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Grammys 2019: Kacey Musgraves wins Album of the Year on night that celebrated female artists
Music's biggest night took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles
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Your support makes all the difference.The 61st annual Grammy Awards have come to a close, on a night that finally seemed to acknowledge women in the music industry.
The ceremony itself was decidely female-focused, with superb performances from Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, Brandie Carlisle and Kacey Musgraves, plus a powerful opening speech from host Alicia Keys, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama.
The main prizes were handed out to a female majority, including H.E.R for Best R&B Album, and Cardi B, who became the first female solo artist in Grammys history to win Best Rap Album. British artist Dua Lipa, who had performed a medley of her song "One Love" with St Vincent's "My Seduction" just moments before, was awarded the prize for Best New Artist.
The biggest prize of the night, Album of the Year, went to Kacey Musgraves, who looked overwhelmed as she realised she had beaten competition from the likes of Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Drake, H.E.R and Kendrick Lamar.
The change-up follows an outcry over the lack of female winners last year, after which Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said that women needed to "step up" if they wanted to be recognised.
In response to the backlash, the Recording Academy appointed a task force led by Tina Tchen, a former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, to “identify the various barriers and unconscious biases faced by underrepresented communities” at the academy.
Despite the positive change in acknowledging women at the ceremony, it appeared that the Grammys have done little to soothe their troubled relationship with the hip hop community.
Drake made a surprise appearance to pick up his award for Best Rap Song, unfortunately appearing to get cut off as he spoke about what success meant. He and fellow hip hop artists like Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar have a difficult relationship with the Grammys, with Lamar snubbed for Album of the Year three times.
And while Childish Gambino won two out of the four biggest prizes of the night, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year with "This is America", he was noticeable absent from the ceremony. According to the show's longtime producer Ken Erlich, Kendrick, Chilidish Gambino and Drake all turned down offers to perform at the Grammys this year.
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“The fact of the matter is, we continue to have a problem in the hip-hop world,” Ehrlich told the New York Times. “When they don't take home the big prize, the regard of the academy, and what the Grammys represent, continues to be less meaningful to the hip-hop community, which is sad."
One of the most entertaining parts of any awards ceremony is the red carpet, where you get to see the results of an obscene amount of effort put in by each artist and their teams. If previous outfits worn by the likes of Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Childish Gambino, Rihanna, Camila Cabello, SZA and Travis Scott are anything to go by, we're in for a treat.
Janelle Monae at the 2018 Grammy Awards
Cardi B at last year's Grammys
R&B is definitely having a moment at this year's Grammy awards, with nods for H.E.R, Ella Mai, Jorja Smith and more.
ICYMI: Our features writer Alexandra Pollard wrote a great piece on the genre's resurgence in the past few years, with particular kudos to the British female artists leading the charge
British artists have been snubbed from pretty much all of the big four categories – apart from Best New Artist. Some were surprised that Arctic Monkeys missed out on a nod for Album of the Year; they have been nominated in the Best Alternative Album category. Here's a review of the album from last year:
While the Grammys are nothing if not predictable, one thing you can bet on is how excited K Pop fans will be about this year's ceremony, as South Korean group BTS are taking to the stage to present an award. It's a pretty big acknowledgement of just how big the genre – and this band in particular – have impacted the western music industry over the past few years.
Several LPs up for Album of the Year ended up on The Independent's end-of-year list in November, including Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Kacey Musgraves and Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther soundtrack.
Take a look at what we said about them, here:
Earlier today, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accepted an invitation to watch the Grammy Awards with Chrissy Teigen after the US writer and TV host opened her doors to the congresswoman.
Teigen asked Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York’s 14th congressional district, if she wanted to join her and Modern Family star Jess Tyler Ferguson to watch the 61st awards ceremony.
Teigen tweeted: “Hello my hero, do you wanna come over and watch the Grammys with us? There will be pizza.”
After this, she asked Ms Tyler Ferguson to tell Ms Ocasio-Cortez “we are normal”.
The Democrat, who is the youngest ever US congresswoman, said: “Yes! We can live-tweet me burning something in the kitchen.”
Hey Chrissy, where's my invite, huh?
A reminder if you're not able to watch the Grammys on TV...
One option is CBS All Access, the on-demand service that hosts much of CBS’s catalogue. The plan with limited commercials will cost $5.99 per month, and the commercial-free tier is $9.99, and both offer a free one-week trial.
Other services offering free one-week trials (with availability may vary depending on your area) with CBS include:
Fubo TV
YouTube TV
Hulu Live TV
Sling TV
DirecTV Now
PlayStation Vue
Here's a reminder of the nominees in the four big categories:
Album of the Year
H.E.R. – H.E.R.
Brandie Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You
Drake – Scorpion
Various Artists – Black Panther: The Album
Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer
Record of the Year
Cardi B – I Like It
Brandi Carlile – The Joke
Childish Gambino – This Is America
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Drake – God’s Plan
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the Stars
Post Malone & 21 Savage – Rockstar
Zedd & Maren Morris – The Middle
Song of the Year
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the Stars
Ella Mai – Boo’d Up
Drake – God’s Plan
Shawn Mendes – In My Blood
Brandy Carlile – The Joke
Zedd & Maren Morris – The Middle
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Childish Gambino – This Is America
Best New Artist
Chloe x Halle
Luke Combs
Greta Van Fleet
H.E.R.
Dua Lipa
Margo Price
Bebe Rexha
Jorja Smith
- roisin.oconnor
- 10 February 2019 11:43
Presenting awards this year are Grammy nominees Kelsea Ballerini, Leon Bridges, Luke Combs and Charlie Wilson; Grammy winners Alessia Cara, Julian Edelman, Eve, John Mayer, Bob Newhart, Smokey Robinson, Swizz Beatz and Meghan Trainor; recording artist Kane Brown, K pop sensations BTS, past Grammy nominee Cedric The Entertainer, and actors Nina Dobrev, Anna Kendrick, Jada Pinkett Smith and Wilmer Valderrama.
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