All the best moments from the 66th GRAMMY Awards
From Paramore to Laufey, here is a rundown of the top GRAMMY moments that you need to know.
Photo: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
Music’s biggest night – the GRAMMY Awards – was filled with its share of wins and iconic moments for a year full of powerhouse stars. Didn’t have time to watch the ceremony or simply want a shortened version with highlights from your fave indie, alternative, rock artists and beyond? We’ve got you covered!
The 66th annual Grammy Awards began with a pre-show that contained awards for the numerous categories that were not going to be shown on the main broadcast. Accompanied by a handful of performances, it highlighted genres spanning from rock, jazz, alternative and more.
A rising star in the jazz world with a tinge of pop in her repertoire, Laufey performed her hit single From The Start, shortly thereafter winning her first-ever Grammy for ‘Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album’ (Bewitched) following her performance. She also performed with Billy Joel at the main ceremony as a member of his string ensemble for his debut performance of Turn the Lights Back On; his first single in over 30 years. Laufey can be spotted playing the cello adjacent to Joel.
Photo: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
Making an appearance to accept their awards, indie supergroup boygenius won three awards in the pre-show telecast: Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Alternative Album for the record. They did not win in their nominated fields in the main ceremony; however, member Phoebe Bridgers received a fourth award for Best Pop/Duo Performance for Ghost In The Machine with SZA. It is the first time Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker have won.
While they did not make an appearance at the awards show, Paramore swept their awards. Winning ‘Best Rock Album’ for This Is Why and ‘Best Alternative Music Performance’ for the titular track, it marks the second and third win in their career. It is also the first time in GRAMMY history a female-fronted rock band has won the award, and marks their most recent win since winning in 2014.
Before winning at the main ceremony, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas accepted their award for What Was I Made For? in the category of Best Song Written for Visual Media. They would go on to win ‘Song of the Year’, a song writing award (we know it’s confusing), for the song as well. Run the Jewels member Killer Mike won three awards, including ‘Best Rap Album’, all of which were announced during the pre-show telecast.
Photo: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
SZA had an impressive night with nine nominations — the most of anyone — and winning two. Pop-rock darling Olivia Rodrigo didn’t win any awards but received six nominations for her singles and second album GUTS. Bleachers frontman and renowned producer Jack Antonoff walked away with two wins, including ‘Album of the Year’ as a producer of Taylor Swift’s Midnights. Previous AOTY winner and singer-songwriter Jon Batiste had six nominations and contributed to the In Memoriam segment. The aforementioned segment highlighted the late rock legend Tina Turner with a performance by Fantasia. Sinéad O'Connor was honoured with a performance by Annie Lennox from Eurthymics, who, during her tribute, became the first artist to call for a ceasefire on a public stage, following in O’Connor’s steps of bringing world issues to the stage.
Luke Combs performed Fast Car as a duet with the song’s original artist, singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, who hadn’t been seen on stage in years. Proclaiming it was his favourite song “...before [I] even knew what a favourite song was”, he acknowledged the honour of sharing the stage with her after his cover of the song became a success. Later on in the night, folk legend Joni Mitchell made her debut GRAMMYs performance with a rendition of Both Sides, Now; a song that uplifted her career and remains a classic decades later. She was introduced by Americana artist Brandi Carlile, who played guitar and performed backing vocals. Also making his debut Grammy performance was Nigerian singer and world music superstar Burna Boy, with a rendition of his song Sittin’ on Top of the World, with appearances from Brandy and 21 Savage.
While the night is always a source of debate (and sometimes just criticism from fans and critics alike), it remains music’s biggest night as artists from all different genres, backgrounds, and places in the industry gather to attend the show. This year saw a few victories from artists we know and love, along with some new faces.
A full list of winners and nominees is available on the GRAMMYs website. The Indie Scene is not affiliated with the Grammys or any artists mentioned in this article.
