Even with the many COVID constraints, the 2021 Grammys was an awe-inspiring event. Hosted by one of the kings of late-night comedy, Trevor Noah, offering record-breaking wins for singers such as Beyonce and Blue-Ivy Carter and featuring performances by some of the most influential artists of the year, I was pleasantly surprised by almost all of it. But the surprise I got from some of the winners wasn’t quite as welcome.
To start out, the show was put on in a relatively COVID-safe way, without taking away from the experience. The celebrities wore masks at all times, unless they were being called to the stage or receiving an award. Social distancing guidelines were enforced, with limited seating, and the entire event was held outdoors.
My personal favourite element, in fact, was that many awards were presented by management from local music shops around the country so that these business owners, many of whom have seen difficult times during the pandemic, were given a platform to share their stories and participate in the prestigious event.
Trevor Noah brought the perfect amount of humour to his introductions – for instance, he (very tastefully) teased Harry Styles for wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue and compared Taylor Swift’s new albums to the COVID vaccine, citing their medicinal value and the fact that they come in two doses.
The performances were also fantastic. Every artist did exceptionally well – HAIM, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Finneas – but what really stuck out to me was set design. They really took advantage of the new setup by not limiting artists’ backdrops in the same way. For example, Lil Baby opened his performance with a skit depicting a horrific scene of police brutality, supporting the near decade-long Black Lives Matter movement that grew again at around this time last year, around the United States and the world. And, beyond this incredibly meaningful scene, Taylor Swift was able to open her performance – a cross-album mash-up of “Cardigan” (Folklore), “August” (Folklore), and “Willow” (Evermore) – on the roof of a house in the woods, with references to her “Cardigan” and “Willow” music videos from earlier in quarantine.
I was suitably impressed with almost every aspect of the event – except for some of the nominee and winner choices. Like many others, I was surprised that the Weeknd’s newest album didn’t receive any recommendations – it was critically acclaimed and an audience favourite, and, after his performance at the Super Bowl, he seemed more beloved by fans than ever before.
Especially after the allegations of racism on the nominating committee, I was very interested in seeing how they addressed the issue. The answer: a video by the chair of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., who called on the members of the music industry to help the Academy in changing for the better in terms of transparency and diversity.
Finally, I have to address the elephant on the Grammy stage – Taylor Swift. After two critically acclaimed albums (only one of which, of course, was considered because of their release dates) and six nominations, many were expecting her to leave the evening with multiple trophies. While she won the most prestigious award of the night, Album of the Year, she left the event in a tailor-made dress (pun intended) with just the one win. She was even beat out in her own genre by another Album of the Year nominee, with Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” winning Best Pop Album. The recording academy really “drew stars around [her] scars” (Cardigan, TS) for the other five categories she was nominated for.
Overall, credit where credit is due: the recording academy and the Grammy planners did an excellent job with performance line-ups, (most) decisions, and everything else. I couldn’t have imagined a better show – that said, I really hope the next one is back to normal!
