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(Redirected from Grammy Awards of 2021) 2021 edition of award ceremony

63rd Annual Grammy Awards
Official poster with original date window
DateMarch 14, 2021
LocationLos Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, California
Hosted byTrevor Noah
Most awardsBeyoncé (4)
Most nominationsBeyoncé (9)
Websitegrammy.com
Television/radio coverage
NetworkCBS
Viewership8.8 million
← 62nd · Grammy Awards · 64th →

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020. The nominations were revealed via a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020. The performers for the ceremony were announced on March 7, 2021. South African comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony.

Beyoncé received the most nominations with nine, followed by Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch, and Taylor Swift with six each. Beyoncé received the most awards, with four, surpassing Alison Krauss as the most-awarded woman in the show's history, with 28 awards overall. Her daughter Blue Ivy Carter become the youngest person ever to win a Grammy as an individual at the age of 8 years and 322 days for Best Music Video for "Brown Skin Girl".

Swift won Album of the Year for Folklore, making her the first woman to win the award three times and the first artist to do so since Paul Simon in 1988. Billie Eilish won Record of the Year for "Everything I Wanted", becoming the second solo artist, after Roberta Flack in 1974, to win two years consecutively, and the third overall since U2 in 2002. H.E.R. won Song of the Year for "I Can't Breathe" and Megan Thee Stallion won Best New Artist, becoming the second female rapper to win since Lauryn Hill in 1999.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for January 31, 2021; however, on January 5, 2021, the Recording Academy postponed the ceremony to March 14, 2021, due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles as well as health and safety concerns therein.

Background

The nominations were announced during a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020, by Chair, and Interim Recording Academy President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr., alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Mickey Guyton, Lauren Daigle, Pepe Aguilar, Nicola Benedetti, Gayle King, Yemi Alade, BTS, Imogen Heap and Sharon Osbourne. The academy announced Trevor Noah as the host of the ceremony.

Category alterations

For the 2021 ceremony, the academy announced several changes for different categories and rules:

Venue and production

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at Los Angeles Convention Center, while the show's usual venue—Staples Center—served as the backdrop. The show was three and a half hours long.

The Recording Academy appointed Ben Winston as the executive producer of the show, his first time working on a Grammy show. Winston, via Rolling Stone, stated that the show would feature multiple stages, but no audience, highlighting the "creative triumphs, social justice movements, as well as COVID-19's impact on the arts". Regarding the venue shift, Winston stated that he does believe Staples is a safe place, but he wanted "to go above and beyond to make even the most-skeptical participants feel undoubtedly safe". The production was overseen by COVID-19 safety officers. To minimize physical contact, artists had their own backstage area, and entered the stages from different directions.

The show involved five equally sized stages arranged in a circle facing inwards; one of the stages was for presenters and the other four for performers. Crew members worked from the center of the circular set. As soon as one performance ended, the next stage would be covered, and so on. Each stage set-up was changed every 45 minutes and replaced with a different performer in the lineup. Winston mentioned that the concept was inspired by the British entertainment programs Later... with Jools Holland and TFI Friday. The show was a mix of live and pre-recorded performances, as "a fully live show would involve too many crew members moving sets and risking close contact". However, the whole show was planned to feel entirely live.

To help plan the sprawling production and immersive spectacle of the show, Winston collaborated with a multitude of producers, such as co-executive producer Jesse Collins, who produced The Weeknd's Super Bowl halftime show; co-executive producer Raj Kapoor, who handled creative direction for many artists on the last seven Grammy shows and produced Las Vegas concert residencies for Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey; producer Fatima Robinson, worked on the Black Eyed Peas' 2011 halftime show; producer Misty Buckley, who produced Kacey Musgraves' 2020 Christmas show; talent executive Patrick Menton from Dick Clark Productions; James Corden collaborator Josie Cliff; and Hamish Hamilton, who directed Super Bowl halftimes, Olympic ceremonies, Academy Award, and Emmy Award shows.

Performers

Premiere ceremony

Performers were announced on March 2, 2021.

Artist(s) Song(s)
Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra
Thana Alexa
John Beasley
Camilo
Regina Carter
Alexandre Desplat
Bebel Gilberto
Lupita Infante
Sarah Jarosz
Mykal Kilgore
Ledisi
Mariachi Sol De Mexico
PJ Morton
Gregory Porter
Grace Potter
Gustavo Santaolalla
Anoushka Shankar
Kamasi Washington 		Tribute to Marvin Gaye
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"
Lido Pimienta "Eso Que Tú Haces"
Igor Levit Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor
Jimmy "Duck" Holmes "Catfish Blues"
Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science "Trapped in the American Dream"
Rufus Wainwright "Hatred"
Poppy "Eat"
Burna Boy Medley:
"Level Up"
"Onyeka"
"Ye"

Main ceremony

Performers for the ceremony were announced on March 7, 2021.

List of performers at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards
Artist(s) Song(s)
Harry Styles "Watermelon Sugar"
Billie Eilish
Finneas 		"Everything I Wanted"
Haim "The Steps"
Black Pumas "Colors"
DaBaby
Roddy Ricch
Anthony Hamilton 		"Rockstar"
Bad Bunny
Jhay Cortez 		"Dakiti"
Dua Lipa Medley:
"Levitating" (featuring DaBaby)
"Future Nostalgia" (dance only)
"Don't Start Now"
Silk Sonic
(Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) 		"Leave the Door Open"
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff
Aaron Dessner 		Medley:
"Cardigan"
"August"
"Willow"
Silk Sonic
Lionel Richie
Brandi Carlile
Brittany Howard
Chris Martin 		In Memoriam
"Long Tall Sally"
"Good Golly Miss Molly"
(tribute to Little Richard)
"Lady"
(tribute to Kenny Rogers)
"I Remember Everything"
(tribute to John Prine)
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
(tribute to Gerry Marsden)
Mickey Guyton "Black Like Me"
Miranda Lambert "Bluebird"
Maren Morris
John Mayer 		"The Bones"
Megan Thee Stallion
Cardi B 		"Body" (Megan Thee Stallion, dance only)
"Savage Remix" (Megan Thee Stallion, includes archived vocals by Beyoncé)
"Up" (Cardi B)
"WAP" (includes Pedro Sampaio funk carioca remix)
Post Malone "Hollywood's Bleeding"
Lil Baby
Tamika Mallory
Killer Mike 		"The Bigger Picture"
Doja Cat "Say So"
BTS "Dynamite"
Roddy Ricch "Heartless"
"The Box"

Presenters

Premiere ceremony

Main ceremony

  • Lizzo – presented Best New Artist
  • Trevor Noah - presented Best Melodic Rap Performance, Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and Song of the Year
  • Jacob Collier and Jhené Aiko – presented Best Pop Vocal Album
  • Jimmy Jam and Babyface – presented Best R&B Performance
  • Ringo Starr – presented Record of the Year

Winners and nominees

Winners appear first and highlighted in Bold.

General field

Record of the Year

Album of the Year

Song of the Year

Best New Artist

Pop

Best Pop Solo Performance

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Best Pop Vocal Album

Dance/electronic music

Best Dance Recording

Best Dance/Electronic Album

Contemporary instrumental music

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Rock

Best Rock Performance

Best Metal Performance

Best Rock Song

Best Rock Album

Alternative

Best Alternative Music Album

R&B

Best R&B Performance

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Best R&B Song

Best Progressive R&B Album

Best R&B Album

Rap

Best Rap Performance

Best Melodic Rap Performance

Best Rap Song

Best Rap Album

Country

Best Country Solo Performance

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

Best Country Song

Best Country Album

New age

Best New Age Album

Jazz

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Best Latin Jazz Album

Gospel/contemporary Christian music

Best Gospel Performance/Song

  • "Movin' On"
  • "Wonderful is Your Name"
    • Melvin Crispell III, songwriter (Melvin Crispell III)
  • "Release (Live)"
    • David Frazier, songwriter (Ricky Dillard featuring Tiff Joy)
  • "Come Together"
    • Lashawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Lecrae Moore & Jazz Nixon, songwriters (Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Presents: The Good News)
  • "Won't Let Go"

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

Best Gospel Album

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

Best Roots Gospel Album

Latin

Best Latin Pop or Urban Album

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

Best Tropical Latin Album

  • 40 – Grupo Niche
  • Mi Tumbao – José Alberto "El Ruiseñor"
  • Infinito – Edwin Bonilla
  • Sigo Cantando al Amor (Deluxe) – Jorge Celedon & Sergio Luis
  • Memorias de Navidad – Víctor Manuelle

American roots

Best American Roots Performance

Best American Roots Song

Best Americana Album

Best Bluegrass Album

Best Traditional Blues Album

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Best Folk Album

Best Regional Roots Music Album

  • Atmosphere – New Orleans Nightcrawlers
  • My Relatives 'nikso' Kowaiks – Black Lodge Singers
  • Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours – Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours
  • Lovely Sunrise – Nā Wai ʽEhā
  • A Tribute to Al Berard – Sweet Cecilia

Reggae

Best Reggae Album

Global music

Best Global Music Album

Children's

Best Children's Album

Spoken word

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)

Comedy

Best Comedy Album

Musical theater

Best Musical Theater Album

Music for visual media

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

Best Song Written for Visual Media

Composing/Arranging

Best Instrumental Composition

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

  • "Donna Lee"
  • "Bathroom Dance"
  • "Honeymooners"
  • "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
    • Alvin Chea & Jarrett Johnson, arrangers (Jarrett Johnson Featuring Alvin Chea)
  • "Uranus: The Magician"
    • Jeremy Levy, arranger (Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra)

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

Package

Best Recording Package

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

Notes

Best Album Notes

  • Dead Man's Pop
  • At The Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines From The Studio, 1894–1926
    • Tim Brooks, album notes writer (Various Artists)
  • The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital Of The West, 1940–1974
    • Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Various Artists)
  • The Missing Link: How Gus Haenschen Got Us From Joplin To Jazz And Shaped The Music Business
    • Colin Hancock, album notes writer (Various Artists)
  • Out Of A Clear Blue Sky
    • David Sager, album notes writer (Nat Brusiloff)

Historical

Best Historical Album

  • It's Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers
    • Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)
  • Celebrated, 1895–1896
    • Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (Unique Quartette)
  • Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936–1943)
    • Zev Feldman, Will Friedwald & George Klabin, compilation producers; Matthew Lutthans, mastering engineer (Nat King Cole)
  • 1999 Super Deluxe Edition
    • Michael Howe, compilation producer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Prince)
  • Souvenir
  • Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions
    • Béla Fleck, compilation producer; Richard Dodd, mastering engineer (Béla Fleck)

Production, non-classical

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Best Remixed Recording

Production, immersive audio

Best Immersive Audio Album

  • Soundtrack of the American Soldier
    • Leslie Ann Jones, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Dan Merceruio, immersive producer (Jim R. Keene and the United States Army Field Band
  • Bolstad: Tomba Sonora
    • Morten Lindberg (Stemmeklang)
  • Dear Future Self (Dolby Atmos Mixes)
    • Fritz Hilpert, immersive mix engineer; Jason Banks, Fritz Hilpert and David Zeigler, immersive mastering engineers; Tom Ammerman, Arno Kammermeier and Walter Merziger, immersive producers (Booka Shade)
  • Fryd
    • Morten Lindberg (Tove Ramlo-Ystad and Cantus)
  • Mutt Slang Li - A Wake of Sorrows Engulfed in Rage
    • Elliot Scheiner, immersive mix engineer; Darcy Proper, immersive mastering engineer; Alain Mallet and Elliot Scheiner, immersive producers (Alain Mallet)

Production, classical

Best Engineered Album, Classical

  • "Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar'"
    • David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
  • "Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua"
    • Bernd Gottinger, engineer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)
  • "Gershwin: Porgy and Bess"
    • David Frost & John Kerswell, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
  • "Hynes: Fields"
    • Kyle Pyke, engineer; Jesse Lewis & Kyle Pyke, mastering engineers (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)
  • "Ives: Complete Symphonies"
    • Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Producer of the Year, Classical

  • David Frost
    • Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss)
    • Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
    • Gluck: Orphée & Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra & Chorus)
    • Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
    • Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
    • Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner)
    • Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar' (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
  • Blanton Alspaugh
    • Aspects of America (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
    • Blessed Art Thou Among Women (Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
    • Dvořák: Symphony No. 9; Copland: Billy The Kid (Gianandrea Noseda & National Symphony Orchestra)
    • Glass: The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Joseph Li, Nicholas Nestorak, Madison Leonard, Jonas Hacker, Ben Edquist, Matthew Adam Fleisher & Wolf Trap Opera)
    • Kahane: Emergency Shelter Intake Form (Alicia Hall Moran, Gabriel Kahane, Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
    • Kastalsky: Requiem (Leonard Slatkin, Steven Fox, Benedict Sheehan, Charles Bruffy, Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, The Saint Tikhon Choir, Kansas City Chorale & Orchestra Of St. Luke's)
    • Massenet: Thaïs (Andrew Davis, Joshua Hopkins, Andrew Staples, Erin Wall, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
    • Smyth: The Prison (Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, James Blachly & Experiential Orchestra)
    • Woolf, L.P.: Fire And Flood (Julian Wachner, Matt Haimovitz & Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)
  • Jesse Lewis
    • Gunn: The Ascendant (Roomful Of Teeth)
    • Harrison, M.: Just Constellations (Roomful Of Teeth)
    • Her Own Wings (Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival)
    • Hynes: Fields (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)
    • Lang, D.: Love Fail (Beth Willer & Lorelei Ensemble)
    • Mazzoli: Proving Up (Christopher Rountree, Opera Omaha & International Contemporary Ensemble)
    • Sharlat: Spare The Rod! (NOW Ensemble)
    • Soul House (Hub New Music)
    • Wherein Lies The Good (The Westerlies)
  • Dmitry Lipay
    • Adams, J.: Must The Devil Have All The Good Tunes? (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
    • Cipullo: The Parting (Alastair Willis, Laura Strickling, Catherine Cook, Michael Mayes & Music Of Remembrance)
    • Ives: Complete Symphonies (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
    • LA Phil 100 – The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
    • Langgaard: Prelude To Antichrist; Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
    • Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 2, 'The Four Temperaments' (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony)
  • Elaine Martone
    • Bound For The Promised Land (Robert M. Franklin, Steven Darsey, Jessye Norman & Taylor Branch)
    • Dawn (Shachar Israel)
    • Gandolfi, Prior & Oliverio: Orchestral Works (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
    • Singing In The Dead Of Night (Eighth Blackbird)
    • Whitacre: The Sacred Veil (Eric Whitacre, Grant Gershon & Los Angeles Master Chorale)

Classical

Best Orchestral Performance

Best Opera Recording

Best Choral Performance

  • "Danielpour: The Passion of Yessuah"
  • "Carthage"
  • "Kastalski: Requiem"
    • Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Charles Bruffy, Steven Fox & Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Joseph Charles Beutel & Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke's; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale & The Saint Tikhon Choir)
  • "Moravec: Sanctuary Road"
    • Kent Tritle, conductor (Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather & Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society Of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society Of New York Chorus)
  • "Once Upon a Time"
    • Matthew Guard, conductor (Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

  • "Contemporary Voices" – Pacifica Quartet
  • "Healing Modes" – Brooklyn Rider
  • "Hearne, T,: Place" – Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra
  • "Hynes: Fields" – Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion
  • "The Schumann Quartets" – Dover Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

  • "Smyth: The Prison"
    • Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)
  • "American Composers at Play – William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto"
    • Stephen Powell (Attacca Quartet, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto, Charles Neidich & Jason Vieaux)
  • "Clairières – Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger"
  • "Farinelli"
  • "A Lad's Love"
    • Brian Giebler; Steven McGhee, accompanist (Katie Hyun, Michael Katz, Jessica Meyer, Reginald Mobley & Ben Russell)

Best Classical Compendium

  • "Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke"
  • "Adès Conducts Adès"
    • Mark Stone & Christianne Stotijn; Thomas Adès, conductor; Nick Squire, producer
  • "Saariaho: Graal Théâtre; Circle Map, Neiges, Vers Toi Qui Es Si Loin"
    • Clément Mao-Takacs, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer
  • "Serebrier: Symphonic Bach Variations; Laments and Hallelujahs; Flute Concerto"
  • "Woolf, L.P.: Fire and Blood"

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Music video/film

Best Music Video

Best Music Film

Special Merit Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Trustees Award

Technical Grammy Award

  • Daniel Weiss

Music Educator Award

Multiple nominations and awards

The following received multiple nominations:

Nine:

Six:

Five:

Four:

Three:

Two:

The following received multiple awards:

Four:

Three:

Two:

In Memoriam

Musical artists and industry personnel who had died in 2020 and early 2021 were included in a memorial reel aired during the Grammy telecast. At least 800 individuals were considered by producer Ben Winston for the segment. The Recording Academy was criticized by fans of Naya Rivera, Benny Mardones, Hal Ketchum, Riley Gale, and Frankie Banali for excluding their names from the broadcast, although all of them were included on a longer list of names posted on the Grammys website.

The segment dedicated to Eddie Van Halen was criticized by fans, former bandmates and other figures within the hard rock and heavy metal community who felt that the brief seconds-long tribute was an insult to the guitarist's influence and legacy. Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen revealed that he declined the Academy's offer to play "Eruption" for the segment out of respect for his father, believing that the "In Memoriam" would feature more songs. While disappointed with the brief tribute, Wolfgang was "hurt the most" by Eddie not being mentioned among other late artists remembered at the beginning of the show, attributing the mishap to the declining mainstream popularity in rock music and the Academy's historical lack of interest in the genre. However, Jem Aswad of Variety defended the tribute, opining that longer tributes featuring cover artists still would have failed to meet expectations and praised the subtext behind the segment, which featured a spotlight on Van Halen's signature Frankenstrat guitar with a video of the guitarist playing in the background, that Van Halen's talent could never be replicated.

Reception

Pre-ceremony

Following the release of the nominations, Canadian singer the Weeknd accused the Grammys of corruption after he failed to receive any nominations. Based on the success of his album, After Hours, the Weeknd had been expected by many critics and publications to receive a large number of nominations, including Album of the Year as well as several nods for his single "Blinding Lights". Expressing his disappointment, the Weeknd tweeted "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...". He further explained that he was expecting nominations due to discussions between his team and the Grammys to perform at the ceremony but it was later reported by Rolling Stone that these discussions broke down due to the Weeknd also performing at the Super Bowl LV halftime show. In response, the Grammys released a statement saying that they "empathized" with the Weeknd's disappointment but that some "deserving" artists miss out every year. Recording Academy president Harvey Mason Jr. later expanded on this by explaining that "we understand that the Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathise with what he's feeling. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before the Weeknd's performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process". Several days later, the Weeknd stated that "I personally don't care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows. It's not like, 'Oh, I want the Grammy!' It's just that this happened, and I'm down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again".

American singer Halsey spoke out in solidarity with the Weeknd after her 2020 album, Manic, received no nominations. Taking to Instagram, Halsey wrote "The Grammys are an elusive process. It can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshake and 'bribes' that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as 'not bribes.'" The singer went on to share that speaking out against The Grammys could very well get an artist blacklisted. Halsey, who only has 2 nominations throughout her entire career, was the center of conversation when her song "Without Me", which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, was passed up for a nomination at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Justin Bieber expressed his disappointment with the academy following his album Changes receiving nominations in the Pop field rather than the R&B field. He explained that he is "very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me". The Grammys later responded to Bieber, stating that "we always want to respect the artist's wishes. Art's a funny thing because it's so subjective, and at the Academy our goal is to honor excellence. At some point, decisions have to be made as to how to compare different things, and it is a very tough process and one I don't think we get right every time. We use our best efforts to get people where they wanna be and where they should be and try to evaluate them as best as we can. If he felt that was that type of a record, then, you know... I'll just leave it at that. We try really hard to make sure people's art is respected and evaluated in the right category".

Five days before the ceremony, British artist Zayn Malik posted a tweet criticizing the Grammys and their voting procedures stating that "unless you shake hands and send gifts, there's no nomination considerations. Next year I'll send you a basket of confectionary". After confusion from fans and the media, who noted that Malik's third album, Nobody Is Listening, was ineligible for the 63rd Grammy Awards as it was released after the eligibility period ended in August, Malik stated his intentions in a follow-up tweet, explaining that his prior post was "not personal or about eligibility but was about the need for inclusion and the lack of transparency of the nomination process and the space that creates and allows favoritism, racism, and networking politics to influence the voting process".

Ceremony

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2021)

During the ceremony, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion performed the song "WAP." Grammys host Trevor Noah prefaced the performance with, "If you have small children in the room, just tell them it's a song about giving a cat a bath", and the chorus "wet and gushy," was changed to "wet, wet, wet". Billboard ranked it as the best performance of the ceremony, commenting that "this had to be one of the most insane television debut performances of all time." Music critic Jon Caramanica called the performance "wildly and charmingly salacious, frisky and genuine in a way that the Grammys has rarely if ever made room for". However, the performance received criticism for being "non-family-friendly".

Viewership

The broadcast received an average of 8.8 million viewers in the United States, with a 2.1 Nielsen rating among adults aged 18 to 49, marking a more than 50 percent decline from the previous year's ceremony, and making it the least-viewed telecast in the history of the Grammys. Conversely, the live streaming audience for the show was up 83 percent over 2020 and the hashtag, #Grammys trended for 18 hours and peaked in the number one position.

References

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