With a total of 32 trophies, US singer Beyoncé has now set a new record at the Grammy Awards. The 41-year-old superstar received four of the gramophones at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles – and is alone in first place in the all-time best list. Previously, the British-Hungarian conductor Georg Solti had held the record for the musician with the most awards with 31 Grammys.
Beyoncé doesn’t win in the main categories
“I’m trying not to get too emotional. I’m just trying to embrace this night,” Beyoncé said, visibly touched. She thanks God for protecting her and also her husband, rapper Jay-Z. Beyoncé won Best Dance Recording, Best Dance Album, Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best R&B Song at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. A drop of bitterness, however, may have been that the artist was not honored in any of the main categories.
This year’s award for the best album of the year goes to Harry Styles for his record “Harry’s House”. The 29-year-old Briton prevailed against Coldplay’s “Music Of The Spheres”, Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” and “30” by Adele, among others. “It doesn’t happen very often to people like me,” Styles said after receiving the night’s final trophy from a fan. “I am very, very grateful.” Styles performed his hit “As It Was” in a glittery silver outfit, looking a bit like a tinsel tree.
German Kim Petras wins Grammy
The gala was again moderated by comedian Trevor Noah. First Lady Jill Biden in a gold dress announced the winner of the Song of the Year category. US songwriter Bonnie Raitt received the award for “Just Like That”. The President’s wife also honored a protest song from Iran against the oppression of women. Singer Shervin Hajipur’s Iranian protest anthem “Baraye,” which touched millions during the recent wave of protests in Iran, won the Best Social Change Song category.
The German singer Kim Petras and Sam Smith (left) on the Grammy stage in Los Angeles
According to the organizer, Grammys were awarded in 91 categories this year. Cologne-born singer Kim Petras and British singer Sam Smith were awarded a Grammy for their club hit “Unholy”. This makes the 30-year-old German the first trans person in the history of the Grammys to be honored in the best pop duo category. “I just want to thank all of the incredible transgender legends ahead of me who opened these doors for me to be here tonight,” said Petras. “I grew up on a Autobahn in the middle of nowhere in Germany. And my mother believed I was a girl. Without her I wouldn’t be here.”
A short time later, Petras and Smith performed “Unholy” on the Grammy stage – Petras in a cage, Sam Smith and the dancers dressed as devils. “Unholy” peaked at number one in the US and UK in the fall of 2022. The song is about a family man having fun in a strip club.
US actress Viola Davis achieves “EGOT” status
Hollywood star Viola Davis has been honored with a Grammy for the audio book of her autobiography “Finding Me” and has thus achieved the so-called “EGOT” status. She is now one of the artists to have won all four major US entertainment trophies: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
US actress Viola Davis now belongs to the exclusive circle of “EGOT” status award winners
The 57-year-old beat Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jamie Foxx, Questlove and Mel Brooks in the Best Spoken Album category. In her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, she said:
“I wrote this book in honor of six-year-old Viola. In honor of her life, her joy, her trauma.”
Artists with all four awards include Audrey Hepburn, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend and Jennifer Hudson. The latter turned to her newcomer to this ranks on Twitter
inducted fellow actress: “Congratulations to a living legend. Time to celebrate!”
Artists celebrated 50 years of hip hop
Another winner of the American awards night was rapper Kendrick Lamar, who released a much-praised rap work in 2022 with “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” after previous groundbreaking albums and won three Grammys – including for best rap album.
US rapper Kendrick Lamar has won three Grammy Awards
Musician Lizzo was honored for Recording of the Year for her song “About Damn Time”. The atmosphere in the hall reached its peak with a song medley on the occasion of the “50th anniversary of hip hop”. A number of artists, including Busta Rhymes, Ice-T, Missy Elliott, Nelly and LL Cool J, performed music on stage through the history of the genre. 1973 is generally considered to be the year of birth of today’s globally popular genre of music.
In the shadow of the superstars, the German SWR Big Band has also been honored at the Grammy Awards. In the category “Best Arrangement (Instrumental or A Cappella)” the musicians from Baden-Württemberg were honored for a track from their album “Bird Lives”.
nob/gri/kt/pg (dpa, afp, rtr)
