Drake wins Grammy; women make statement at awards show
Los Angeles — Drake surprised the music world Sunday when he emerged on the Grammy stage to accept the best rap song trophy but told the room of musicians that winning awards isn’t necessary if you have real fans attending your concerts and singing your songs.
Drake, who rarely attends awards show, won the honor for his massive hit “God’s Plan.”
“You’ve already won if you have people who are singing your songs word for word, if you’re a hero in your hometown. Look, if there are people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow, spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here. I promise you. You already won,” he said at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Rap has endured a longtime losing streak at the Grammys. The last time a rapper won album of the year was in 2004, when Outkast took the honor. Only a handful of rappers have won best new artist.
Drake has a chance to become the first rapper to win record of the year later in the show. Childish Gambino made history when his track “This is America” became the first rapbased song to win song of the year. Gambino has won three awards so far, including best music video and best rap/sung performance.
The Grammys kicked off with a group of powerful women, including Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga, describing the role of music in their lives — a display that came a year after female voices were somewhat muted at the 2018 ceremony.
“Music has always helped me tell my story,” said Obama, who surprised the audience with her appearance. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves. It allows us to hear one another.”
Gaga told the crowd: “They said I was weird, that my look, that my choices, that my sound wouldn’t work. But music told me not to listen to them.”
Jada Pinkett Smith and Jennifer Lopez also spoke and stood in solidarity with Obama, Gaga and Alicia Keys, who is hosting the show airing on CBS.
“Yes, ladies,” Keys said. “There’s nothing better than this.”
The opening contrasted with last year’s Grammys, where male acts dominated in nominations and the only woman competing for the top award, Lorde, didn’t get a chance to perform onstage.
But this year, Gaga, Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves won three Grammys each.
Carlile took three honors in the Americana category and will compete for the three biggest awards during the live show: album, song and record of the year.
Gaga also won three, including best pop duo/group performance, a win she shared with Bradley Cooper.
Gaga, now a nine-time Grammy winner, won best pop solo performance for “Joanne,” while hit “Shallow,” from “A Star is Born,” was named best song written for visual media. The song is nominated for an Oscar and also won at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and the Satellite Awards.
Women have a strong presence in the top categories. Five of the eight album-of-the-year nominees are women, including Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You,” Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer,” Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” Musgraves’ “Golden Hour,” and H.E.R.’s self-titled album are also in contention.
Six of the best-new-artist nominees are women, including H.E.R., Chloe x Halle, Margo Price, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha and Jorja Smith.
When asked about the lack of women in the top categories at the 2018 Grammys, Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow said women need to “step up.” He later acknowledged that it was a “poor choice of words,” and his much-criticized remarks forced the academy to launch a new task force focused on inclusion and diversity.
Musgraves picked up best country album for “Golden Hour,” best country solo performance for “Butterflies” and best country song for “Space Cowboy.”