When wildfires erupted across Los Angeles last month, the Recording Academy faced a difficult question: whether or not to move forward with tonight's 67th Grammy Awards. Ultimately, the Academy decided canceling the ceremony would be an even bigger blow to the thousands of Los Angeles area residents who work on the event, and so they came to the conclusion that the show would go on — with a heavy emphasis on the spirit and resilience of the city it calls home.
The Academy's mission to pay tribute to both the city itself and all of those affected by the wildfires showed up as soon as the show started with host Trevor Noah's monologue. The band Dawes — whose members Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith lost their homes in the fires — was backed by John Legend, Sheryl Crow and Brittany Howard to perform a cover of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." Shortly after, host Trevor Noah introduced LA native Billie Eilish. Decked out in a Los Angeles Dodgers hat and assembled against a backdrop of the Southern California mountains, the 23-year-old singer and her brother Finneas infused new meaning into their haunting, borderline-creepy love song, "Birds of a Feather," which is up for both song of the year and record of the year.
But the dedication to Los Angeles was not only limited to musical performances. In addition to fundraising efforts highlighted by Noah throughout the show, the Academy decided to incorporate short clips of small business owners who are a crucial part of the local economy, such as a floral designer who introduced her shop's mission alongside Grammy winner Doja Cat.
In the first win of the night, Florida multihyphenate Doechii shouted out the long legacy of Black women in hip-hop and the creative prowess behind her hometown of Tampa as she accepted the Grammy for best rap album. Her mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, also earned her nominations for best new artist and best rap performance.
The latter category represented one of the most competitive races of the ceremony. Following an electric live rendition of her breakout single "Pink Pony Club" earlier in the show, Chappell Roan beat out fellow nominees Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Raye, Khruangbin and Doechii, who also delivered one of the most memorable performances of the night.
In Roan's acceptance speech, the "Midwest Princess" directly criticized the music industry while advocating for livable wages for rising artists. She opened up about her own struggle to get a job and access healthcare after being dropped from her first label during the pandemic. "It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system," she said. "Labels, we got you. But do you got us?"
Another key moment of the night arrived when Beyoncé — with what appeared to be genuine bewilderment — accepted the Grammy for best country album for COWBOY CARTER after it was notably shut out of the Country Music Association Awards last year.
During the earlier premiere ceremony, Kendrick Lamar kicked off an early sweep for his song "Not Like Us," also winning best rap song and best music video. The diss track, which was considered the definitive mic drop in Lamar's ongoing beef with Drake, is also up for record of the year and song of the year. Lamar's album GNX, which he released in November, is not eligible for tonight's Grammys.
Sabrina Carpenter also scored early wins for best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance for "Espresso." The 25-year-old performed a medley of hits from Short n' Sweet, her sixth studio album and commercial breakthrough. Other notable winners of the night from the earlier ceremony include Nashville darling Sierra Ferrell (best Americana album, best Americana roots song, best Americana performance and best Americana roots performance) and St. Vincent (best rock song, best alternative music performance, and best alternative music album).
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