YOUR GRAMMy's RUNDOWN

The GRAMMYs are easily the most important music award show that takes place all year. But with all of the categories (83 in all!) and controversies, it's easy to get lost. Don't worry if you feel behind- here's everything important that happened during 2022's GRAMMYs.

Leading up to this year’s 64th annual GRAMMY Awards, many music fans were speculating that Olivia Rodigro could be in the running to sweep many of the major awards with hits off of her debut album, Sour.

As many were anticipating, Olivia Rodrigo was, in fact, chosen as this year's best new artist. This decision was probably the most obvious, but I feel she also definitely deserves the award. Over the past year, Rodrigo has dominated the charts after only releasing her viral debut single, "drivers license," in January of 2021.

It's nothing new for a Disney star to seamlessly transition to pop stardom, but Rodrigo's impact is unprecedented. For a few examples, Rodrigo broke a record previously held by Taylor Swift for most songs by a female artist in the Billboard Top 10 at one time. Rodrigo had eight songs in the Top 10 at once, while Swift had held the record for six. Additionally, Rodrigo made headlines for breaking the Spotify record for most streams in a day with her song 'drivers license' being played 17 million times in a day on the popular streaming service.

In addition to this esteemed award, Rodrigo also took home the award for Best Pop Solo Performance for her infamous song "drivers license."

This decision was seemingly more contentious than the last. Up against chart-topping megastars like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Billie Eilish, it's very notable that Rodrigo was selected as the winner in this category, but considering the impact that this song made, it definitely makes sense. And regardless, Rodrigo's emotionally raw and authentic vocal delivery on the record is certainly worthy of recognition.

In a similar vein, another female pop act took home an award for another record-shattering viral song. Singers Doja Cat and SZA received the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for their hit single "Kiss Me More," and I feel that they are very deserving. Although many speculated that the Academy would favor revered vocal legend Tony Bennett for his collaboration with Lady Gaga, it makes sense that the two female pop stars took home this award.

Kiss Me More is an upbeat and undeniably-catchy song that dominated the Billboard hot 100 becoming the longest-running song by a female act in the Top 10 of all time. The vocal and rap delivery on the track is fun and easygoing, and I am personally a fan of the song.

Interestingly, in the major categories, the nominations put many of today's young stars, like Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, and Lil Nas X, up against veterans like Tony Bennet and ABBA. Many fans were eager to speculate about whether the GRAMMYs would lean towards favoring their youthful rising stars or the revered stars of the past.

However, this debate went unsettled since in multiple major categories, a less anticipated act received recognition. Surprisingly, Silk Sonic's hit song, "Leave The Door Open,” swept two major categories. This ubiquitous RnB collaboration took the title of record of the year, a production and recording award, and song of the year, a songwriting award. This is a major accomplishment for singers Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak who make up the award-winning RnB group.

In my opinion, this laidback retro song undoubtedly deserves the recognition it has received from the Recording Academy. As an occasional listener of the song, I can definitely speak to its quality songwriting as it always gets stuck in my head whenever I listen to it.

In another major category -arguably the most prestigious- another less anticipated nominee walked away with the award. John Batiste's "We Are" was selected as this year's album of the year, and this decision left many viewers asking, 'who?'

For the unfamiliar, John Batiste is a singer and jazz pianist known for being the musical director and bandleader of Stephen Colbert's band on his late-night show. His music is typically a mix of RnB, soul, and New Orleans jazz. He also received an Academy Award for composing the music for Pixar's 2020 film, Soul. His most recent album, We Are, released in March 2021, incorporates Batiste's soulful singing voice, as well as rapping, and virtuosic piano playing, over an eclectic yet harmonious mixture of energetic gospel, funk, jazz, and hip-hop.

While the album was received positively by critics, I feel like the cultural impact of this album was weaker compared to other nominees. However, I can understand why it won the category, and I certainly believe Batiste deserves the recognition he received for his evident musical talent and bold experimentation.