Beyonce accepts the award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for "Renaissance" during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters
At the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, first lady Jill Biden presented an award and rapper Jay-Z performed. The two have something in common: they’re both married to one of the most powerful people in America.
On Sunday night, Beyoncé (married to Jay-Z, of course) took home four trophies, bringing her all-time Grammy wins to 32 golden gramophones – which makes her the most-awarded artist of all time. Nominated for nine awards this year, the superstar singer eclipsed the previous benchmark achieved by late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who has 31 Grammys to his name.
“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” she said on Sunday. “I’m trying to just receive this night.” Beyoncé won awards for Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best R&B Song and Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Beyoncé makes history at Grammy Awards; Harry Styles wins album of the year
Meanwhile, Ms. Biden was on hand to present a new special merit award recognizing a song for social change (won by Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour for his protest anthem Baraye) and Record of the Year (won by Lizzo for her song About Damn Time.)
What follows are the best moments and the most unfortunate ones, along with notable quotes and achievements by Canadians.
The Good
Inclusivity on display: Rapper Bad Bunny opened the broadcast with a party-starting performance celebrating his Puerto Rican culture with a parade of heroes that included a giant-headed likeness of baseball legend Roberto Clemente. Brandi Carlile, who performed her Grammy-winning song Broken Horses, was introduced by her wife and two children. Kim Petras became the second trans woman to win a Grammy, and delivered a powerful acceptance speech for her Best Pop Duo trophy for Unholy with Sam Smith.
Bad Bunny accepts the award Best Musica Urbana Album for Un Verano Sin Ti during the 65th annual Grammy Awards.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters
Trevor Noah’s best: Hosting his third straight gala, the South African comedian was likeable and unobtrusive as he delivered safe zingers. Noah said Bad Bunny’s album Un Verano Sin Ti was so good “it made Trump want to learn Spanish.” On the other hand, early on he said that Beyoncé was in the house, which confused everyone because she was nowhere to be seen. Minutes later, when Beyoncé failed to accept her award for Best R&B Song, Noah explained that she was stuck in traffic but “on her way.” (She eventually showed up more than an hour late.)
In memoriam: A tasteful segment dedicated to the musicians and music industry people lost over the past year began with Kacey Musgraves singing Coal Miner’s Daughter in tribute to country music icon Loretta Lynn. Musgraves appeared to be playing Lynn’s Gibson J-50 acoustic guitar. The segment closed with Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt duetting on the late Christine McVie’s Songbird, with McVie’s Fleetwood Mac bandmate Mick Fleetwood on a handheld drum. “For you,” Crow sang, “there’ll be no more crying.”
Hip hop turns 50: The Recording Academy celebrated five decades of hip hop at the Grammys with a star-studded extravaganza performance by genre giants such as Missy Elliott, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, Queen Latifah, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim, Ice-T and more.
The Bad
Chris Martin played cold: The gaunt, scruffy Coldplay frontman wore a floppy toque for the occasion and looked like he just rolled out of bed.
If at first you don’t succeed, fail again: Accepting the trophy for Ozzy Osbourne’s Best Metal Performance win, producer Andrew Watt delivered a foul-mouthed message from the absent Osbourne. Then, when Osbourne’s Patient Number 9 won Best Rock Album, Watt referred to album contributor Jeff Beck as the “greatest guitar player alive,” even though Beck died last month. The odd quips took place during the streamed afternoon pre-ceremony, in advance of the primetime telecast.
The Quotes
Viola Davis: “I just EGOT!” Accepting the award for her narration of her memoir Finding Me at the afternoon premiere ceremony, the actress excitably noted her inclusion into the ranks of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners.
Lizzo’s special delivery: Backed by a gospel choir, singer Lizzo delivered an ecstatic version of her empowering song Special. Afterward, host Noah described her accurately: “If dopamine was a person.”
Lizzo performs at the 65th annual Grammy Awards.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
Surprise of the night: When Bonnie Raitt learned she’d won Song of the Year for Just Like That, viewers could see the veteran singer-songwriter mouth the words “You’re kidding me” while she sat at her table.
The Canadians
Shania of Green Gables: Fittingly, Shania Twain wore a bright red hairdo to present the country album award, won by Willie Nelson (a.k.a. the Red Headed Stranger).
Shania Twain presents an award during the 65th annual Grammy Awards.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters
Yannick Nézet-Séguin: The conductor-pianist, who just signed a contract extension with the Philadelphia Orchestra that will keep him at the podium through at least the end of the 2029-30 season, won for Best Opera Recording for his conducting of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and for his piano accompaniment with American soprano Renée Fleming on Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, chosen Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
Michael Bublé reigns supreme: The British Columbian crooner won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Higher over contenders that included Diana Ross, who still has never won a competitive Grammy.
Tobias Jesso Jr. writes the songs that make Harry Styles sing: The North Vancouver singer-songwriter earned a prestigious new award, Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical. Jesso Jr. was part of the team behind the Album of the Year, Harry Styles’s Harry’s House.
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