It was an understandably somber night at The 62nd Grammys as news of the devastating deaths of former LA Laker Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter, Gianna, 13, sank in. Having the awards show in the house that, “Kobe built,” cast an even more solemn shadow over the event.
Host Alicia Keys, with her hair tightly pulled back into a bun and dressed in a silver gown, adopted an appropriately somber tone when she opened the show and addressed the audience, paying her deepest respect to the tragic loss of basketball star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash earlier in the day.
Standing in the Staples Center, home to the Grammy and Los Angeles Lakers, Keys referred to the center as “the house that Kobe built” as a photo of Kobe was displayed on an overhead screen. Keys asked the audience to hold Kobe, Gianna, and all those who were lost in the helicopter crash in their thoughts, prayers and spirits. Keys was then joined onstage by Boys II Men with whom she sang a beautiful rendition of It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye.
The show did go on however. The “bad guy,” Billie Eilish swept the major awards of the night, taking home five Grammys including Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her hit “Bad Guy” and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Eilish’s win for Record Of The Year—a cross-genre award given to the song’s recording artist, the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s)—topped a huge night for the breakout genre-bending singer, who tied her own brother, super-producer FINNEAS, for the most awards at the 2020 GRAMMYs, with each taking home five golden gramophones last night.
With Eilish winning the final award of the night, she swept the General Field, commonly known as the Big Four, with additional wins for Album Of The Year (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), Best New Artist and Song Of The Year (“Bad Guy”).
Lizzo emerged as a big winner as well, winning Best Pop Solo Performance for her hit “Truth Hurts,” as well as awards for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album.
And Gary Clark Jr. won for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Contemporary Blues Album for This Land.
LA born rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed last year at just 33 years old, won two posthumous Grammys – Best Rap Performance for Racks in the Middle and Best Rap/Sung Performance for Higher.
DJ Khaled, John Legend, Meek Mill, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG paid an all-star tribute to the slain rapper in a hip hop, R&B and gospel infused performance that began with Meek Mill performing a rap tribute to Hussle before being joined by Roddy Ricch for a new song called Letter To Nipsey followed by a powerful and affecting delivery of Higher by DJ Khaled, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, YG and video footage of Hussle.
Photos of both Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant were shown at the end of the incredibly spirit-lifting performance.
Other major winners included Tyler the Creator for rap album, Anderson Paak for R&B album, Tanya Tucker for country album, Vampire Weekend for alternative album and Cage the Elephant for rock album.
Lizzo led all nominees with eight, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X each came into the night with six nominations.The only Cirque du Soleil show featuring EDM musicAnthony Gonzalez brings the best electronic music to Cirque du Soleil’s VOLTA. Below are highlights from last night.
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Here is the list of winners below:
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Spirit,” Beyoncé
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“7 Rings,” Ariana Grande
“Truth Hurts,” Lizzo **WINNER
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor SwiftADVERTISING
BEST POP/DUO GROUP PERFORMANCE
Boyfriend, Ariana Grande & Social House
Old Town Road, Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus **WINNER
Sucker, Jonas Brothers
Sunflower, Post Malone & Swae Lee
Señorita, Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
BEST LATIN ROCK, URBAN OR ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
X 100PRE, Bad Bunny
Oasis, J Balvin & Bad Bunny
Indestructible, Flor De Toloache
Almadura, iLe
El Mal Querer, Rosalía **WINNER
BEST LATIN POP ALBUM
VIDA, Luis Fonsi
11:11, Maluma
Montaner, Ricardo Montaner
#Eldisco, Alejandro Sanz **WINNER
Fantasia, Sebastian Yatra
BEST COMEDY ALBUM
Quality Time — Jim Gaffigan
Relatable — Ellen DeGeneres
Right Now — Aziz Ansari
Son of Patricia — Trevor Noah
Sticks & Stones — Dave Chappelle **WINNER
BEST COUNTRY SONG
“Bring My Flowers Now,” Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker) **WINNER
“Girls Goin’ Nowhere,” Jeremy Bussey & Ashley McBryde, songwriters (Ashley McBryde)
“It All Comes Out in the Wash,” Miranda Lambert, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“Some Of It,” Eric Church, Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde & Bobby Pinson, songwriters (Eric Church)
“Speechless,” Shay Mooney, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers and Laura Veltz, songwriters (Dan + Shay)
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Desperate Man, Erich Church
Stronger Than the Truth, Reba McEntire
Interstate Gospel, Pistol Annies
Center Point Road, Thomas Rhett
While I’m Livin, Tanya Tucker **WINNER
BEST COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Brand New Man,” Brooks & Dunn With Luke Combs
“I Don’t Remember Me (Before You),” Brothers Osborne
“Speechless,” Dan + Shay **WINNER
“The Daughters,” Little Big Town
“Common,” Maren Morris Featuring Brandi Carlile
BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE
“All Your’n,” Tyler Childers
“Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” Ashley McBryde
“Ride Me Back Home,” Willie Nelson **WINNER
“God’s Country,” Blake Shelton
“Bring Me My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker
BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE
“Linked” — Bonobo
“Got To Keep On” — The Chemical Brothers **WINNER
“Piece Of Your Heart” — Meduza Featuring Goodboys
“Underwater” — RÜFÜS DU SOL
“Midnight Hour” — Skrillex & Boys Noize Featuring Ty Dolla $ign
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
LP5 — Apparat
No Geography — The Chemical Brothers **WINNER
Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape) — Flume
Solace — RÜFÜS DU SOL
Weather — Tycho
BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
Ancestral Recall — Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Star People Nation — Theo Croker
Beat Music! Beat Music! Beat Music! — Mark Guiliana
Elevate — Lettuce
Mettavolution — Rodrigo y Gabriela **WINNER
BEST RAP ALBUM
Revenge of the Dreamers III, Dreamville
Championships, Meek Mill
I Am > I Was, 21 Savage
Igor, Tyler, the Creator **WINNER
The Lost Boy, YBN Cordae
BEST RAP/SUNG PERFORMANCE
“Higher” — DJ Khaled Featuring Nipsey Hussle & John Legend **WINNER
“Drip Too Hard” — Lil Baby & Gunna
“Panini” — Lil Nas X
“Ballin” — Mustard Featuring Roddy Ricch
“The London” — Young Thug Featuring J. Cole & Travis Scott
BEST RAP SONG
“Bad Idea,” Chancelor Bennett, Cordae Dunston, Uforo Ebong & Daniel Hackett, songwriters (YBN Cordae Featuring Chance The Rapper)
“Gold Roses,” Noel Cadastre, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, William Leonard Roberts II, Joshua Quinton Scruggs, Leon Thomas III & Ozan Yildirim, songwriters (Rick Ross Featuring Drake)
“A Lot,” Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White, songwriters (21 Savage Featuring J. Cole) **WINNER
“Racks in the Middle,” Ermias Asghedom, Dustin James Corbett, Greg Allen Davis, Chauncey Hollis, Jr. & Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Nipsey Hussle Featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy)
“Suge,” DaBaby, Jetsonmade & Pooh Beatz, songwriters (DaBaby)
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
“Middle Child” — J. Cole
“Suge” — DaBaby
“Down Bad” — Dreamville Featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG & Young Nudy
“Racks In The Middle” — Nipsey Hussle Featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy **WINNER
“Clout” – Offset Featuring Cardi B
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
“Pretty Waste” — Bones UK
“This Land” — Gary Clark Jr. **WINNER
“History Repeats” — Brittany Howard
“Woman” — Karen O & Danger Mouse
“Too Bad” — Rival Sons
BEST ROCK SONG
“Fear Inoculum” — Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones & Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (Tool)
“Give Yourself A Try” — George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975)
“Harmony Hall” — Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend)
“History Repeats” — Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
“This Land” — Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.) **WINNER
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
“Astorolus” – The Great Octopus — Candlemass Featuring Tony Iommi
“Humanicide” — Death Angel
“Bow Down” — I Prevail
“Unleashed” — Killswitch Engage
“7empest” — Tool **WINNER
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
“Middle Child,” J. Cole
“Suge,” DaBaby
“Down Bad,” Dreamville Featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG & Young Nudy
“Racks in the Middle,” Nipsey Hussle Featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy **WINNER
“Clout,” Offset feat. Cardi B
BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM
“Ain’t Too Proud”
“Hadestown” **WINNER
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”
“The Music of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – in Four Contemporary Suites”
“Oklahoma!”
BEST SPOKEN WORD ALBUM
Beastie Boys Book — (Various Artists) Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Scott Sherratt & Dan Zitt, producers
Becoming — Michelle Obama **WINNER
I.V. Catatonia: 20 Years As A Two-Time Cancer Survivor — Eric Alexandrakis
Mr. Know-It-All — John Waters\
Sekou Andrews & The String Theory — Sekou Andrews & The String Theory
BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIUM
The Lion King: The Songs — (Various Artists)
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — (Various Artists)
Rocketman — Taron Egerton
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse — (Various Artists)
A Star Is Born — Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper **WINNER
BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIUM
Avengers: Endgame — Alan Silvestri, composer
Chernobyl — Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer **WINNER
Game of Thrones: Season 8 — Ramin Djawadi, composer
The Lion King — Hans Zimmer, composer
Mary Poppins Returns — Marc Shaiman, composer
BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIUM
“The Ballad Of The Lonesome Cowboy” — Randy Newman, songwriter (Chris Stapleton), Track from: Toy Story 4
“Girl in the Movies” — Dolly Parton & Linda Perry, songwriters (Dolly Parton), Track from: Dumplin’
“I’ll Never Love Again” (Film Version) — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper), Track from: A Star Is Born **WINNER
“Spirit” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters (Beyoncé), Track from: The Lion King
Suspirium” — Thom Yorke, songwriter (Thom Yorke), Track from: Suspiria
BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
“Begin Again” — Fred Hersch, composer (Fred Hersch & The WDR Big Band Conducted By Vince Mendoza)
“Crucible For Crisis” — Brian Lynch, composer (Brian Lynch Big Band)
“Love, A Beautiful Force” — Vince Mendoza, composer (Vince Mendoza, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts & Temple University Studio Orchestra)
“Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite” — John Williams, composer (John Williams) **WINNER
“Walkin’ Funny” — Christian McBride, composer (Christian McBride)
BEST R&B SONG
“Could’ve Been,” Dernst Emile II, David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris, H.E.R. & Hue “Soundzfire” Strother, songwriters (H.E.R. Featuring Bryson Tiller)
“Look at Me Now,” Emily King & Jeremy Most, songwriters (Emily King)
“No Guidance,” Chris Brown, Tyler James Bryant, Nija Charles, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Michee Patrick Lebrun, Joshua Lewis, Noah Shebib & Teddy Walton, songwriters (Chris Brown Featuring Drake)
“Roll Some Mo,” David Brown, Dernst Emile II & Peter Lee Johnson, songwriters (Lucky Daye)
“Say So,” PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton Featuring JoJo) **WINNER
BEST MUSIC FILM
Homecoming — Beyoncé **WINNER
Remember My Name — David Crosby
Birth Of The Cool — (Miles Davis)
Shangri-La — (Various Artists)
Anima — Thom Yorke
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
“We’ve Got To Try” — The Chemical Brothers; Ellie Fry, video director; Ninian Doff, video producer
“This Land” — Gary Clark Jr.; Savanah Leaf, video director; Alicia Martinez, video producer
“Cellophane” — FKA twigs; Andrew Thomas Huang, video director; Alex Chamberlain, video producer
“Old Town Road (Official Movie)” — Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus; Calmatic, video director; Candice Dragonas, Melissa Larsen & Saul Levitz, video producers **WINNER
“Glad He’s Gone” — Tove Lo; Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia, video directors; Natan Schottenfels, video producer
BEST NEW ARTIST
Black Pumas
Billie Eilish **WINNER
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE
“Love Again,” Daniel Caesar and Brandy
“Exactly How I Feel,” Lizzo feat. Gucci Mane
“Roll Some Mo,” Lucky Daye
“Come Home,” Anderson .Paak feat. André 3000 **WINNER
“Could’ve Been,” H.E.R. feat. Bryson Tiller
BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
“Time Today” — BJ The Chicago Kid
“Steady Love” — India.Arie
“Jerome” — Lizzo **WINNER
“Real Games” — Lucky Daye
“Built For Love” — PJ Morton Featuring Jazmine Sullivan
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Amo, Bring Me The Horizon
Social Cues, Cage The Elephant **WINNER
In The End, The Cranberries
Trauma, I Prevail
Feral Roots, Rival Sons
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
“Pretty Waste,” Bones UK
“This Land,” Gary Clark Jr. **WINNER
“History Repeats,” Brittany Howard
“Woman,” Karen O & Danger Mouse
“Too Bad,” Rival Sons
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
U.F.O.F. — Big Thief
Assume Form — James Blake
I,I — Bon Iver
Anima — Thom Yorke
Father Of The Bride — Vampire Weekend **WINNER
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
The Lion King: The Gift, Beyoncé
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, Billie Eilish **WINNER
thank u, next, Ariana Grande
No. 6 Collaborations Project, Ed Sheeran
Lover, Taylor Swift
BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
Sì, Andrea Bocelli
Love (Deluxe Edition), Michael Bublé
Look Now, Elvis Costello & The Pretenders **WINNER
A Legendary Christmas, John Legend
Walls, Barbra Streisand
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Boyfriend,” Ariana Grande & Social House
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus **WINNER
“Sunflower,” Post Malone & Swae Lee
“Señorita,” Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Always Remember Us This Way,” Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) **WINNER
“Bring My Flowers Now,” Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
“Hard Place,” Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris, H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“Lover,” Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Norman F—ing Rockwell,” Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
“Someone You Loved,” Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
“Truth Hurts,” Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
i,i, Bon Iver
Norman F–ing Rockwell!, Lana Del Rey
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, Billie Eilish **WINNER
thank u, next, Ariana Grande
I Used To Know Her, H.E.R.
7, Lil Nas X
Cuz I Love You (Deluxe), Lizzo
Father Of The Bride, Vampire Weekend
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Hey, Ma,” Bon Iver
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish **WINNER
“7 Rings,” Ariana Grande
“Hard Place,” H.E.R.
“Talk,” Khalid
“Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
“Truth Hurts,” Lizzo
“Sunflower,” Post Malone and Swae Lee
A complete list of winners can be found on the Grammys website.
