2021 Grammy Awards

By Luca Medina-Downs

The 63rd annual Grammy Awards took place March 14, 2021 on CBS and were hosted by Trevor Noah in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center. The awards ceremony was held with increased precautions and protocols due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The show lacked a live audience, and limited numbers of performers were in attendance. Several inspired performances from Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, DaBaby and more took place throughout the show, including the television debut of Silk Sonic, the acclaimed duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. Moving tributes to departed artists like Little Richard, John Prine, Kenny Rogers, and Gerry Marsden also took place as part of the “In Memoriam” segment. Eilish took home Record of the Year with “everything i wanted,” Album of the Year was awarded to Swift for “Folklore,” and H.E.R won Song of the Year with “I Can’t Breathe”.

As a year of many firsts for the Grammys, several records were broken over the course of the evening. Beyoncé won her 28th Grammy with the song “Savage” with Megan Thee Stallion, making her the most awarded woman in Grammy history. Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for the third time, becoming the first female artist to do so.

The ceremonies were not without its fair share of controversy, however. The performance of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s hit song “WAP” garnered over 1,000 FCC complaints due to its vulgar nature. A push for equality and transparency about voting practices were also a concern among minorities. One high-profile case was The Weeknd’s dissatisfaction with his perceived exclusion from the awards. 2020 was a banner year for the singer with his record-breaking album “After Hours,” but he received no nominations, prompting him to tweet at the Grammys, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans, and the industry transparency.” BTS also expressed frustration with the lack of representation at the awards ceremony, claiming that they were “used” for their inclusion in the show when their performance was slotted near the end of the show.