By Quinn Chao 02/11/2019
The biggest names in the music industry came together in Los Angeles Sunday night to celebrate and honor another year in music at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
While many artists got to take home an award, many more were left empty-handed.
The first surprise came early in the evening when “This is America” by Childish Gambino won Song of the Year. The song also became the first rap song to win Record of the Year, one the most prestigious awards at the show.
However, Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) was not present to receive his award. He and Kendrick Lamar decided to boycott the event due to the lack of recognition they say the Grammys have given to hip-hop artists.
Cardi B made history as the first female solo artist to win Best Rap Album with “Invasion of Privacy.” She was up against the late Mac Miller’s “Swimming” who many said was more deserving of the award.
One snub of the night was Travis Scott’s chart-topping “Sicko Mode” which lost to Drake’s “God’s Plan” for Best Rap Song.
Another shock came when Ariana Grande won Best Pop Album for “Sweetener.” There was stiff competition in Grande’s category as she was up against albums like Shawn Mendes’ “Shawn Mendes,” Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” and Camila Cabello’s “Camila.”
While Grande was victorious, she also chose to boycott the show because the President of the Grammys, Neil Portnow, would not let her perform the song of her choice.
Dua Lipa, singer of“New Rules,” took home the Best New Artist Grammy. Previous winners of this award include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Carrie Underwood and John Legend. Lipa burst into tears when her name was called.
The biggest surprise of the night was for the most coveted award, Album of the Year. With unstoppable artists like Cardi B, Post Malone, Janelle Monae, Drake, Kacey Musgraves, H.E.R., Brandi Carlile and Kendrick Lamar all up against each other, it could have gone any way.
Ultimately, country singer Kacey Musgraves, and her album “Golden Hour,” was triumphant.
The full list of winners for the 61st Grammys can be found here.