Grammys 2022: Let’s Recap

The 64th Grammy Awards Ceremony was held on April 3, 2022 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Alexandra Chu

And that’s a wrap, folks. Another year of great music ended in a night of happiness for some, disappointment for others, and surprise and confusion all around at the 64th Grammy Awards Ceremony on April 3, 2022. So let’s recap some of what happened. 

 

#Scammys?

On November 23, 2021, the Recording Academy announced that Billie Eilish had been nominated for seven awards, and Justin Bieber had been nominated for eight. But in a shocking turn of events on April 3rd, both singers went home empty-handed. Unfortunately, these weren’t the only snubs that fans expressed outrage over. K-pop supergroup BTS was a fan favorite to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with their single “Butter,” but the award went to “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat ft. SZA instead. Claiming that the collaboration shouldn’t be eligible in a duo/group category, the band’s fans immediately started trending #Scammys on Twitter.

 

“Fill the silence with your music.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared in a pre-recorded video, asking viewers to “Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about this war on your social networks, on TV.” After the rousing speech that encouraged people to support Ukraine, John Legend performed “Free” alongside Ukrainian musicians while images from the war-torn country emerged on a screen behind them.

 

Lady Gaga is the Best

Because the slapping fiasco at the 2022 Oscars completely dominated the internet, it’s likely that another more wholesome moment from the show slipped under your radar. Specifically, when Lady Gaga gracefully came to Liza Minnelli’s rescue onstage when the latter was unable to finish reading her lines while announcing the Oscar for Best Picture. A week later, Lady Gaga went viral once again at the Grammys for helping SZA fix her dress. Since she was using crutches, SZA had a difficult time getting to the stage, which became even more challenging because her dress had a long train that got tangled. In a sweet gesture of respect and sportsmanship, Lady Gaga untangled the dress and even carried it until SZA managed to get on stage. 

 

Who’s Jon Batiste?

For those of you who don’t know who he is, Jon Batiste is a singer widely known as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His music can also be heard on the soundtrack of Pixar’s Soul. Walking into MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with an incredible eleven nominations, the singer ended up winning five awards (more than anyone else that night), including the greatly desired Album of the Year. 

Viewership ratings have steadily decreased for decades, but with almost 9.6 million viewers, this year’s Grammy Awards had slightly more people tuning in to the ceremony than last year’s. Judging by the night’s amazing performances, it’s possible that the award show’s ratings will start to go back up, but with so much controversy surrounding the Grammys, we’ll all just have to wait to see what next year’s show will look like.