Snubs, outfit changes and a surprise clean sweep: Inside the 2022 Grammys
This year’s Grammys rocked to the tune of onstage energy and award upsets.
Red carpet fashion risks, roaring standing ovations, emotional tributes and some good old talented showmanship.
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards were held in Las Vegas for the first time in the show’s history, and, like a hens party with no budget, guests were there to kick their heels up and have a good time. Suffice to say, the Recording Academy took full advantage of the chance to play Vegas.
What the Grammys ceremony might have lacked in surprise controversy – it has been barely a week since the slap that derailed the Oscars – it made up for in onstage energy and award upsets, as well as a steady stream of Oscar-related jokes.
In his opening address, host Trevor Noah told the crowd: “We’re gonna be singing, we’re gonna be dancing and we’re gonna be keeping people’s names out of our mouths” – a reference to Will Smith shouting an instruction to Chris Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f..cking mouth” moments after the actor had slapped the comedian for making a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Despite notable absences from industry superstars such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce, who skipped the ceremony, plenty of big and buzzy names from across the generations descended on Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.
And some really did descend. Hours after making a full recovery from Covid-19, Jungkook of K-pop band BTS cascaded down from the ceiling, secret agent style, as part of the group’s electrifying performance of hit single Butter.
There were plenty of ascents too, particularly on the red carpet. The Grammy Awards has a reputation for producing some of the circuit’s most eccentric fashion moments and the 64th edition of music’s night of nights didn’t disappoint.
Billie Eilish, who was nominated for six awards but took home none (the pop sensation won five awards at the 2020 ceremony with her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), wore one of the evening’s most polarising looks, a deconstructed oversized suit from American designer Rick Owens’s autumn-winter 2022 collection, complete with Matrix-style spectacles.
Fashion buffs were quick to hype Dua Lipa’s homage to 1990s supermodel Cindy Crawford; the British pop star was styled in the bondage-inspired Versace gown worn by Crawford at the 1992 Video Music Awards.
But everyone knows it’s the performances that keep viewers plugged into the Grammys.
This year, Gen Z pop sensations Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X and Eilish delivered some of the evening’s most memorable productions. For her rendition of her hit Happier Than Ever alongside brother and best new artist nominee Finneas, Eilish changed out of her red carpet look and into a T-shirt printed with the face of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to attend before the shock death of Hawkins on March 25.
The academy staged a tribute to the musician, while the band scooped up three gongs, including one for best rock performance, eclipsing Australia’s AC/DC who had been nominated alongside the Foo Fighters for rock performance and rock album.
Rodrigo, who took home Grammys for best pop vocal album, best new artist and best pop solo performance, began singing her viral hit Drivers License from inside a Mercedes. Animated by emotion fuelled by teenage heartbreak the 19-year-old artist demonstrated why she’s the new princess of pop.
It may be a firm fan favourite but boy band BTS was unable to bag the one Grammy it was in the running for as rap powerhouses Doja Cat and SZA deservedly claimed best pop/duo group performance. But bands such as BTS trade in TikTok followers (BTS has 48 million on the platform), not necessarily Grammys nods. And its performance on the night underscored that, Grammy or no Grammy, it remains the most popular musical act in the world.
Of course, there’s social media popularity and then there’s genuine influence of the kind jazz legend Tony Bennett has bestowed on the music industry. Eight months after retiring from the stage (last year the 95-year-old crooner revealed he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease) Bennett appeared via video link to introduce close friend and collaborator Lady Gaga, who gave a classy, Broadway-worthy performance of some of Bennett’s greatest hits, including their collaboration Love For Sale.
In a moment that bordered on surreal among the glitz and glamour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a prerecorded video plea for support for his country, and that the music industry “fill the silence”.
“Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos,” Zelensky said, ahead of a tribute performance by John Legend joined on stage by three Ukrainian artists: singer Mika Newton, Siuzanna Iglidan, who played a traditional Ukrainian folk instrument called the bandura, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuck.
It didn’t take long for the sober tone to change via a multi-generational performance by R&B songstress H.E.R., who teamed up with Lenny Kravitz to perform a medley that included Damage, We Made It and the 1990s megahit Are You Gonna Go My Way.
The Grammys haven’t been spared the criticism plaguing governing bodies behind the entertainment industry’s biggest awards. The Recording Academy has copped flak for snubbing cutting-edge artists in favour of more conventional acts.
This year it was rapper Drake’s turn to snub the Grammys, withdrawing his album Certified Lover Boy from consideration in what appears to be a protest against the list of nominees. (Critics have suggested the Canadian artist’s wins, lagging behind peers such as Kanye West and Jay-Z, might have more to do with it.)
As for the upsets, Jon Batiste’s win for album of the year surprised just about everyone, beating out those with shorter odds including Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X.
Of the handful of Australians nominated this year – alongside AC/DC were The Kid Laroi in the new artist category and Nick Cave for recording package – all went home empty-handed with the exception of dance act Rufus Du Sol, which took home best dance/electronic recording – the group’s first Grammy. The trio from Sydney trumped big names on the dance music scene including James Blake, Caribou, Tiesto, Bonobo and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to take the honour.
No doubt they will celebrating their win through the night, perhaps alongside the triumphant Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, who promised “drinks on (their act) Silk Sonic” after winning four from four including the big gong for song of the year for their track Leave the Door Open.
Or so we can only imagine and may never really know.
What happens in Vegas, right?
BIG WINNERS
● ALBUM OF THE YEAR We Are – Jon Batiste
● RECORD OF THE YEAR Leave the Door Open – Silk Sonic
● POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE Kiss Me More – Doja Cat featuring Sza
● POP VOCAL ALBUM Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
● R&B ALBUM Heaux Tales – Jazmine Sullivan
● NEW ARTIST: Olivia Rodrigo
● SONG OF THE YEAR Leave the Door Open – Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II and Bruno Mars, songwriters (Silk Sonic)
● COUNTRY ALBUM Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
● TRADITIONAL POP ALBUM Love for Sale – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
● POP SOLO PERFORMANCE Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo
● GLOBAL MUSIC ALBUM Mother Nature – Angelique Kidjo
● RAP PERFORMANCE Hurricane – Kanye West featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby
● JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM Songwrights Apothecary Lab – Esperanza Spalding
● RAP ALBUM Call Me If You Get Lost – Tyler, The Creator
● ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM Daddy’s Home – St Vincent
● ROCK ALBUM Medicine at Midnight – Foo Fighters
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