How well do you know your Grammy winners?
After a threemonth delay, the Grammy Awards finally arrived. While it’s no secret who made this year’s list, for music lovers and Grammy followers this week we’ve put together this quiz to test your knowledge, while some might just stumble upon some lesser known and interesting Grammy facts.
Ready? Let the games begin.
1. Which musician became the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy and also be nominated for Best New Artist.
▪ Arooj Aftab
▪ Waleed Ahmed
▪ Zeerak Ahmed
Answer
Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab won her first Grammy taking the award for Best Global Music Performance for her song Mohabbat, becoming the first Pakistani woman to win one of the coveted gilded gramophones. Mohabbat, which former US president Barack Obama included in his 2021 summer playlist, is from Aftab’s third album, Vulture Prince, released in April last year. Dedicated to her late younger brother, Maher, the album has been praised for its intensity and minimalism.
2. Which music legend made a rare appearance at the awards?
▪ Joni Mitchell
▪ Bing Crosby
▪ April Stevens
Answer
Legendary songwriter Joni Mitchell won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. The singer was on hand to accept the award, which came just a few days after being honoured by some of the biggest names in music. The Grammys honoured Mitchell via their affiliated charity MusiCares, which named her Person of the Year. Earlier she won the Best Historical Album award for her 2022 retrospective, Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).
3. How many songs and albums were submitted for consideration this year?
▪ 5,000
▪ 50,000
▪ 22,000
Answer
Close to 22,000 songs and albums were submitted for consideration this year, resulting in shortlists for the main categories being expanded from eight to 10 nominees for the first time. "Over 60,000 songs a day are being released. With so much more music available there's a lot more excellence to recognise and celebrate," said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr.
4. Which Disney actress was nominated for four Grammys including artist of the year?
▪ Nick Jonas
▪ Olivia Rodrigo
▪ Demi Lovato
Answer
Disney actress turned pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo was nominated in all of the top four categories of the awards show. The 19-year-old locked-in the awards for three--winning best new artist, best pop vocal album for "Sour" and pop solo performance for her hit "Drivers License." After collecting all three, she went backstage to take photos and talk with reporters when one of the trophies slipped and fell to the floor, breaking in half.
5. Which song from 1934 was nominated for record of the year ?
▪ Love in Bloom by Bing Crosby
▪ Isle of Capri by Ray Noble
▪ I Get A Kick Out Of You by Cole Porter
Answer
Yes, you read that right. Cole Porter's I Get A Kick Out Of You was one of the 10 songs in the running for record of the year, thanks to a new cover version by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett. When Bennett and Lady Gaga released Love for Sale, their album of Cole Porter standards, last October, Bennett broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material. He was 95 years and 57 days old. For Tony Bennett it was a fitting tribute to a career that has spanned eight decades in clubs and concert venues. The star announced his retirement last year at the age of 95, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
6. Which artist was asked not to perform at the Grammys?
▪ Kanye West
▪ Lil Baby
▪ Eminem
Answer
When the Grammy nominations were announced last year, Kanye West picked up five nods, including album of the year for his eclectic, scattershot 10th album Donda. West had long been a critic of the ceremony's underrepresentation of black artists and, in 2020, filmed himself urinating on one of his 22 Grammy awards. But two weeks before the show, organisers told the star his planned performance could not go ahead due to his "concerning online behaviour", Variety magazine reported.