On Sunday, February 5th, In Los Angeles, California, the Super Bowl of pop culture was back for another year of amazing acts and high drama. What am I talking about you ask? the Grammys of course!

The Grammys were held at Crypto.com Arena with Trevor Noah back for his third hosting gig, which put him in select company with LL Cool J as the only other person to host the show three or more times. Noah hosted in 2021 and 2022, though his 2022 appearance included  controversy about a joke that made fun of the Korean language and was offensive to the K-Pop band BTS. To address this, Noah apologized at the very start of the show before moving right into the event. 

A lot of history was made at this year’s Grammys. Beyoncé set a record for the most Grammy awards by winning her 32nd trophy. Also, Kim Petras made history as the first transgender woman to win a Grammy, which she won for her performance with Sam Smith as the Best Pop Duo/Group. This year’s Grammys also celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop music, which included a 15-minute ensemble performance that included Hip-Hop stars Run DMC, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Nelly, and many more Hip-Hop artists.

The major categories that I found most interesting during the awards show were Album of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Music Video. My prediction and the winner for Album of the Year was Harry Styles. I think he deserved to win because his album, “Harry’s House,” was very chill and relaxed. 

The award for Best New Artist went to Samara Joy, which is what I predicted. Samara’s music is very powerful and inspiring, especially for me as an African American woman.

 For Best Music Video, I predicted that BTS’ video “Yet to Come Most Beautiful Moment” would win, but the winner was Taylor Swift for her video “All Too Well.” Even though Taylor’s video was worthy, I was disappointed that BTS did not win. I felt they deserved it more, especially because they worked so hard this year.

For Record of the Year, Lizzo beat out Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles, Doja Cat, ABBA, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Steve Lacy, and Brandi Carlile to win this year’s Grammy. I was happy that Lizzo won because her song, “About Damn Time,” is very popular and frequently played on the radio and the internet. Her song makes people feel happy and confident.

As for the performances, I enjoyed all of them but one performance that stood out was the celebration honoring 50 Years of Hip-Hop music, which I noted earlier. Bad Bunny’s opening performance included several songs from his popular album “Un Verano San Ti.” The Latin music, dancing, and light show were great ways to open the show. Other highlights were  Sam Smith and Kim Petras performing the song “Unholy” and Brandi Carlile performing “Broken Hearts.” All of the performances were unique and creative. They were a good representation of different genres of music.

Overall, the show was a great success. It made you feel like you were in a musical that would never end. Trevor Noah did a great job hosting for his third year in a row and, though he apologized for last year’s inappropriate comment about BTS, as a devoted BTS fan and member of the BTS Army, I really wish he had never said what he did last year.