The 67th annual Grammys took the world by storm yesterday as musicians and artists gathered together to celebrate the very best in music from 2024. Here are some of the day's biggest moments:
Starting outside of the venue, Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori caused a storm of controversy on the red carpet when the 30 year old Australian model dropped her fur jacket to reveal a completely see-through dress with nothing underneath it. Kanye, who was nominated for best rap song, stood beside her completely covered.
Although it was originally rumoured that the pair were asked to leave the award ceremony following this stunt, it was later revealed by sources close to West that the couple left voluntarily as the ceremony was “boring”. This kind of stunt is classic for Kanye West who has been using Censori as his “muse” since his divorce from Kim Kardashian.
Other than this rather shocking moment, the red carpet fashion on the night wasn't much to write home about. However, stand out outfits included Sabrina Carpenter's old-Hollywood number by Northern-Irish designer Jonathan Anderson and Chappelle Roan and Charli XCX in beautiful tulled Jean Paul Gaultie gowns.
This year's performances were just fantastic. It is clear that the Grammys saw how the show was declining in viewers and has responded by dedicating a large chunk of the budget for these artists performances.
The two performances with the biggest production had to be Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, the two new girls on the pop scene. Carpenter brandished her classically funny humour during a jazzy rendition of her hit song ‘Espresso’. The performance included a towering staircase, a full size house and even a tap dance break!
Chappell Roan gave a wonderfully camp performance of ‘Pink Pony Club’ atop a giant pink horse, surrounded by clowns. Although both the artists sets were large and elaborate, neither of them got lost amidst the chaos and delivered fantastic shows.
We didn't just see the new kids on the block perform, as the night also saw beloved artists such as Shakira, John Legend and Coldplay’s Chris Martin make their mark.
A tribute was also made to the late producer Quincy Jones by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Will Smith, Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier. The 28-time Grammy award winner died last year at the age of 91. The group performed beautiful renditions of some of Jones' greatest works such as ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, ‘Let The Good Times Role’, ‘Bluesette’ and ‘We Are The World’.
Janelle Monáe later joined the group on stage dressed as Michael Jackson to preform ‘Don’t Stop 'Til You Get Enough’ before ripping off her suit to reveal an "I (Heart) QJ" t-shirt. However Monáe's night did not end there. During a rendition of "Hot in Here" by Nelly at a Grammys afterparty with Anderson .Paak, Monáe called Nelly a sell-out and a “fool” for performing at President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Back at the ceremony, after joining Bruno Mars in a tribute to those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires with a solemn ‘California Dreamin’ cover, Lady Gaga revealed her bombastic new dance-pop single, ‘Abracadabra.’
Unveiled through a MasterCard commercial, the music video was wild and artistic. Gaga is joined by thousands of dancers dressed in white, black and red in a truly chaotic four-minute-long dance number. It is clear that Gaga is taking advantage of the resurgence of the dance-pop and techno genres, bringing back music reminiscent of her ‘Born This Way’ era.
Speaking of dance-pop, it's frontrunner Charli XCX also gave a performance of her tracks ‘Von Dutch’ and ‘Guess’. The artist started in a an underground carpark joined by crowds of celebrities and influencers including models Alex Consani and Julia Fox. The best word I can think of to describe Charli’s performance is... well ‘Brat’! It was messy and chaotic but all-in-all fun. Though it was disappointing that Billie Eilish did not join Charli on stage for ‘Guess’ as her verse on the song is well loved.
However, the performance that stole the show and wowed both celebrities and audience alike was Doechii’s. This rapper has blown up recently receiving kudos from some of the world's most talented artists like Kendrick Lamar. Doechii performed ‘Catfish’ and ‘Denial Is A River’ from her wildly successful 20204 album ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’.
Dressed in a school uniform inspired look and joined by around 50 dancers, Doechii’s performance had some of the best and most mesmerising choreography of the night. Complete with a working travelator, dramatic outfit reveal, and jazz break it is no wonder that the 26 year-old received one of the best reactions of the night. As she struck her final pose the cameras switched to the audience to reveal a standing ovation from the likes of Jay Z and Billie Eilish, mouthing “oh my God!”
Doechii’s intoxicating stage presence paid off as the rapper was awarded her first Grammy for ‘Best Rap Album’, a category that has only ever seen two other female winners, Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.
This was not the only achievement in the genre as Kendrick Lamar’s track ‘Not Like Us’ won in every category in which it was nominated, including; ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Best Music Video’, ‘Best Rap Performance’, and ‘Best Rap Song’. The song which was originally released as a diss track on Canadian rapper Drake has become one of the most decorated rap songs in history.
It was a fantastic night for the genre of rap, a previously overlooked genre at the Grammy awards due to its ties to the African-American community.
Beyoncé took home the highly coveted ‘Album of the Year’ award for her country album ‘Cowboy Carter’, being the only the fourth black woman to ever win the award. The legendary artist appeared surprised when her name was announced as she was up against some tough competition from Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short n' Sweet’, Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Many were surprised that ‘Brat’ did not receive the award, after it sparked the sort-of cultural movement that was ‘Brat Summer’.
However ‘Brat’ did receive the award for ‘Best Dance Album’ and the track ‘Von Dutch’ won ‘Best Dance Recording’.
‘Best New Artist’ unsurprisingly went to Chappell Roan, who took the time during her speech to call for record labels to take better care of their artists, providing them good wages and healthcare.
Taylor Swift notably did not receive any awards on the night despite being nominated for six categories. Billie Eilish also did not win any awards in the seven categories she was nominated for.
Irish musician and songwriter Cian Ducrot also took home his first Grammy for co-writing SZA’s ‘Saturn’ which won ‘Best R&B Song’
"To have won my first Grammy as a songwriter is just crazy, it just means the world to me, because writing songs is everything to me. It's one of those things that you always dream of getting but you never really think you're going to get it," he told RTÉ News in an interview.
All-in-all the Grammys this year was notably more lively and exciting than ceremonies past. In all honesty, the Grammys had been on a steady decline in the public's consciousness these past few years. However the 67th Grammy Awards has injected new life into the show, with some of the best and most diverse performances we’ve seen in years!
