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The 68th annual Grammy Awards honored music’s best and brightest last night with a stacked lineup of performances, stirring political statements and by handing out the occasional award – only nine out of the 95 categories could be squeezed into the three and a half hour main ceremony.
Several artists, including all of the “Big Four” winners, used their platforms to address the current political climate. Bad Bunny was one of the night’s biggest winners, collecting trophies for Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Photos (the first-ever Spanish-language winner in this category), and made condemning ICE and advocating for immigrant rights a top priority during his acceptance speeches.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out’,” he said while accepting the award for Best Música Urbana Album, also for Debí Tirar Más Photos. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
Billie Eilish picked up a Song of the Year trophy for “WILDFLOWER” and kept her speech short and to a similar point.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” Eilish said. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just, I feel really hopeful in this room. And I feel like we just need to keep fighting, and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter. Fuck ICE.”
While accepting the award for Record of the Year for “Luther” alongside Kendrick Lamar, SZA echoed Elish’s feelings of hope in the face of unprecedented times.
“I know that right now is a scary time,” she said. “I know the algorithms tell us that it’s so scary, and all is lost. There’s been world wars, there’s been plagues, and we have gone on. We can go on. We need each other, we need to trust each other and trust ourselves, trust your heart. We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God, and I thank you so much.”
Best New Artist winner Olivia Dean used her speech to share her personal connection to immigration issues.
“I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” Dean said. “I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
Several attendees, from Justin and Hailey Bieber to Samara Joy, also wore “ICE OUT” pins, sending a strong message of solidarity. Though there were no explicit pro-ICE statements made during the ceremony, there were a handful of moments that seemed likely to satiate your relatives who claim they don’t “do politics.”
Rapper-turned-country singer Jelly Roll took home the Best Contemporary Country Album trophy for Beautifully Broken and brought some fire and brimstone energy to his acceptance speech.
“Jesus is not owned by one political party,” Jelly Roll said. “Jesus is not owned by a music label. Jesus is Jesus, and anybody can have a relationship with him. I love you, Lord.”
When asked by backstage reporters if he wanted to clarify his political stance, Jelly Roll responded with a lukewarm, “Not really.”
“I’m a dumb redneck,” he explained. “I haven’t watched enough. I didn’t have a phone for 18 months.”
(In the words of Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, “That’s Republican. We count those.”)
Artists with ties to North Texas had a fairly strong showing this year. KATSEYE, a girl group featuring Dallas native Lara Raj, was nominated for Best New Artist and delivered a showstopping, impeccably choreographed performance of their breakout single “Gnarly.”
Grand Prairie’s own Selena Gomez was nominated for Best Dance Pop Recording for “Bluest Flame.”
Grapevine’s golden boy Post Malone was not nominated this year, but was featured in a raucous homage to the late Ozzy Osbourne, performing “War Pigs” in an all-star tribute act that also included Slash, Andrew Watt and Chad Smith.
In times like these, it can sometimes feel hard to justify getting swept away in the spectacle of awards season. But seeing Posty thrash around while the names and monochrome portraits of dead industry folks faded in and out behind him (because the Ozzy cover was inexplicably lumped into the main In Memoriam segment, by the way) helped us surrender to the absurdity of it all.
