Music’s biggest night has come and gone, and once again, the industry experts have honored what they considered the best pieces of music released within the past year (or more specifically, those released between the October 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019 eligibility window). The award ceremony was held last night at the Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Hosting for a second year in a row was Alicia Keys, who was joined by Boyz II Men as they gave a heartfelt tribute to retired NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant; the basketball legend had died hours earlier in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi.
American singer/rapper, Lizzo, also paid tribute to the former LA Lakers shooting guard, opening the ceremony with a performance of her songs “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth Hurts.” Heading into the Grammys, she had scored a total of 8 nominations, the highest of all the nominees. These included the four big categories of the ceremony: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. But it was 18-year-old music sensation Billie Eilish who came out the big winner, cleaning out in all four categories, and winning 5 out of her 6 Grammy nominations. Her brother, Finneas, also scored 5 wins including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, for his work on her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
The following are the nominees (winners highlighted in bold) from some of the major categories. For a full list of winners, you can visit Grammy.com:
Record of the Year
- “Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver
- “Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
- “7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
- “Hard Place” – H.E.R.
- “Talk” – Khalid
- “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
- “Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
Album of the Year
- I, I – Bon Iver
- Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
- When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
- Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
- I Used to Know Her – H.E.R.
- 7 – Lil Nas X
- Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
- Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
Song of the Year
- “Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
- “Always Remember Us This Way” – Lady Gaga
- “Bring My Flowers Now” – Tanya Tucker
- “Hard Place” – H.E.R.
- “Lover” – Taylor Swift
- “Norman Fucking Rockwell” – Lana Del Rey
- “Someone You Loved” – Lewis Capaldi
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
Best New Artist
- Black Pumas
- Billie Eilish
- Lil Nas X
- Lizzo
- Maggie Rogers
- Rosalía
- Tank and the Bangas
- Yola
Best Pop Solo Performance
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
- “Spirit” – Beyoncé
- “Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
- “7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
- “You Need to Calm Down” – Taylor Swift
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
- “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Boyfriend” – Ariana Grande and Social House
- “Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
- “Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
- “Señorita” – Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
- Look Now – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
- Sì – Andrea Bocelli
- Love (Deluxe Edition) – Michael Bublé
- A Legendary Christmas – John Legend
- Walls – Barbra Streisand
Best Pop Vocal Album
- When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
- The Lion King: The Gift – Beyoncé
- Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
- No.6 Collaborations Project – Ed Sheeran
- Lover – Taylor Swift
Best Dance Recording
- “Got to Keep On” – The Chemical Brothers
- “Linked” – Bonobo
- “Piece of Your Heart” – Meduza featuring Goodboys
- “Underwater” – Rüfüs Du Sol
- “Midnight Hour” – Skrillex & Boys Noize featuring Ty Dolla $ign
Best Dance/Electronic Album
- No Geography – The Chemical Brothers
- LP5 – Apparat
- Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape) – Flume
- Solace – Rüfüs Du Sol
- Weather – Tycho
Best Rock Performance
- “This Land” – Gary Clark Jr.
- “Pretty Waste” – Bones UK
- “History Repeats” – Brittany Howard
- “Woman” – Karen O & Danger Mouse
- “Too Bad” – Rival Sons
Best Metal Performance
- “7empest” – Tool
- “Astorolus – The Great Octopus” – Candlemass featuring Tony Iommi
- “Humanicide” – Death Angel
- “Bow Down” – I Prevail
- “Unleashed” – Killswitch Engage
Best Rock Song
- “This Land” – Gary Clark Jr.
- “Fear Inoculum” – Tool
- “Give Yourself a Try” – The 1975
- “Harmony Hall” – Vampire Weekend
- “History Repeats” – Brittany Howard
Best Rock Album
- Social Cues – Cage the Elephant
- Amo – Bring Me the Horizon
- In the End – The Cranberries
- Trauma – I Prevail
- Feral Roots – Rival Sons
Best Alternative Music Album
- Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
- U.F.O.F. – Big Thief
- Assume Form – James Blake
- I, I – Bon Iver
- Anima – Thom Yorke
Best R&B Performance
- “Come Home” – Anderson Paak featuring André 3000
- “Love Again” – Daniel Caesar & Brandy
- “Could’ve Been” – H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
- “Exactly How I Feel” – Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
- “Roll Some Mo” – Lucky Daye
Best Traditional R&B Performance
- “Jerome” – Lizzo
- “Time Today” – BJ the Chicago Kid
- “Steady Love” – India.Arie
- “Real Games” – Lucky Daye
- “Built for Love” – PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan
Best R&B Song
- “Say So” – PJ Morton featuring JoJo
- “Could’ve Been” – H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
- “Look at Me Now” – Emily King
- “No Guidance” – Chris Brown featuring Drake
- “Roll Some Mo” – Lucky Daye
Best Urban Contemporary Album
- Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
- Apollo XXI – Steve Lacy
- Overload – Georgia Anne Muldrow
- Saturn – NAO
- Being Human in Public – Jessie Reyez
Best R&B Album
- Ventura – Anderson Paak
- 1123 – BJ the Chicago Kid
- Painted – Lucky Daye
- Ella Mai – Ella Mai
- Paul – PJ Morton
Best Rap Performance
- “Racks in the Middle” – Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy
- “Middle Child” – J. Cole
- “Suge” – DaBaby
- “Down Bad” – Dreamville featuring JID, Bas, J. Cole, EarthGang & Young Nudy
- “Clout” – Offset featuring Cardi B
Best Rap/Sung Performance
- “Higher” – DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle & John Legend
- “Drip Too Hard” – Lil Baby & Gunna
- “Panini” – Lil Nas X
- “Ballin” – Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
- “The London” – Young Thug featuring J. Cole & Travis Scott
Best Rap Song
- “A Lot” – 21 Savage featuring J. Cole
- “Bad Idea” – YBN Cordae featuring Chance the Rapper
- “Gold Roses” – Rick Ross featuring Drake
- “Racks in the Middle” – Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy
- “Suge” – DaBaby
Best Rap Album
- Igor – Tyler, the Creator
- Revenge of the Dreamers III – Dreamville
- Championships – Meek Mill
- I Am > I Was – 21 Savage
- The Lost Boy – YBN Cordae
For many Nigerians, the only category worth considering was Best World Music Album, for which Burna Boy had scored a nomination for his fourth album, African Giant. Unfortunately, the afrobeat singer and rapper had lost that award to Grammy veteran, Angélique Kidjo, who had scored her fourth win and tenth overall nomination for her 2019 album, Celia. The Beninese singer received her first-ever nomination (which was for Best Music Video) back in 1995 for her hit single, Agolo.
Have you had a chance to watch the 62nd Grammy Awards? What did you think about the winners in your favorite categories? Let us know in the comments section below.