By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. (AP Entertainment Writer)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé sits alone on her Grammy throne: With her fourth win Sunday night, she became the most decorated performer in the show’s history, surpassing the 26-year-old record once held by the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti.
“I try not to get too emotional,” the superstar said as husband Jay-Z stood up and applauded her. The singer thanked her late uncle, her parents, Jay-Z and her children for their support. “I’m just trying to receive tonight. I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank God.”
Beyoncé has now scooped 32 awards after winning Best R&B Song for “Cuff It,” Dance-Electric Music Recording for “Break My Soul,” Traditional R&B Performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa,” and Dance-Music-Electric Performance. electric for his seventh studio. album “Renaissance”, which is also nominated for album of the year.
Beyoncé missed the milestone to tie Solti’s record, which had stood since 1997. Host Trevor Noah said she was on her way to the ceremony but blamed Los Angeles traffic for not being in person for accept it. The song was written by several writers including Beyonce, The-Dream, Nile Rodgers and Raphael Saadiq.
Once Beyoncé — the main nominee of the night — finally arrived, Noah presented her with the award for Best R&B Song at his table.
Bad Bunny opened the Grammys with a celebratory and energetic performance that drew many onlookers, including Taylor Swift who got up and danced by her table at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Noah introduced Bunny as a “global force” who is the most listened to and listened to artist in the world.
Styles won the top Mainstream Television Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for “Harry’s House.” The singer said recording the song was one of the “greatest experiences of my life. It was my greatest joy.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras won Best Pop Duo Performance for their song “Unholy.” Petras said Smith wanted Petras to give the acceptance speech because “I’m the first transgender woman to win this award.”
“I want to thank all the amazing trans legends before me who opened these doors for me so I could be here tonight,” said Petras, who referred to her friend and Grammy-nominated musician Sophie, who died after a accidental fall in Athens, Greece in 2021. “You told me this would happen. I have always believed in myself. Thank you very much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you and your inspiration will forever remain in my music.
Petras thanked Madonna for being a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights.
“I don’t think I could be here without Madonna,” Petras said. “My mother, I grew up next to a highway in nowhere in Germany. And my mother thought I was a girl. I wouldn’t be here without her and her support.
During the in memoriam segment, the Grammys paid tribute to the lives of Loretta Lynn, rapper Migos Takeoff and Christine McVie with several star-studded artists paying tribute to them. Touching performances included Kacey Musgraves singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to Lynn; Quavo and the Maverick City Music took the stage to honor his nephew Takeoff with the song “Without You”; and Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt performed “Songbird” to remember McVie.
Kendrick Lamar won the sixth career trophy for Best Rap Performance for “The Heart Part 5” and also won Best Rap Album for his studio offering, “Mr. Morales & The Big Steppers.”
“You know, as artists, we say things to provoke thoughts and feelings and emotions,” he said. “So making this record is one of my hardest. … I would like to thank the culture for allowing me to evolve to do this. I finally found the imperfection with this album.
Viola Davis emerged from Sunday’s show an EGOT – a term for those who have won Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys – after her win for best audiobook, storytelling and recording. The actor gave an emotional speech and emphatically said, “I’m from EGOT” after walking onstage to collect his award.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “I wrote this book to honor 6-year-old Viola, to honor her, her life, her joy, her trauma, everything,” Davis said. “It’s just been such a trip.”
Ragged streetwear, tees and denim mixed with bling-out tailoring, wild patterns and lots of skin on the Grammys carpet. Lizzo wowed in a bright orange Dolce & Gabbana dress adorned with flowers and a huge hood while Taylor Swift wore a two-piece sparkly long skirt with a high-necked, long-sleeved crop top in midnight blue.
Brandi Carlile made a rare appearance on a major artist pre-telecast. The singer came forward after her song “Broke Horses” won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, a Songwriter’s Award and Best Americana Album.
“It’s rock ‘n’ roll, man,” said a grinning Carlile, who jogged onstage with a few members of his band. “I can’t tell you how much that means to us. We were born and raised in Seattle. When I met these guys 22 years ago, we decided to get into a band. Carlile co-wrote “Broken Horses” with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth.
This year’s Grammys also introduced several new categories, including one for video game music composition, which went to the “Assassins Creed: Valhalla” soundtrack.
The show marks a return to Los Angeles after the pandemic was first delayed and then forced the Grammys to move to Las Vegas last year. Noah also hosted the ceremony, which saw Jon Batiste win album of the year.
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AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy contributed to this report.
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For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.
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