Megan Thee Stallion wins big, Beyonce sets record Grammys 2021

Megan Thee Stallion was the big winner at the 63rd Grammy Awards, winning three trophies in a night when Beyonce broke the record for most number of Grammy wins. Scoring an individual haul that stands at 28 Grammys, Beyonce has now surpassed the record previously held by Alisson Krauss.

Taylor Swift also entered the record books. With her Grammy for Album of the Year for "Folklore", she became the first singer-songwriter to win the prize three times, and overall fourth musician to achieve this feat.

Megan won three Grammys — Best New Artist, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance — at the in-person live/virtual ceremony hosted by Trevor Noah on Sunday night (Monday according to India time) that had as a highlight an extended in-tribute section honouring those who died in the last one year.

"There's going to be stages that are intricately designed to be socially distanced but at the same time engaging with the people, so it'll feel like you're there at some sort of music-festival-meets-awards-show-meets-special-concert just for you at home," Noah said in his opening monologue.

Wearing an open jacket and boa, drawing a joke from host Noah about the same, Harry Styles opened the ceremony with his hit, "Watermelon sugar", which also saw him win the Best Pop Solo performance category this year.

The opening act also included performances by Billie Eilish, joined by her brother and collaborator, Finneas, who performed "All I ever wanted". Haim performed "The steps."

Following the first award, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch's performance of their song "Rockstar", joined by a choir of older white people in what looked like judge's robes, laid the foundation for what was going to be a vocal night for Black musicians.

Perhaps the strongest voice at this year's Grammy Awards was that of Atlanta-based rapper Lil Baby who once again raised the issue of treatment of the Blacks in the US, with a powerful performance of his song, 'The bigger picture,' which was released amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year.

Three awards presented during the telecast went to protest songs. "Lockdown", released by Anderson .Paak, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, won for Best Melodic Rap Performance. "I can't breathe", by H.E.R. won Song of the Year. "Black parade," Beyonce's own release, from her "Black Is King" film, won Best R&B Performance and saw her become the singer with most number of Grammys.

Beyonce's record-breaking win came after her wins in the Best Music Vdeo category for "Brown skin girl", which she shared with daughter Blue Ivy, and Best Rap Performance, which she shared with Megan Thee Stallion for their song "Savage (remix)". Apart from sharing the award with Beyonce, Megan also won the inaugural award of the night — Best New Artist.

"I don't want to cry. It's been a hell of a year, and we made it," said Megan while accepting her award. She also set the stage on fire with her performances of her songs, "Body", "Savage" and "Up", and with three wins out of four, she was the star of the night, till Ringo Starr announced that Billie Eilish won the Record of the Year, making it her second consecutive win in the same category. Even Eilish couldn't believe she had won the award.

"I was going to write a speech about how you deserve this but then I was like, there's no way they're going to choose me," Eilish said. "I was like, it's hers. You deserve this. You had a year that I think is untoppable. You are a queen. I want to cry thinking about how much I love you," she added. (IANS)

Also Read: 63rd Grammy Awards Postponed to March as COVID-19 Cases Surge in Los Angeles

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