Music’s biggest night saw stiff competition. BTS swayed as Dolly Parton and and Miley y sang the classic Jolene, while Brandi Carlile, Lady Gaga, and country singer Kacey Musgraves were some of the night’s biggest winners, and a no show Ariana Grande beat out Taylor Swift to pick up her first-ever Grammy.
Held at the Los Angeles Staples Center and hosted by 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys, the almost four hour show saw Childish Gambino scoring big wins for both Song of the Year (This is America) and Best Album Of The Year for the politically charged ‘This Is America’. Childish Gambino also known as Donald Glover was the overall attraction at the event.
Honored artists included Childish Gambino, H.E.R., Silk City, Future, Leon Bridges, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, Charlie Wilson, Kirk Franklin and Pharrell Williams.
A number of artists took the stage for live performances. Camila Cabello opened the ceremony with a colorful Broadway-inspired rendition of Havana featuring special guests Ricky Martin, Young Thug and J Balvin. Miley Cyrus joined Shawn Mendes for his hit In My Blood. H.E.R. delivered her soulful funk on Hard Place. Alicia Keys sat down for a music interlude, introducing her segment by playing The Entertainer on two pianos, then serenaded1 Killing Me Softly, Unforgettable, Lucid Dreams, Use Somebody, Doo Wop (That Thing), Boo’d Up, ending with Empire State of Mind. Travis Scott delivered No Bystanders and Stop Trying to Be God with James Black and Earth, Wind and Fire. Chloe x Halle performed Where Is The Love.
The night also featured a number of unique collaborations and GRAMMY moments. A host of artists paid tribute to MusiCares Person of the Year honoree Dolly Parton. Dolly performed Here You Come Again with Kacey Musgraves and Katy Perry; After the Gold Rush with Maren Morris and Miley Cyrus; Red Shoes with Little Big Town; and 9 to 5 with the full ensemble and the crowd on its feet. Jennifer Lopez paid tribute to Motown performing a show-stopping medley with Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo and Smokey Robinson.
Presenters included BTS, Chloe x Halle, Leon Bridges, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, John Mayer and Meghan Trainor.
Here is the complete list of awards below:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“Invasion of Privacy,” Cardi B
“By the Way, I Forgive You,” Brandi Carlile
“Scorpion,” Drake
“H.E.R.,” H.E.R.
“Beerbongs & Bentleys,” Post Malone
“Dirty Computer,” Janelle Monáe
“Golden Hour,” Kacey Musgraves **WINNER
“Black Panther: The Album, Music From And Inspired By,” Various Artists
SONG OF THE YEAR
“All The Stars,” Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA)
“Boo’d Up,” Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai)
“God’s Plan,” Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake)
“In My Blood,” Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton, songwriters (Shawn Mendes)
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
“The Middle,” Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski, songwriters (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey)
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper)
“This Is America,” Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) **WINNER
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“I Like It,” Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino **WINNER
“God’s Plan,” Drake
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“All The Stars,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA
“Rockstar,” Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage
“The Middle,” Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
BEST NEW ARTIST
Chloe x Halle
Luke Combs
Greta Van Fleet
H.E.R.
Dua Lipa **WINNER
Margo Price
Bebe Rexha
Jorja Smith
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Fall in Line,” Christina Aguilera featuring Demi Lovato
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Backstreet Boys
“‘S Wonderful,” Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper **WINNER
“Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B
“Say Something,” Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton
“The Middle,” Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
BEST RAP ALBUM
“Invasion of Privacy,” Cardi B **WINNER
“Swimming,” Mac Miller
“Victory Lap,” Nipsey Hussle
“Daytona,” Pusha T
“Astroworld,” Travis Scott
BEST RAP SONG
“God’s Plan,” Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake) **WINNER
“King’s Dead,” Kendrick Duckworth, Samuel Gloade, James Litherland, Johnny McKinzie, Mark Spears, Travis Walton, Nayvadius Wilburn & Michael Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake)
“Lucky You,” R. Fraser, G. Lucas, M. Mathers, M. Samuels & J. Sweet, songwriters (Eminem Featuring Joyner Lucas)
“Sicko Mode,” Khalif Brown, Rogét Chahayed, BryTavious Chambers, Mike Dean, Mirsad Dervic, Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Aubrey Graham, John Edward Hawkins, Chauncey Hollis, Jacques Webster, Ozan Yildirim & Cydel Young, songwriters (Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee)
“Win,” K. Duckworth, A. Hernandez, J. McKinzie, M. Samuels & C. Thompson, songwriters (Jay Rock)
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
“Unapologetically,” Kelsea Ballerini
“Port Saint Joe,” Brothers Osborne
“Girl Going Nowhere,” Ashley McBryde
“Golden Hour,” Kacey Musgraves **WINNER
“From a Room: Volume 2,” Chris Stapleton
BEST R&B ALBUM
“Sex & Cigarettes,” Toni Braxton
“Good Thing,” Leon Bridges
“Honestly,” Lalah Hathaway
“H.E.R.,” H.E.R. **WINNER
“Gumbo Unplugged (Live),” PJ Morton
Best Alternative Music Album
“Colors” — Beck
Best Americana Album
“By the Way, I Forgive You” — Brandi Carlile
Best Song Written for Visual Media
“Shallow” — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
Best Album Notes
“Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris” — David Evans, album notes writer
Best Historical Album
“Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris” — William Ferris, April Ledbetter and Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
“Colors” — Julian Burg, Serban Ghenea, David “Elevator” Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Greg Kurstin, Florian Lagatta, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco, Jesse Shatkin, Darrell Thorp and Cassidy Turbin, engineers; Chris Bellman, Tom Coyne, Emily Lazar and Randy Merrill, mastering engineers
Best Remixed Recording
“Walking Away (Mura Masa remix)” — Alex Crossan, remixer
Best Immersive Audio Album
“Eye in the Sky – 35th Anniversary Edition” — Alan Parsons, surround mix engineer; Dave Donnelly, P.J. Olsson and Alan Parsons, surround mastering engineers; Alan Parsons, surround producer
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
“Steve Gadd Band” — Steve Gadd
Band Best Gospel Performance/Song
“Never Alone” — Tori Kelly featuring Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin and Victoria Kelly, songwriters
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“You Say” — Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury, songwriters
Best Gospel Album
“Hiding Place” — Tori Kelly
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
“Look Up Child” — Lauren Daigle
Best Roots Gospel Album
“Unexpected” — Jason Crabb
Best World Music Album
“Freedom” — Soweto Gospel Choir
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
“The Greatest Showman” — Hugh Jackman (and Various Artists); Alex Lacamoire, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Greg Wells, compilation producers
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
“Black Panther” — Ludwig Göransson, composer
Best New Age Album
“Opium Moon” — Opium Moon
Best American Roots Performance
“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile
Best American Roots Song
“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth, songwriters
Best Bluegrass Album
“The Travelin’ Mccourys” — The Travelin’ Mccourys
Best Traditional Blues Album
“The Blues Is Alive and Well” — Buddy Guy
Best Contemporary Blues Album
“Please Don’t Be Dead” — Fantastic Negrito
Best Folk Album
“All Ashore” — Punch Brothers
Best Children’s Album
“All The Sounds” — Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books and Storytelling)
“Faith – A Journey For All” — Jimmy Carter
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
“¡México Por Siempre!” — Luis Miguel
Best Tropical Latin Album
“Anniversary” — Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Best Regional Roots Music Album
“No ‘Ane’i” — Kalani Pe’a
Best Music Video
“This Is America” — Childish Gambino
Best Music Film
“Quincy” — Alan Hicks & Rashida Jones, video directors; Paula DuPré Pesmen, video producer
Best Country Solo Performance
“Butterflies,” Kacey Musgraves
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Tequila,” Dan + Shay
Best Country Song
“Space Cowboy,” Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
“My Way,” Willie Nelson
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?),” Lady Gaga
Best Pop Vocal Album
“Sweetener,” Ariana Grande
Best Engineered Album, Classical
“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer
Producer of the Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh
Best Orchestral Performance
“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Andris Nelson, conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Best Opera Recording
“Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs” — Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edward Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
Best Choral Performance
“McLoskey: Zealot Canticles” — Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
“Anderson, Laurie: Landfall” — Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
“Songs of Orpheus – Monteverdi, Caccini, D’india & Landi” — Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles
Best Classical Compendium
“Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist'; Poems of Life; Glacier; Rush” — JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — Aaron Jay Kernis, composer
Best Dance/Electronic Album
“Woman Worldwide,” Justice
Best Dance Recording
“Electricity,” Silk City & Dua Lipa featuring Diplo & Mark Ronson
Best Reggae Album
“44/876” — Sting and Shaggy
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
“Don’t Fence Me In” — John Daversa, soloist. Track from: “American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom”
Best Jazz Vocal Album
“The Window” — Cécile Mclorin Salvant
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
“American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom” — John Daversa Big Band featuring DACA Artists
Best Latin Jazz Album
“Back to the Sunset” — Dafnis Prieto Big Band
Best Traditional R&B Performance (tie)
“Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” — Leon Bridges
“How Deep Is Your Love” — PJ Morton featuring Yebba
Best R&B Performance
“Best Part,” H.E.R. featuring Daniel Caesar
Best R&B Song
“Boo’d Up” — Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai and Dijon Mcfarlane, songwriters
Best Urban Contemporary Album
“Everything Is Love,” The Carters
Best Rock Performance
“When Bad Does Good,” Chris Cornell
Best Metal Performance
“Electric Messiah” — High on Fire
Best Rock Album
“From the Fires” — Greta Van Fleet
Best Rock Song
“Masseduction,” Jack Antonoff & Annie Clark, songwriters (St. Vincent)
Best Rap/Sung Performance
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino
Best Rap Performance (tie)
“King’s Dead” — Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future, James Blake
“Bubblin” — Anderson Paak
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Pharrell Williams