By Solé Scott
Editor-in-Chief
Beyonce during her Grammy acceptance speech for Album of the Year.
My goodness has this been a whirlwind night as the 61st Grammy awards premiered with a mission to honor the Los Angeles fires.
Sunday Feb. 2 was the most anticipated day so far as musical artists arrived to compete for a golden gramophone.
Nine out of 94 categories were broadcast during the live television slot. The 85 remaining categories were included in the pre-show.
The first winner of the 61st Grammy awards was none other than Sabrina Carpenter for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Now, the start of the award show was moving along swiftly until Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori made an uninvited appearance on the red carpet.
Censori wore a big fur coat as she posed with West when out of nowhere, she took off the coat to reveal her nakedness. The deplorable action was the biggest reason to kick them out before entering the venue.
Once that fiasco was over, the red carpet continued until another incident occurred when The Associated Press was interviewing music legend Babyface when one of the interviewers rudely interrupted him mid-sentence to get the attention of Chappell Roan, who they wanted to interview.
My favorite performances of the night were Doechii, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish.
Doechii put on a stellar performance where she performed “CATFISH” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER” after winning Best Rap album. She is the third woman to win since 1989.
Sabrina Carpenter mixed comedy with an amazing production as she performed a melody of hits from “Short n’ Sweet.”
Raye was the best vocalist of the night as she sang her hit song “Oscar Winning Tears.” The power of her notes gave me goosebumps.
Lastly, Billie Eillish because she is one of my favorite artists and she, with her brother Finneas, sang “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”
The women were running this show in not only performances but in all categories. Seems as though men have not made an impact on music from 2023-2024.
What annoyed me was the host, Trevor Noah. I usually like the comedian but this time I was thrown off by his dull jokes and him constantly obsessing over Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
Also, I was shocked when Noah revealed that $7 million was raised during the 4-hour broadcast. I assumed more would be raised considering there were billionaires in attendance and an estimation of $5-10 billion as a collective.
Finally, Beyoncé won Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter. This is the major award where she has been snubbed since 2009. Now, she joins Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston and Lauryn Hill as the only four Black women to win.
I really wished she would have won for “Beyoncé” or “Renaissance,” which seemed like the true winners in her discography for Album of the Year. Nevertheless, she has the award and has extended her record of most Grammys with 35.
