Grammy Awards 2023: the winners. From Beyoncé’s emotion to the Måneskin satisfaction

Distancing and compliance with anti-Covid protocols are now a distant memory for Grammy Awards which, having reached the 65th edition, conducted for the third time by Trevor Noah, shine as they have never done before. Partly for the general splendor associated with seeing the stars of music all together again and partly for the triumph of an artist who, during the evening, manages to write history by entering the Guinness world record: yes it is about Beyoncé which, by winning the award for best album, has officially become the most awarded artist ever in the history of the Grammys.

With no less than 32 Grammys won in the face of no less than 88 nominations, Queen B surpasses the Hungarian naturalized English conductor Georg Solti, who died in 1997 and reached 31 Grammys, welcoming the goal with emotion and a special thanks to Lgbtq+ community that has always followed and supported her: «I would like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing a genre», says Beyoncé, ready to inaugurate her new world tour, the Renaissance world Tourswhich, unfortunately, will not touch Italy.

Together with the triumph of Beyoncé, who in any case failed to take home the heaviest Grammy, namely that of the best album of the year, went to Harry Styles and his Harry’s House, yet another milestone for an artist capable of holding in his hands a moment that couldn’t be more golden, it also exists a bit of a disappointment for our Måneskin, who did not win the award for Best new artist which went instead to the young Samara Joy, a 23-year-old jazz artist originally from the Bronx. For the Roman quartet, which we will also see as guests at the Sanremo Festival, the satisfaction of having been the first Italian rock band to ever receive a Grammy nomination remains: «It still seems strange to us, we still have to get used to it, but every time we participate to these events and we get to meet our idols is always wonderful,” say the Måneskin during the pre-evening interviews on the Grammy red carpet. Other major awards have gone to Lizzo for the registration of the year (About damn time) and, surprisingly, to the blues singer and guitarist Bonnie Raitt for song of the year with Just like that.

Adele triumphs in the category Best pop solo performance with Easy on Mewhile Best Rap Album, as expected, is to Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers). Furthermore, the prize for the best Pop Duo/Group Performance went to Kim Petras, the first transgender woman to win a Grammyand to Sam Smith for the song Unholy. “I grew up next to a highway in the middle of nowhere. My mother believed in me, that I was a girl. And I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for her support», says Petras, a German singer who lives in Los Angeles, during her acceptance speech, emblem of a battle that the girl decided to carry on at the age of 13 and that she managed to get her the go-ahead for the transition intervention before 18, the limit set in her country. Petras and Smith’s performance is introduced as a surprise by Madonna, winner of 7 Grammys, who takes advantage of the stage to remove a few pebbles from her shoe: «Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades of music: if they call you shocking, scandalous, annoying, provocative, or dangerous, you’re definitely on the right track. I’m here to thank all the rebels out there who forged a new path and took responsibility for it all. Guys, you must know that our courage will not go unnoticed”.

Since we know that certain demonstrations and certain ceremonies can also be a sounding board for various current-related problems – and that’s why we don’t understand the controversies related to Zelensky’s elusive recorded video message at the Sanremo final -, the Grammys capture the opportunity to give the floor to Shervin Hajipour, author of the song For which tells the reasons why the Iranian people suffer and fight: the artist, introduced by the First Lady Jill Bidenwas jailed in October twenty-four hours after sharing his song at the time of release, which within hours became thehymn of the demonstrations that began last September in Iran after the killing of Mahsa Amini. To close the roundup of the most beautiful and intense moments of the 65th Grammys are also the performance of Steve Wonder, 72 years old, accompanied by the choreography of the very young WanMor quartet, all four brothers and sons of Wanya Morris, leader of Boyz II Men, a soul group founded more than thirty years ago; the performance of William “Smokey” Robinsonwho at the age of 82 duets with Wonder on the notes of Tears of a Clownand the victory of the American singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Lynn Raitt73, who wins the Grammy for song of the year with Just like that.

Here is the list of artists awarded at the Grammy Awards 2023, in the main categories:

Album of the Year
Harry’s House -Harry Styles

Registration of the year
About damn time – Lizzo

Song of the year
Just like that – Bonnie Raitt

Best Emerging Artist
Samara joy

Best Solo Pop Performance
Easy on me – Adele

Best Performance by a Pop Duo/Group
Unholy – Sam Smith and Kim Petras

Best Rap Album
Mr Morale & the big steppers -Kendrick Lamar

Best Dance/Electronic Album
Renaissance – Beyoncé

Best R’n’B’ Song
Cuff it – Beyoncé

Best Country Album
A beautiful time -Willie Nelson

Best Pop Album
Harry’s House -Harry Styles

Best urban album
Un verano sin ti – Bad bunny

Best Rock Album
Patient number 9 -Ozzy Osbourne

Best Rock Performance
broken horses – Brandy Carlile

Best rock song
broken horses – Brandy Carlile

Best Rap Performance
The Heart part 5 -Kendrick Lamar

Best rock song
The Heart part 5 -Kendrick Lamar

Best Melodic Rap Performance
Wait for U – Future feat. Drake & Tems

Best R’n’B Album
Black radio III -Robert Glasper

Best R’n’B Performance
hrs & hrs – Muni Long

Best Traditional R’n’B Performance
Plastic off the sofa – Beyoncé

Best progressive r’n’b album
Gemini Rights – Steve Lacy

Best Alternative Music Performance
Chaise longue – Wet leg

Best Alternative Music Album
Wet leg – Wet leg

Best audio book
Finding me – Viola Davis

Best Traditional Pop Album
higher – Michael Buble

Best Solo Country Performance
Live forever -Willie Nelson

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Never wanted to be that girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Best Country Album
Till you can’t – Cody Johnson

Best Music Video
All too well: the short film – Taylor Swift

Producer of the year, not classic
Jack Antonoff

Best Comedy Album
The Closer – Dave Chapelle

Best Theater Album
Into the woods (2022 Broadway cast recording)

Best Music Film
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans story

Best song for visual media
We don’t talk about Bruno – from Encanto, Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Jazz Vocal Album
Samara Joy

Best Americana Album
In these silent days – Brandi Carlile

Best American Performance
Made up mind – Bonnie Raitt

Best American root song
Just like that – Bonnie Raitt

Best Dance/Electronic Recording
Break my soul – Beyoncé

Best Metal Performance
Degradation rules – Ozzy Osbourne feat. Tony Iommi

Best engineered non-classical album
Harry’s house – Harry Styles\

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