Dr. Jill Biden was in the house tonight at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, but the real first lady on the live CBS telecast was clearly Beyoncé.
Taking home two awards before the downtown LA show started on the small screen and Paramount+, and then Best R&B song with “Cuff It” and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance in the broadcast itself, Queen Bey is now literally the Queen of the Recording Academy with 32 wins — that’s more than any artist ever in Grammy history.
You rarely see someone as phlegmatic as Beyoncé miss a beat, but even she did when got up to accept her record-breaking trophy as the crowd of Grammy winners past, present and likely future and thousands of fans in the arena went wild for the undisputed G.O.A.T.
A bet that almost no one want to wager against all week leading up to music’s big night, the hype of Beyoncé’s barrier-breaking victory, along with Harry Styles’ Album of the Year award, was but two of many elements giving more the nearly four-hour show some real drama on and off stage,
Taking it to the dancer-filled stage in the round in DTLA tonight with 2023 winner Bad Bunny and the first fully in-person show in three years, from the get-go, the once again Trevor Noah-hosted show even had Taylor Swift busting a genuine move in her front row seat. Turning the often soulless and undoubtedly soon-to-be-renamed Cryto.com Arena partially into a dinner club, the Raj Kapoor Ben Winston and Jesse Collins executive-produced show succeeded as a mainly hit-filled mixtape of top-tier live performances (Lizzo, Harry Styles), pre-recorded advocating fan roundtables, White House residents, tributes, scandal teasing fashions (we see you JLo, Mr. Styles), superstar presenters, a Vladimir Horowitz shout-out from Billy Crystal and more.
To quote past Grammy winner Crystal tonight out of context, the third time proved a charm for past and present host Noah with a show that hit almost all the right notes.
Almost.
Yes, there was the comedown of Bonnie Raitt’s Song of the Year win near the end felt very Jethro Tull 1989 when it should have been Metallica or in this case Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Beyoncé or several other nominees, if you know what I mean?
There was also that lame Madonna segment where she had to implore the crowd to make “some noise” for her controversial routine that seemed so old-fashioned. There was the gibberish of that fantasy video from Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Then there were the disrespectfully lame few caught on camera who distinctly didn’t applaud when Dr. Biden came on-stage to present the Grammys’ first Social Change award to Iranian artist Shervin Hajipour for his song ‘Baraye’ and the Song of the Year. Sure, winners Beyoncé and Adele, as well as Swift were attendees, but not performers Sunday, and the show was just too damn long.
Yes, there was all that, but unlike most other awards shows there was still more than enough superstar superpower to go around at the 2023 Grammys. Which, along with records that people actually listen to actually winning for the most part, was in no small part why the vast majority of the fairly fast-paced show was fun to watch and dance to.
Spilling out “Trump wanting to learn Spanish,” Chinese spy balloon, and actually funny Renaissance jokes from the red-carpeted arena floor, plus a Jay-Z quip that floundered and an Adele and Dwayne Johnson meet-up that went by too fast, former Daily Show host Noah sauntered among the illustrious nominees and legends at the beginning of the 2023 Grammys to figuratively set the stage as a hype man deluxe – which is sort of what an award show host should do. Of course, all of that almost paled next to the wonderfully glacéd intro of Brandi Carlile’s hard rockin’ ‘Broken Horses’ performance by her daughters and wife Catherine Shepherd – which added an intimate feel to the shindig
There was also some non- Beyoncé history to celebrate in a historical fashion.
Later devilish took the stage to perform “Unholy,” Stan Smith and Kim Petras won the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their tune about halfway through the show. That victory saw the German singer become the first transgender woman to claim an award at the Grammys.
Then Hip-Hop took the spotlight, and I don’t just mean Kendrick Lamar’s well-deserved win for Best Rap Album this year.
First, a tuxedoed Dr. Dre accepted the inaugural Global Impact Award named after the NWA, producer supreme, and Beats founder himself.
Then, to paraphrase JFK, the Grammys hasn’t seen so many icons together as were onstage for the hip-hope 50th-anniversary celebration since Beyonce and Jay-Z were last in attendance together. Seriously, Kicked off by the equally iconic and Kangol-wearing LL Cool J with a street-level backbeat musical backing and curation by The Roots’ Questlove and Black Though, the backstory of the beats that rule the world was centerstage.
The on-stage array of Big Boi, the slaying Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame nominee Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, the demigod Rakim, the remaining members of the trailblazing RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort, plus LL Cool J himself was glorious.
Moving even the stoic Jay-Z to smile in the crowd, the repeatedly bleeped-out Hip-Hop 50th medley was also an exercise in relevance and reverence. A relic in many respects for the past decade or so, the Grammys and the Recording Academy took far too long to give the world’s most popular music genre its true due.
That wasn’t the case tonight.
In looking back to hip-hop’s roots and its present form with Jay-Z outside the arena at the very end of the show doing an elaborate beggar’s banquet version of DJ Khaled’s nominated “God Did” with the man himself, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, and Friday, the Grammys finally got it right. Having delivered the showstopping 75th Tony Awards back in June last year with powerhouse host Ariana DeBose, CBS is on a bit of a trophy ceremony roll with tonight’s show.
For once, music’s biggest night was a case of believing most of the hype.
It’s a lesson and a strategy that the Oscars might want to consider for next month’s 95th Academy Awards – let’s hope so, with or without Beyoncé in the house.
Just one month ago, we celebrated film and television at the 2023 Golden Globes
, but now, it's time for the music industry's moment: The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony has kicked off. Held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by Trevor Noah, this year's event puts the spotlight on nominees such as Adele, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, and more. But before the golden megaphones are passed out, the stars hit the red carpet—and as history goes, the Grammys are where our favorite celebs turn the fashion drama up to 100. (Cardi B's pearl-tactic Mugler look! Jennifer Lopez's ubiquitous Versace dress! Lady Gaga as an egg!). This is an evening of sartorial extremes—and we couldn't be more excited.
From Lizzo in a custom Swarovski crystal-embellished gown with a matching flower cape to newly EGOT-ed Viola Davis in a color-blocked and beaded fringe gown, the best looks at the 2023 Grammy's red carpet prove this year's ceremony is no exception to its legendary history. Ahead, see all the best-dressed celebrities and standout fashion moments at the 2023 Grammy Awards, and keep circling back to this space, as we'll be updating it throughout the evening.
The Best Red Carpet Looks at the 2023 Grammys
Beyoncé
Adele in custom Louis Vuitton
Jennifer Lopez in Gucci
Cardi B in Gaurav Gupta Couture
Olivia Rodrigo
Megan Fox in Zuhair Murad
Paris Hilton in Celine
Camila Cabello in PatBO
H.E.R. in Bach Mai
Taylor Swift in custom Roberto Cavalli
Harry Styles in EGONlab
Mary J. Blige in THE BLONDS
Maren Morris in Off-White
Lourdes Leon in Area
Heidi Klum in THE BLONDS
Kacey Musgraves in Valentino
Anitta in Vintage Atelier Versace
Viola Davis in Naeem Khan
Blac Chyna
Queen Latifah
Kim Petras in vintage Victor Costa and Sam Smith in Valentino
Bebe Rexha in Moschino
Brandi Carlile in Atelier Versace
Sheryl Crow in Alexander McQueen
Miranda Lambert in Le Thanh Hoa
Kelsea Ballerini in Prabal Gurung
Shania Twain in Harris Reed
Amanda Gorman in Prada
Lizzo in Dolce & Gabbana
Doja Cat in Atelier Versace
Dylan Mulvaney in Christian Siriano
Laverene Cox in Kim Kassas
Music’s biggest night of the year has officially begun, people: the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. This year, comedian Trevor Noah was tapped to host the historic ceremony, fresh off his goodbye from The Daily Show.
In his opening monologue, the 38-year-old took time to poke fun at the stars in the room. “Welcome to the Grammys! We made it. We’re back,” said Noah said while weaving his way through the audience. (Also, Trevor? We'd like whatever caffeinated beverage you pre-gamed the Grammys with.) Noah then stopped by Adele's table and announced the “Easy on Me” singer is a secret fan of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While Adele blushed, The Rock snuck up behind her and Noah formally introduced the two. In front of everyone. Thankfully, this wasn't a don’t meet your heroes moment—the two seemed to hit it off immediately. Now that Noah has left his seven-year stint at The Daily Show, the man should consider a career in matchmaking.
Before wrapping his monologue, the comedian shouted out a few of this year's heavy hitters. Taylor Swift got a nod for selling the most albums of the year... which she seemed surprised to hear? Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar, who is up for Album of the Year, was also recognized for his groundbreaking work. Beyoncé, notably, is on the precipice of breaking a massive record. If she wins two more golden gramophones, she will have been awarded the most Grammys of all time. “And even if she doesn’t break the record, she still gets to be Beyoncé,” Noah said. Win-win, indeed.