On Feb. 1, the 68th Grammys were held. From controversial winners, emotional speeches and messy performances, this year’s Grammys were a night to remember.
The night began with the highly anticipated red carpet. Starting with Chappell Roan, she wore a scandalous red dress that showcased her upper body as her dress was draped off her by her chest piercings. Chappell is known for her extravagant red carpet looks, but this one takes the cake for being the most risky. Zara Larsson, whose career has recently been revived, wore a beautiful glittery golden two-piece that made her shine on the carpet. Sombr stunned the paparazzi with his disco ball suit, but the outfit was not a shock to any of his fans. The person with the best look of the night was Olivia Dean. She came dressed to impress in an elegant white gown with a feather top.
Performance-wise, this year was a mess. Lola Young attempted to perform a sad rendition of her hit song “Messy,” but the lyrics aren’t emotional enough for that kind of performance. Alex Warren performed his viral song “Ordinary,” but unfortunately, his earpiece malfunction caused him to chase the beat for most of the song. It wasn’t Justin Bieber’s actual performance that made it bad; it was his outfit. He’s old enough to know that you should throw something over your boxers when you’re performing at the Grammys.
However, not all performances this year were bad. Sabrina Carpenter performed her recent single “Manchild” and dazzled the audience with her impressive airport set and real-life dove prop, but the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) definitely didn’t feel the same. Although Addison Rae can utilize her great performance skills, she does not have any vocal control. Most people did not appreciate her performance, but with time, she can build up her endurance and gain the potential to be a bigger star.
Trevor Noah hosting usually feels way too nice, especially with his jokes, but since this is his last year hosting the Grammys, he was a lot more unfiltered. Between singing a duet with Bad Bunny and making a diss at Nicki Minaj, his hosting abilities brought raw personality and audaciousness to this year’s ceremony.
Many celebrities, such as Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean, chose to use their speeches as an opportunity to speak out against the current ICE raids going on. Jelly Roll took a different route and gave a passionate speech about how he was struggling with addiction before his wife and religion came into his life.
Moving on to winners, Billie Eilish did not have a much-deserved win. While she was snubbed last year at the Grammys for her album “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” it’s unfair that the Grammys allows people to release their songs as singles and be eligible for an award even if it has been over a year after it was released. “Wildflower” was barely the song of the year in 2024, let alone this year.
While there were many awards that Tyler, The Creator should’ve won that night, the one he did win, best album cover, was not deserved. Bad Bunny’s album “DeBÍ TiRAR Más FOToS” was the better candidate, in my opinion, because the story it told was effortlessly relatable to a huge audience. Bad Bunny won many Grammys that night, including best global music performance, but he became the first artist to have an entirely Spanish album win album of the year. Lola Young won her first Grammy award, but her win snubbed Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Even if “Messy” was a major hit for the new artist, she didn’t hold a candle to “Subway” by Chappell Roan or “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter.
One of the best parts of the night was Harry Styles coming back and strutting out to “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” by Raye before announcing Album of the Year. Harry Styles, coming out with not just a new single but a new album as well, will hopefully see some Grammy nominations next year.
Collectively, this year’s Grammys were an amusing show filled with entertaining performances and contradicting wins.
