These Grammys are memorable – culture

“War. What could be more antithetical to music than the stillness of destroyed cities and dead people?” This is how Volodymyr Zelensky begins his speech at the Grammy Awards. The Ukrainian President is connected via a pre-recorded video message from home. He ends his speech with these words: “We defend our freedom to live, love and make music.” On stage: John Legend. He sits at the piano, surrounded by the Ukrainian harpist Siuzanna Iglidan, the Ukrainian singer Mika Newton and the Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.

They present Legend’s new song “Free” and towards the end Jakimchuk, who fled Ukraine just a few days ago, recites excerpts from their Our Father’s version “Prayer”: “Give our daily bread to all those who are starving. And forgive us our destroyed cities – even if we do not forgive our enemies. Protect my husband, my parents, my child and my homeland.” On the screens are images from Ukraine, Legend ends with the words “until we are all free.”

There it was, the moment, the event, as the Americans say: memorable makes – memorable. So the music industry showed once again that it’s possible: to be in a good mood and yet thoughtful. Three and a half hours long and yet entertaining. A tribute to all the stars and yet also a tribute to the people behind the scenes. It was a very conscious departure from the Oscars, the most boring self-adulation of the film industry, which only this year memorable was because of Display of toxic masculinity: Man one makes an inappropriate joke about a woman, man two believes he must defend the honor of this woman with violence.

Of course, the music industry has an easier time than other branches of the entertainment industry if it only sticks to the unforgettable saying of David Bowie’s unforgettable work of art: “I don’t know where I’m going – I just know that it won’t be boring.” So that’s how it happened when singer SZA hobbled onto the stage on crutches to accept her award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her song “Kiss Me More.” That’s why Lady Gaga straightens the train of SZA’s dress and song partner Doja Cat announces completely exhausted on stage: “I’ve never pissed so fast in my life.”

So that’s how Avril Lavigne comes out of the fountain of youth where she must have spent the last 20 years, comes out on stage and wows every millennial like only ’90s rappers did at the Super Bowl last time. That the Korean K-pop boy band bts between country-blues sandpaper voice Chris Stapelton and over-the-top performer Lil Nas X. That singer HER is accompanied by Lenny Kravitz and Travis Barker during her performance and suddenly sits on the drums and performs a solo.

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Also, unlike the Oscars, which decided not to give awards to winners in not-so-famous categories during live broadcasts, the Grammys showed that it’s also possible: live artists can be told by so-called “below the line” people to be announced. People who ensure that the show goes on behind the scenes and who were therefore particularly hit by the corona pandemic can therefore become visible without it becoming boring. For example, production manager Nicole Massi introduced Billie Eilish, who then wore a Taylor Hawkins shirt (the drummer of the Foo Fighter had died on March 25th) “Happier Than Ever” sang.

It’s these many eclectic moments that anchor the “award show” anachronism in the mere-few-second attention span of the Tiktok present. “It’s actually a concert with awards,” said presenter Trevor Noah. With his late-night satire “The Daily Show,” he is usually America’s guilty conscience, now he played the harmless emcee without malicious and malicious jokes. Even that is possible – without being boring or irrelevant.

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Of course, prizes were also awarded. Jon Batiste won five, including Best Album of the Year for “We Are”. Olivia Rodrigo was named Newcomer of the Year – a little strange, after all, the artist was the magazine’s “Entertainer of the Year” in 2021 time. your album sour also became “Best Pop Vocal Album”. Other winners were Funk-Duo SilkSonic, consisting of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak. The latter also showed that self-confidence can come across as self-ironic: “Well, I really want to come across as modest,” he said, because Silk Sonic also won the Best Song category with “Leave the Door Open”: “But there, where When I come here, that’s called clearing away.”

“Fill the silence with music,” Ukrainian President Zelensky called out to the crowd. “Tell our story and the truth. Support us in any way you want, just not in silence.”