Grammy Awards gala dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant

Singer Lizzo, a big favorite with eight nominations, opened the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening by dedicating the music industry’s awards ceremony to late basketball player Kobe Bryant. He died at 41 in a helicopter accident.

“Tonight is for Kobe,” said the rapper before starting her opening number for the evening, which was held at the famous Staples Center in Los Angeles, the very place where Kobe Bryant has played for years. during for the Lakers team.

The evening’s emcee, Alicia Keys, paid tribute to Kobe Bryant. “We are all feeling the same sadness right now,” said the singer. “Today, Los Angeles, America and the whole world has lost a hero, and we literally find ourselves here, heartbroken, in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” said Alicia Keys, before intoning a poignant version of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye”, accompanied by the soul group Boys II Men.

Dozens of admirers, often in tears, gathered Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant outside the stadium, while the first prizes were distributed nearby, at the Microsoft Theater.

Billie Eilish awarded

The phenomenon Lil Nas X has already pocketed his first Grammy for the video clip of his hit “Old Town Road” while Billie Eilish won Sunday the prize for “best pop vocal album” for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? “, Winning against veterans Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran.

As for Michelle Obama, she was awarded in the category of “best spoken album” for the audio book of her memoirs.

The prize list should give pride of place to new talents, in particular women, even if the show may not be enough to completely forget the serious accusations of harassment and irregularities brought against the Grammy Awards by its ex-boss, recently suspended of his functions.

Deborah Dugan says in particular that her predecessor at the head of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, raped an artist and that some votes for the Grammy nominations were tainted by “conflicts of interest”. Neil Portnow and the organization flatly denied.

Deborah Dugan took over the leadership of the Academy in August, becoming the first woman in history to hold the post. She claimed to be the victim of reprisals because she wanted to “change things” after 17 years of presidency of Neil Portnow.

Very feminine vintage

The 2020 vintage should be a success with very feminine nominations, in particular in the four queen categories (album of the year, recording of the year, song of the year and revelation of the year), where they are at less on par with men.

In addition to the exuberant rapper Lizzo, in pole position with eight nominations, Billie Eilish (six), Ariana Grande (five), Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé and the singer H.E.R. also performed well.

The gala evening of the Grammy Awards must present as every year twenty musical numbers, among which Aerosmith, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, the Jonas Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Meek Mill, Run-DMC, Gwen Stefani and rapper YG. The show will also feature a version of “Old Town Road” by K-pop group BTS, country star Billy Ray Cyrus and DJ Diplo.