Politics and protest dominated the 60th Grammy Awards, but, at the end of the day, pop music was the clear winner. Here are the headline grabbers from the event in New York:
ALESSIA CARA
Cara became the first Canadian to win the best new artist for songs like ‘1-800-273-8255’ and ‘Stay’—her solitary win from four nominations. Not even Canadian-born Justin Bieber could win the prestigious debutant’s prize. Though the award is sometimes referred to as a curse—many winners have failed to make it big—the 21-year-old has been backed by many as the pop star to look out for.
BRUNO MARS
Bruno Mars | Reuters
The R&B star won all six awards he was nominated for. While his album 24K Magic won album of the year, the title track won record of the year and ‘That’s What I Like’ won song of the year—the three biggest awards of the event. His famed falsetto and dance moves also won him best R&B album, performance and song from the same album.
HILLARY CLINTON
Hillary Clinton
The biggest surprise was reserved for a pre-shot spoof video, where Grammys host James Corden is seen auditioning celebs like Snoop Dogg, John Legend and Hillary Clinton for the spoken word award. They read excerpts from the Trump exposé Fire and Fury. “One reason why he liked to eat at McDonald’s—nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely pre-made,” read Clinton, taking a dig at the president.
KENDRICK LAMAR
Kendrick Lamar | Reuters
Close behind Mars was rapper Kendrick Lamar with five Grammys, bagging all four rap awards. Lamar's 'Humble' also won the best music video. The biggest casualty of Lamar's raid was rapper Jay-Z, who was nominated for eight awards, yet went home empty handed. Lamar's performance, which opened the ceremony, was a statement against racism in America.
KESHA
Kesha | Reuters
With the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements growing stronger by the day, Kesha’s rendition of her solo ‘Praying’ emphasised the discrimination and abuse faced by women in the music industry. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ beat ‘Praying’ to the best pop performance, attracting boos from the audience and backlash on social media for various reasons, including the song’s lack of originality.
