Apart from winning the lion’s share of prizes, Bruno Mars, alongside Kendrick Lamar, was the star of the show which took place at the Madison Square in New York City.
Taking full benefit from his revival of R&B and retro funk for a new generation, Bruno Mars took home all the six Grammys he was nominated for, including song of the year for That’s What I like. Bruno’s Album 24K, meanwhile, grabbed record of the year for its title track.
It was hoped before this year’s Grammys that, for the first time in over a decade, it would be a hip-hop artist who would be grabbing the album of the year award. Last time it happened was in 2004 when ‘’Speakerboxxx/The Lover Below’’ from Outkast grabbed the ultimate prize.
One person who was left behind due to Mars’ win on Sunday was the rap-star Jay-Z. Despite the fact that he was nominated for eight awards this year, Jay-Z went home empty-handed, exactly one year after Beyoncé, his wife, was defeated by Adele for album of the year award.
Kendrick Lamar, whom many expected to grab the main prize of the evening for his album DAWN, was restricted to rap-only nominees. He performed brilliantly in them, though, as suggested by the five awards which he took home last night.
The ceremony was carried out in a politically charged environment – as #MeToo Movement and Time’s Up Campaign were celebrated during the show, and celebs adorned white roses to show solidarity to the victims of sexual harassment.
Still, giving an indication of the gap which the industry still needs to cover, only one female singer, Alessia Cara, picked up a key award during the ceremony. The newcomer won the best new artist, an award which many consider as the least important of the major five Grammy Awards.
The situation wasn’t too great for women on the whole even when you look at the award count presented during the night. For, out of all the Grammys handed out on Sunday, only a fifth went to female artists.
While they were short of awards during the night, female artists weren’t short of providing inspiration, as evidenced by Kesha’s Powerful performance. Alongside Camila Cabello and Cyndi Lauper, she sang ‘Praying’, a song which showcases her experience as a sexual abuse survivor.
