The 61st Grammy Awards 2019 Was All About Women Power

The 61st Grammy Awards 2019 at Los Angeles’ Staples was a star-studded affair which had a grand opening with 15 times Grammy Award Winner and host Alicia Keys. Alicia sang a medley of songs that she personally wished she had written. She sang ‘The Entertainer’ seated between two pianos, one black and one white. In the end, Keys said, “For the music that lives in us all” before bowing and blowing a kiss to the audience.  

Alicia Keys is Grammy’s first female host since 2005. Prior to this, it was Queen Latifah who hosted the show. The ‘Girl on Fire’ singer expressed that she has been on this platform multiple times earlier and she knows exactly how it feels and what the artists go through. She felt that this Grammy was going to bigger and better than the others.  Critics appreciated Alicia for beautifully playing both the roles of a host as well as a performer in the big awards night.

The host was accompanied by top celebrities during the opening which included big names like Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett, former first lady Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez.

Yolanda Adams, Fantasia and Andra Day performed a tribute to late singer Aretha Franklin. Aretha’s image was projected on the screen while the trio sang their tribute to the ‘Queen of Soul’ who passed away in August last year.

Among the early winners, Lady Gaga won three prizes. In her acceptance speech, Gaga highlighted the message on mental health from her movie ‘A star is born.’ She said, “If you see someone that's hurting, don't look away." She went on to thank Bradley Cooper, her co-star and director of ‘A star is born’ who was absent during the ceremony as he was attending the Baftas.

Dua Lipa won the best new artist which was one of the prominent awards of the ceremony. She was in deep shock and covered her face with her hands when her name was announced for the best artist. In her profound speech, she took a jab at Neil Portnow- the Recording Academy President who said that ‘women need to step up’ in last year’s ceremony implying that there were very less female nominees. Dua Lipa said that she was honored to be nominated along with other incredible female nominees this year. ‘I guess this year we've really stepped up’ said taking a dig at Neil Portnow.  

The 23-year-old songstress said that a person is special no matter what background they come from, no matter what their story is and no matter what they believe in.  Never let this come in the way of your dreams, she added. “Because you deserve it, and I'm proof that you can do whatever you put your mind to, and however hard you work, I really believe in it and I believe in you. Thank you so much”, she concluded.

It can be easily said that this year’s Grammys was dominated purely by women performers including Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Camila Cabello, Cardi B and Diana Ross who wished herself a 75th birthday.

Below is the list of winners:

Album of the year- "Golden Hour," Kacey Musgraves

Best Country Album- "Golden Hour," Kacey Musgraves

Best R&B Album- "H.E.R." H.E.R.

Record of the year- "This is America," Childish Gambino

Song of the year- "This Is America," Donald Glover and Ludwig Göransson

Best New Artist- Dua Lipa

Best Pop Solo Performance- Joanne (Where Do You Think You're Goin'?)," Lady Gaga

Best Pop Vocal Album- "Sweetener," Ariana Grande

Best Pop duo- "Shallow," Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Best Rap Album- “Invasion of Privacy," Cardi B

Best R&B Performance –“Best Part,” H.E.R. featuring Daniel Caesar

Best Country Song- "Space Cowboy," Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)

Best Rap Song- “God's Plan,” Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake)