Here’s What Happened at the 2023 Grammys
Words Erika PR
Pictured: LizzoMusic’s most prestigious night of the year, the 65th Grammy Awards show was held in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday 5th February 2023 and hosted by the Daily Show’s former host, Trevor Noah.
Pictured: Crypto.com ArenaThe televised ceremony featured several performances from acts including Harry Styles, Bad Bunny (who kicked off the night), Mary J. Blige, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton, DJ Khaled, and Luke Combs.
Pictured: Stevie WonderThe first award of the night for the best pop vocal album was won by wonderboy Harry Styles, who first shot to fame as one-fifth of the boy band One Direction. The’ As It Was’ singer credited his best friends for being part of the album-making process. We couldn’t be happier for Harry!
Congratulations were in order for the two women who made history on the night; none other than Beyoncé and Viola Davis.
Beyoncé picked up 4 awards (for best R&B song, best dance/electronic recording, best dance/electronic album and best traditional R&B performance), earning her the title of most awarded artist in Grammy history, with a total of 32 awards.
Davis earned herself EGOT status, becoming the 18th person and the third black woman to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. She completed her collection by winning “best audiobook” for her autobiography Finding Me. She now joins the legendary Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudsonan in an extremely exclusive club of award winners who have each won the top four American entertainment awards. We just love women who win!!
Quavo took the stage with Grammy-award-winning gospel group Maverick City in a heart-moving tribute to his nephew Takeoff, who passed away in November. Emotions were high as Quavo dedicated the song “Without You,” to his late group member, followed by a beautiful rendition of Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa’s ‘See You Again,’ backed by Maverick City. The hairs were standing at the back of our necks at the perfect execution, which truly paid homage to one of the hip-hop industry’s greats.
The ceremony also honoured other musicians who passed with a segment which featured Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt playing songs popularised by Loretta Lynn and Christine McVie.
Whilst Lizzo (everyone’s favourite bestie), paid tribute to Prince and Beyoncé. “When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music,” she mused during her acceptance speech after winning record of the year, and similarly gushed as she also thanked Beyoncé and described her as “the artist of our lives.”
Congratulations to Samara Joy, who won the best new act award which has previously been awarded to Billie Eilish, Lauryn Hill, Adele and Chance the Rapper. We can't wait to see what comes from Miss Joy here onwards. She’s definitely one to look out for.
Other notable winners of the night included Kendrick Lemar who won the best rap performance, best rap song and best rap album. In his acceptance speech, he thanked the culture for allowing him to ‘evolve.’
This year, the Recording Academy introduced a new award to celebrate those who have made a significant contribution to black music named The Dr Dre Global Impact award, which Dr Dre himself took home. The Academy also hosted a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. LL Cool J, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, Glorilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel, Scorpio, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, the Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, DJ Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort joined the Grammys in tribute to the genre.
And last but not least, the greatest meme to come out of this year’s Grammys: Ben Affleck's exasperated look on his face throughout the show. Twitter came through with the tweets and we have been cackling ever since. Keep scrolling for some of our favourite tweets and stay tuned for our best-dressed list.