One of the world’s biggest and most prestigious music awards held its 65th edition on the 5th of February, 2023. The 2023 Grammy award ceremony was memorable, with a diverse range of talented artists and genres recognized for their contributions to the music industry.
Held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the event was a night of historic wins and major moments. Here is a list of the major winners of this year’s Grammy award.
Key moments of the event
- Bad Bunny opened the show with a high-energy performance, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
- Luke Combs made his Grammys stage debut, with Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Quavo paying tribute to artists who passed away in the past year.
- Another landmark highlight of the event was the celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Hip-hop artists, including Run-DMC, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt-N-Pepa, Flavor Flav, Queen Latifah, Big Boi of Outkast, Missy Elliott, and more, took to the stage to perform some of the greatest hip-hop hits of all time.
- History was also made when Kim Petras and Sam Smith became the first transgender woman and non-binary artists, respectively, to win a Grammy Award. The duo picked up their win in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for, Unholy.
- Trevor Noah had a surprise for Adele when the comedian brought to reality one of the singer’s wishes. Trevor announced the wish of the singer to meet the famous wrestler turn-actor Dwayne’ the Rock’ Johnson, only for the wrestler to appear and greet her.
- The “In Memoriam” segment featured Kacey Musgraves, Quavo with Maverick City Music, Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Mick Fleetwood paid tribute to Loretta Lynn, Takeoff, and Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, respectively.
Biggest winners
Beyoncé made history by becoming the artist with the most wins in Grammy history having a total of 32 wins and, taking home four gramophones out of her nine nominations. The superstar singer won the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album for her 2022 hit, Renaissance. The win saw her surpass the previous record held by Georg Solti, a Hungarian-British conductor who was the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Harry Styles was crowned Album of the Year for his hit album “Harry’s House.” Shortly after winning, he would go on to thrill the audience by performing his hit track, As It Was. The other top awards went to Samara Joy for Best New Artist, Lizzo for Record of the Year, and Bonnie Raitt for Song of the Year.
Other major winners in the just concluded 2023 Grammy awards include Maverick City Music, which also won four awards. Brandi Carlile, Kirk Franklin, Kendrick Lamar, and Bonnie Raitt bagged three awards each. Jeremy Hatcher, Tobias Jesso Jr., Samara Joy, Randy Merrill, Willie Nelson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ozzy Osbourne, Harry Styles, The-Dream, and Wet Leg all went home with two gramophones each.
Full Winners List
Album of the year
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Best new artist
Samara Joy
Record of the year
Lizzo – About Damn Time
Song of the year
Bonnie Raitt – Just Like That
Best pop solo performance
Adele – Easy on Me
Best dance/electronic album
Beyoncé – Renaissance
Best rap album
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Best melodic rap performance
Wait for U – Future featuring Drake and Tems
Best musica urbana album
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Best pop duo/group performance
Sam Smith and Kim Petras – Unholy
Best country album
Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time
Best R&B song
Beyoncé – Cuff It
Best pop vocal album
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Best dance/electronic recording
Beyoncé – Break My Soul
Best global music performance
Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini & Nomcebo Zikode – Bayethe
Best country solo performance
Willie Nelson – Live Forever
Best R&B performance
Muni Long – Hrs & Hrs
Best rap performance
Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 5
Best metal performance
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Tony Iommi – Degradation Rules
Best rock performance
Brandi Carlile – Broken Horses
Best rock album
Ozzy Osbourne – Patient Number 9
Best alternative music album
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Best traditional R&B performance
Beyoncé – Plastic Off the Sofa
Best progressive R&B album
Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights
Best R&B album
Robert Glasper – Black Radio III
Best rap song
Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 5
Best comedy album
Dave Chappelle – The Closer
Best folk album
Madison Cunningham – Revealer
Best country song
Cody Johnson – ‘Til You Can’t
Best Americana Album
Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
Best Remixed Recording
Lizzo – About Damn Time (Purple Disco Machine Remix)
Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording
Finding Me, Viola Davis
Best Country Solo Performance
Live Forever, Willie Nelson
Best Country Duo or Group Performance
Never Wanted to Be That Girl, Carly Pearce, and Ashley McBryde
Best Comedy Album
The Closer, Dave Chappelle
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Encanto, Various Artists
Major changes to Grammy Awards
Before the 2023 Grammy Awards, organizers had announced some exciting changes to their awards categories. These changes to the Grammy Awards categories reflect the evolving landscape of the music industry and the desire to acknowledge and celebrate a wider range of talented artists and their works.
New categories added
Five new categories have been added to the list:
- Best Alternative Music Performance
- Best Americana Performance
- Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
- Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
- Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical.
In addition to the new categories, a Special Merit Award called the Best Song for Social Change has been introduced. Nominees in the category have to have their songs address important social issues and promote understanding, peace, and empathy.
The categories of Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Compendium have also been updated. Composers and librettists are now eligible for the award in these categories. For the Best Musical Theater Album, composers and lyricists who have created more than 50% of the score of a new recording were also eligible for the award.
The Best New Age Album was renamed Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album. The Best Spoken Word Album has been renamed Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording. Spoken word poetry is no longer eligible for this award but is now recognized with the new Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category.
Conclusion
The 2023 Grammy award has come and gone with major headlines, record-shattering wins, and lasting memories. Undoubtedly, the next few days will see discussions on winners, losers, and the entire event itself.
