Grammy surprise: Drake shows up to accept award
Childish Gambino’s This Is America first hip-hop track to win best song
LOS ANGELES — Childish Gambino’s searing This Is America became the first hiphop 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 Canada’s Drake, who had been expected to stay away, turned up to collect the Grammy for best rap song for God’s Plan.
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 for the chart-topping rap song God’s Plan.
“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,” he said.
“If there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow and spending their hardearned 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 Kendrick 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.
BTS — Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Beyond the Scene — took the stage for the best R&B album category, awarding the Grammy to H.E.R. for her self-titled album.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 who 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.
Veteran Grammy contender and Branon, Man.-raised violinist James Ehnes won the best classical instrumental solo award — his second win — for his contributions to violin concerto album Kernis.
The point is you’ve already won if you have people who are singing your songs word for word.”
Drake