Addyson Dempsey
After an eventful full year of music across all genres, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards were held to celebrate the excellence of artists in 2022. The event was held on Sunday, Feb. fifth at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, by host Trevor Noah.
Historic events, such as a record-breaking number of Grammys awarded to a single person, and the first transgender women to receive a Grammy, took place at this year’s Grammys,
There were over 91 awards given and special performances from Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras and Sam Smith, DJ Khaled, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton, Mary J. Blige, and Luke Combs.
Along with the performances, the Recording Academy held a celebration for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary of becoming a recognized genre, with a display of various histories within the genre.
There were a total of five Grammys awarded in the R&B category, with Best R&B performance, best traditional R&B performance, best R&B song, best progressive R&B album, and best R&B Album all being presented.
In the General Field and Pop categories, with a total of eight awards, artists such as Harry Styles, Adele, and Lizzo received multiple nominations and wins. The Pop category also saw Sam Smith and Kim Petras win Best Pop Duo. This made history, as Kim Petras is the first openly transgender woman to receive a Grammy.
“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight – Sophie, especially, my friend who passed away two years ago told me this would happen and always believed in me. Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music,” Petras said.
The speech led to a standing ovation for the two as they made history for the LGBTQ+ community within the music industry. Petras also gave a shout-out to Madonna, a seven-time Grammy winner, who fought for LGBTQ+ rights within the industry.
Alongside the worldwide star, Beyoncé, made history with the most Grammy wins of all time, totaling 32 Grammys and 79 nominations.
“I’d like to thank my parents, my father, my mother, for loving me and pushing me. I’d like to thank my beautiful husband, my beautiful three children, who are at home watching. I’d like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre. God bless you,” Beyonce said.
Overall, the 65th Grammy Awards gave fans a much needed sense of acceptance. This year’s Grammys led to much progress for the future LQBTQ+ artists and displayed the true meaning of music; the connection of people and cultures.
