Rodrigo’s Grammy whammy produces another smash hit
Winning big at the Grammys proved too much for Gen Z pop star Olivia Rodrigo, who dropped one of her trophies while posing backstage, breaking the award in half.
Winning big at the Grammys proved too much for Gen Z pop star Olivia Rodrigo, who dropped one of her trophies while posing backstage, breaking the award in half.
Following her third and final win at the 64th annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, the 19-year-old was juggling her awards when one of them fell, snapping the sound horn from the gramophone-shaped trophy.
Rodrigo won her three awards from seven nominations for best pop vocal album, best new artist and best pop solo performance for her smash hit Drivers License.
Her win for best new artist edged out Australian favourite The Kid Laroi, nominated for two awards.
After a two-month delay due to the pandemic, the Grammys were back in a big way with star studded-performances, outrageous fashion, and a surprise appearance from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was expected to be a successful event for Australian music, with rock legends AC/DC earning three nominations alongside nods for Nick Cave, electronic group Rufus Du Sol, neo-soul favourites Hiatus Kaiyote and The Kid Laroi.
Rufus Du Sol collected the best dance/electronic recording, but the awards stopped rolling for Australia after that.
In the categories for best rock album and best rock performance, AC/DC lost to Foo Fighters, the band picking up three awards in the wake of drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death last month.
The Aussie rock veterans also lost out in the music video category to Jon Batiste – the bandleader from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert – who dominated with four wins from 11 nominations, including album of the year.
“I believe this to my core, there is no best musician, artist, dancer, actor,” he said. “The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most.
“I just put my head down and work on the craft every day.”
The Kid Laroi – the 18-year-old from Sydney picked by superstar Justin Bieber to collaborate on his single Stay – missed out in his two nominated categories for best new artist and for his contribution to Bieber’s album.
Song of the year and record of the year were won by Leave the Door Open by Silk Sonic, made up of Grammys favourites Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak.
The night took a sober turn when the Ukrainian President made a surprise appearance and urged viewers not to stay silent about the Russian invasion of his country.
“Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos,” Mr Zelensky said via videolink. “They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.”
