As published on Caderno B+

Music awards tend to be more fun than movie awards. There is fraternization, and there are concerts, jams, and sincere reactions when there are unexpected defeats (Adele, for example, didn’t seem thrilled about Harry Styles taking the album of the year). And the night was one of many historic achievements: Viola Davis, the scorned Oscar 2023, is now one of the rare EGOTs, the acronym that brings together the main awards of the Entertainment Industry: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. That’s right, awarded in theatre, TV, cinema, and music. And Beyoncé is beyond any human being to break the record for Grammy wins. At the age of 41, with 32 statuettes to date, he is now officially unsurpassed.

But the 65th Grammy Awards, which handed out awards from Ozzy Osbourne and Adele to Willie Nelson, was a bit of a loss for anyone who was counting on Anitta‘s international recognition as Breakthrough Artist of the year. Who took the gramophone home in its place was Samara Joy, causing general surprise, not just around here. It couldn’t have been more opposite: if Anitta is pumping pop, Samara sings jazz, with a BEAUTIFUL voice that mixes the depth of Sarah Vaughn and the clarity of Ella Fitzgerald, very different from Garota from Rio. How did they end up in the same category? That’s why the victory is not necessary to confirm the star status of the Brazilian in the world market.

Meanwhile, the ubiquitous Harry Styles took the Grammy for Best Album of the Year, after a performance considered lukewarm. Lucky for him, Kanye West wasn’t in the audience because Beyoncé‘s social media entourage questioned the outcome, with some hints of impartiality in the face of an odd album like Renaissance in front of Harry’s House being announced as the winner. That 2022 was Harry’s year, no one doubted. And Beyoncé‘s genius makes her kind of like the Meryl Streep of music: because she’s the best, she’ll experience the paradox of losing more times to give other names a chance. It’s understandable? After all, with 32 Grammys so far and two wins on the night, she certainly wanted the most coveted categories, but she wasn’t ignored.

There were many good moments on and off stage, from an almost unrecognizable Madonna shaking social media to Ben Affleck‘s blatant boredom alongside Jenniffer Lopez, and the spectacular tribute to Hip-hop, but the Grammy 2023 was one of the most “ fair” of recent years, without having any artist taking all the trophies washed away as in previous years. It was as close to “everyone happy” as an awards show can get, even with the shock of seeing Bonnie Raitt, at 73, defeating all of the aforementioned superstars for Song of the Year.

One of the things that the Grammys always help – even more than the algorithms – is to introduce us to genres and artists worth checking out. Have you updated your playlist yet?