxi” at the end. Even if she needed a little help from Writt, it was her courage to hang out on the biggest night of the musical and return some of the love to Mitchell’s disciple Carlyle, who played Friday Night with John Batiste. was co-curated.

Snub: Cardi B and Megan The Stallion

How did Cardi B (“Up”) and Megan Thee Stallion (“Thought S***”) both lose out to Baby Cam featuring Kendrick Lamar (“Family Ties”) for Best Rap Performance? After Drake withdrew his nomination for his No. 1 hit “They 2 Sexy,” the way was open for one of these fierce women to take home the trophy in this male-dominated genre. But still, somehow the Recording Academy still found a way to reward friends. Sure, that characteristic of Lamar helped, but it was a slap in the face to the women who are putting it down.

Surprise: Volodymyr Zelensky

Sean Penn called for a boycott of the Oscars after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was not allowed to speak at the Academy Awards last weekend. But it was the Grammys who gave the leader the platform to talk about the plight of his country’s war with Russia in a video message. After a performance by John Legend, it certainly puts into perspective what privileges the biggest stars of music have—and, in that moment, a slap seemed like a lot of small stuff.

snub: bts

South Korean sensation BTS may be ruling the world, but the Grammys aren’t quite ready to anoint them with any golden gramophones. After their first Grammy nomination for “Dynamite” last year, they were up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance this year for their No. 1 smash “Butter.” But, in a stunner, it was Doja Cat featuring SZA, who made her debut on BTS, Coldplay (“Higher Power”), Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (“Lonely”) and, most surprisingly, Tony on “Kiss Me More”. Awarded for ” Bennett and Lady Gaga (“I Get a Kick Out of You”).

Snub: Billy Elisho

After winning seven Grammys in two years—including her sweep of the “Big 4” categories in 2020, as only the second artist to do so in award show history—Billie Eilish’s closest bet to a sure thing is up for grabs. It seemed like Sunday Night Hardware but with a younger female pop artist — 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo — stole some of her thunder at this year’s awards, the “Happier Than Ever” singer fell short of seven nominations.

Surprise: John Batiste

For many, John Battist’s winning album of the year for “We Are” came out of nowhere. After all, he was up against pop blockbusters by Olivia Rodrigo (“Sorry”), Billie Eilish (“Happier Than Ever”) and Justin Bieber (“Justice”)—a reference to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s “Love” from the emotional boom. Not for sale.” But in the end, the youth pop vote split between Rodrigo, Eilish and Bieber, as well as Doja Cat and Lil Nas X. And a real, famous musician’s musician emerged as the winner. .

Snub: Justin Bieber

It doesn’t seem fair that Justin Bieber, who performed His Blockbuster Hit “Peaches” For their comeback album “Justice” fell short of eight nominations. In fact, he brought some much-needed star power to the Grammys in a night when Adele, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles were all captured. It looked like they would at least win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Lonely” (featuring Benny Blanco), but that went to Doja Cat, featuring SZA’s “Kiss Me More”. Sorry, but BBS deserved better.