GLITZ. GLAMOUR. GRAMMYS
Drake makes surprise appearance
LOS ANGELES Childish Gambino’s searing This Is America became the first hip-hop track to win a song of the year Grammy on Sunday, while Drake made a surprise appearance and Lady Gaga dominated the early awards.
This Is America, about police brutality and racism, also took Grammys for best music video and best rap performance. But Gambino, the musical alter ego of actor Donald Glover, was not at the show to celebrate the milestone.
Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z were also absent from the biggest honours in the music industry. But Toronto-born Drake, who had been expected to stay away, turned up to collect the Grammy for best rap song for God’s Plan.
The Grammys have frequently shut out hip-hop artists from its top prizes, despite rap’s dominance as the biggest U.S. music genre.
Drake, born Aubrey Graham, held his trophy in one hand while acknowledging his turbulent relationship with the Grammys.
“This is like the first time in Grammy history where I actually am who I thought I was, so I like that, that’s really nice,” he said as he accepted his award.
“I definitely did not think I was winning anything.”
Drake, the biggest streaming artist of 2018, told musicians not to worry about winning prizes.
“The point is you’ve already won if you have people who are singing your songs word for word, if you’re a hero in your hometown,” Drake said.
“If there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow and spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here, I promise you,” he said.
Also in the rap category, Cardi B won best rap album for Invasion of Privacy, making her the first solo woman to do so. Best rap performance was a tie between King’s Dead, by Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake and Bubblin by Anderson.Paak
Kacey Musgraves won album of the year for Golden Hour. And British singer Dua Lipa won as best new artist.
Korean boy band BTS made history as the first K-pop group to present at the Grammy Awards.
Gaga’s hit song Shallow from the movie A Star Is Born won two Grammys, while the musician-turned actress took a third Grammy home for her Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Going), which won for pop solo performance.
Gaga took a minute out of her Grammy speech to address the issue of mental illness in the entertainment industry.
“I’m so proud to be part of a movie that addresses mental-health issues,” she said. “A lot of artists deal with that. And we’ve got to take care of each other.”
Her duet partner and co-star Bradley Cooper was in London attending Sunday’s BAFTA Awards.
A Star Is Born tells the story of a rising star (Gaga) and her falling mentor (Cooper), who struggles with substance-abuse problems and severe depression.
“If you see somebody that is hurting, don’t look away,” Gaga said.
“And if you are hurting, even though it might be hard, try to find that bravery within yourself to dive deep and go tell somebody.”
Already a show with a strong lineup of female performers and nominees, the Grammys sprung another surprise by including former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in an opening that also featured Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and host Alicia Keys talking about the power of music.
“From the Motown records I wore out on the (Chicago) Southside to the Who Run the World songs that fuelled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story,” Obama told the cheering celebrity audience in Los Angeles.
Keys, Gaga, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Janelle Monae, Diana Ross, Katy Perry and Musgraves, who also won Grammys for best country song and country solo performance, also performed.
Folksinger Brandi Carlile took three early Grammys while an absent Ariana Grande, who pulled out of the show last week after a dispute with producers, won her first Grammy, best pop vocal album for Sweetener.
“This is wild and beautiful. Thank you so much,” Grande tweeted.
And after being honoured as the 2019 MusiCares person of the year on Friday, Dolly Parton took the stage at the Grammys to perform some of her country hits.
Perry and Musgraves kicked off the tribute in matching red ensembles with Here You Come Again and were soon joined by the Queen of Nashville in a white dress with flowing sleeves.
Cyrus took to the stage in an offwhite suit with her godmother to perform Jolene, Parton’s 1973 hit that the two have dueted on in the past. Mark Ronson, members of BTS and others could be seen singing along in the audience. Maren Morris joined the duo for a stripped-down version of Neil Young ’s After the Gold Rush.
Parton also performed the song Red Shoes from the soundtrack of the Netflix movie Dumplin’. And, yes, Parton was wearing red heels.
Music producer Greg Wells won his first Grammy for the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman. The Peterborough, Ont.raised songwriter was part of the production team that created This Is Me and other pop hits for the Hugh Jackman-led musical.
Other Canadians marking their first time as Grammy winners included Toronto-raised R&B singer Daniel Caesar, who split the honour with Gabriella Wilson, known as U.S. performer H.E.R., for their song Best Part. H.E.R. also won for best R&B album.
Fellow first-timer Willo Perron, from Montreal, nabbed the best recording package Grammy for his work on singer St. Vincent’s 2017 album Masseduction.
And Canadian-U.S. violinist Lili Haydn won as part of the quartet Opium Moon. She received the best new-age album Grammy for the group’s self-titled 2018 album.
“If you see somebody that is hurting, don’t look away. And if you are hurting … go tell somebody. LADY GAGA