Beyoncé ties Grammys record; Bad Bunny gets crowd dancing
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé has tied the late Georg Solti for the most wins in Grammys history after she took home three awards Sunday during the show’s ceremony.
The superstar singer has now won 31 awards, bringing her one last step closer to become the most decorated artist in the show’s history. She won for best dance-electronic music recording category for “Break My Soul,” traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and R&B song for “Cuff It,” which was written by several writers including Beyoncé, The-Dream, Nile Rodgers, Raphael Saadiq.
Host Trevor Noah said Beyoncé was on her way to the ceremony but blamed Los Angeles traffic for not being in person to accept it. By the time Harry Styles took the stage to perform his megahit “As It Was,” Beyoncé and Jay-Z had arrived and were looking on in the audience.
Solti, a Hungarian-British conductor, also has 31 Grammys. He’s held on to the record since 1997.
Bad Bunny opened the Grammy Awards with a festive, high-energy performance that brought many of the audience including Taylor Swift who rose to her feet and danced near her table.
Noah introduced Bunny calling him a “global force” who is the most streamed and listened to artist in the world.
By the time the show started on CBS, Beyoncé had already won two Grammys. Beyoncé entered Sunday’s ceremony as the leading nominee including album, song and record of the year. If she wins in any of those major categories, it’ll be her first since since she received the song of the year honor for “Single Ladies” in 2010.
Styles won the main telecast’s first award for best pop vocal album for “Harry’s House.” The singer said recording the song was one of the “greatest experiences of my life. It’s been my greatest joy.”
Sam Smith and Kim Petras won best pop duo-group performance for their song “Unholy.” Petras said Smith wanted Petras to make the acceptance speech because “I’m the first transgender woman to win this award.”
“I want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” said Petras, who made a reference to friend and Grammy-nominated musician Sophie, who died after an accidental fall in Athens, Greece in 2021. “You told me this would happen. I always believed in me. Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music.”
Petras thanked Madonna for being a tremendous supporter of LGBTQ rights.
“I don’t think I could be here without Madonna,” Petras said. “My mother, I grew up next to a highway in nowhere Germany. And my mother believed me that I was a girl. I wouldn’t be here without her and her support.”
Viola Davis emerged from Sunday’s show an EGOT — a term for those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — after her win for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording. The actor gave an emotional speech and emphatically said “I just EGOT” after she marched on stage to collect her award.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her, her life, her joy, her trauma, everything,” Davis said. “It has just been such a journey.”
Tattered streetwear, T-shirts and denim mixed with blinged-out couture, wild patterns and plenty of skin on the Grammys carpet. Lizzo wowed in a bright orange Dolce & Gabbana robe adorned with flowers and a huge hood while Taylor Swift wore a long two-piece sparkly skirt with a high-neck and long-sleeve crop top in midnight blue.
Brandi Carlile made a rare appearance during the pre-telecast for a major artist. The singer showed up after her song “Broke Horses” won for best rock performance and best rock song, a songwriter’s award, and best Americana album.
“It’s rock ‘n’ roll, man,” said a smiling Carlile, who jogged on stage with a couple of her band members. “I cannot tell you how much this means to us. We’re born and raised in Seattle. When I met these guys 22 years ago we decided to get into a band.”
Carlile co-wrote “Broken Horses” with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth.
“Oh my God, this is amazing,” she said. “Oh, I’ll never be the same.”
Kendrick Lamar extended his record in the best rap performance category with his sixth career trophy for “The Heart Part 5,” which also recognized his songwriting as a victor for best rap song.
The Tennessee State University Marching Band beat out the likes of Willie Nelson to win best roots gospel album for “The Urban Hymnal.” The band’s nomination marked the first time a college marching band had been nominated in the category.
Sir the Baptist accepted the award for the band, using his acceptance speech to highlight how underfunded historically Black colleges and universities like Tennessee State are, saying he had to “put my last dime in order to get us across the line.”
Noah returned for a third time to host the telecast live from downtown Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
But with 91 Grammy categories, most of the awards were given out during the Recording Academy’s livestreamed Premiere Ceremony.
There could be many other firsts: If Bad Bunny wins album of the year for “Un Verano Sin Ti,” it would be the first time a Spanish-language album has taken home the top honor. Taylor Swift, whose latest album “Midnights” wasn’t eligible for this year’s Grammys, could win her first song of the year trophy for “All Too Well.” An Adele win for song of the year for her track “Easy on Me” would make her the most decorated artist in the category with three wins, the others coming for her megahits “Hello” and “Rolling in the Deep.”
This year’s Grammys have also introduced several new categories, including one for video game music composition, which went to the soundtrack for “Assassins Creed: Valhalla.”
Ozzy Osbourne won two Grammys, cementing the metal god’s late-career rejuvenation. “Degradation Rules” by Ozzy Osbourne featuring Tony Iommi won the best metal performance and his album “Patient Number 9” won best rock album.
Earlier this year, Osbourne announced the cancellation of his 2023 tour dates in the U.K. and continental Europe and that his health would likely prevent him from touring again.
This year’s show marks a return to Los Angeles after the pandemic first delayed, then forced the Grammys to move to Las Vegas last year. Noah hosted the ceremony as well, which saw Jon Batiste take home album of the year.
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AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy contributed to this report.
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