The 61st Grammys witnessed a star-studded celebration of music, with even the former first lady, Michelle Obama, taking to the stage on music’s biggest night. This year’s Best Rap Album Grammy was bagged by Cardi B, making her the first female rapper to receive the honour. Kacey Musgraves won Album of the Year for Golden Hour
The 61st Grammys were aired live on Sunday from Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Hosted by American singer-songwriter Alicia Key, the event unveiled a grand celebration of what is regarded as music’s biggest night. Former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, joined the host Alicia Key, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jennifer Lopez onstage, opening the musical night with women power. Explaining the true power of music, Michelle Obama said, “Music helps us share ourselves… It allows us to hear one another.”
This was followed by American singer-songwriter, Lady Gaga taking home the first Grammy of the night for the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the duet ‘Shallow’ from the movie, A Star is Born. Accepting the award on behalf of both herself and co-star Bradley Cooper, Gaga reasserted the need to talk about mental health, an issue raised by the film. She said, “A lot of artists deal with that… If you see someone that’s hurting, don’t look away.”
The event was studded with several mesmerising performances by some of the biggest and most talented musical stars on Sunday. One of the most memorable performances of the night would have to be the grand tribute given to legendary singer Dolly Parton. Her musical legacy was traced by various performers of all ages, who joined Dolly Parton in singing some of her biggest hits. Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Little Big Town all joined the singer onstage.
Reasserting the obvious answer to host Alicia Key’s question, “who runs the world?”, at the beginning of the show, this year’s Grammys were conquered by women. While Cardi B became the first woman to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album, American singer H.E.R. was honoured with the Grammy for Best R&B Album.
The night was concluded with another big win for the women in music as Kacey Musgraves won the Grammy for Album of the Year for Golden Hour. In her acceptance speech, the singer thanked her sister for shooting and designing the album’s cover. She added, “Life is pretty tumultuous for all of us right now… and because of that, I feel like art is really important right now”.