On Sunday night, people across the nation tuned in for the 2019 Grammys hosted by Alicia Keys. The three and a half hour long show consisted of many memorable highs and lows along with a few surprising no-shows from big performers.
To kick off the recap of the night, is a review of Alicia Keys as host. Across multiple media platforms, Keys was praised for a spectacular hosting performance. The role of hosting is often subject to scrutiny and comes with little thanks. It’s a job that requires high energy and the ability to captivate.
However at the 2019 Grammys, laid back and confident, critics say Keys flawlessly handled the Grammy’s with her storytelling and musical abilities. Especially memorable was her performance on two pianos at once, covering songs by Nat King Cole, Roberta Flack, Ella Mai and finishing off strong with her own song, “Empire State of Mind.”
All in all, it was a big night for women, a turn from last year’s 2018 Grammys.
Kacey Musgraves’ night has been dubbed her “Golden Night” as she went home with four Grammys, including Album of the Year (for Golden Hour), Best Country Album, Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Musgraves was humble when she took the stage to accept her awards, speaking to the unifying power of music. Musgraves also shook the house in her elegant performance of the love song, “Rainbow” earlier that night.
Another big female victory came from Cardi B, who made history as the first woman to win Best Rap Album. According to MSN Entertainment, Cardi’s acceptance speech was one of the most genuine of the night.
Other notable women of the night included: Lady Gaga, Janelle Monae and Camilla Cabello.
Gaga’s powerhouse voice filled the room during her performance of the song “Shallow,” which she recorded with Bradley Cooper in the Oscar-nominated film “A Star is Born”.
Janelle Monae gave a brilliant performance of “Make Me Feel,” which had subtle tributes to Prince, who she collaborated with on the song before his passing.
Camilla Cabello filled the room with bright colors in her performance of “Havana” with help from Ricky Martin and J Balvin.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the night was the surprise appearance of Michelle Obama. Obama took the stage with other powerful women including Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga to speak to the power of music.
“Music helps us share ourselves,” the former First Lady said. “It allows us to hear one another. Music shows us that all of it matters, every story within every voice, every note within every song.”
While this was all positive, it would not be the Grammy’s without a few lows from the night. Most notable was the issue of Jennifer Lopez’s tribute to Motown. According to CNN Entertainment, critics were widely disappointed with the performance and Twitter thought the choice of Lopez for the tribute was just odd.
Other lows included Drake’s acceptance speech for Best Rap Song. Drake downplayed the significance of the Grammy’s speaking to the unimportance of the award before his mic was cut-off mid sentence and he walked off stage.
A few notable artists chose not to attend the Grammy’s at all, including Ariana Grande, who took to social media saying her Grammy Producer stifled her creativity and she would not be attending for that reason.
Another notable no-show was Childish Gambino, who won record of the year, best rap-sung performance and best music video for his song “This is America.”
According to Vibe Entertainment, the artist most likely chose not to attend because of the long-standing issue of misrepresentation of the Hip-Hop community at the Grammys. It is reported that Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Childish Gambino all declined offers to perform for those reasons as well.
Despite the drama, CNN Entertainment claims the Grammys did a better job representing both the Hip Hop community and women this year. Excluding the Motown tribute flop, the tributes to Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin were moving.
The hearts of the audience were also captivated by Diana Ross’s grandson who introduced her before her performance of “The Best Years of My Life” and “Reach Out and Touch.”
Ross received the Lifetime Achievement Award and proclaimed, “Happy Birthday to Me” referencing her upcoming 75th birthday in March.
