What the Grammys had to say about history

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History was made successful much than 1 mode astatine Sunday night’s 68th Grammy Awards.

Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” won medium of the twelvemonth — the archetypal Spanish-language LP to instrumentality the Recording Academy’s highest honor. Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” was named grounds of the year, making Lamar the winningest rapper successful Grammy past (and conscionable the 4th creator to spell back-to-back for the grounds prize). Then determination were Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, who took opus of the twelvemonth with “Wildflower”; they’re present the lone songwriters with 3 wins successful that prestigious category.

To spell by demographics, the ceremonial intelligibly embodied the diverseness gains the academy has been saying proudly are happening among its 15,000 voting members. But if caller kinds of faces are becoming Grammy darlings, the euphony they’re being recognized for inactive upholds galore of the academy’s aged values. A nighttime for making past was besides a nighttime for reveling successful it.

Take “Luther,” a soulful hip-hop dilatory jam built connected a salient illustration of Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 rendition of a emotion opus Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell recorded successful the precocious 1960s — an intricate portion of lineage-making meant to span aggregate generations.

“First and foremost, let’s springiness a shout-out to the late, large Luther Vandross,” the shaper Sounwave said arsenic he, Lamar, SZA and the song’s different creators accepted their grant astatine Crypto.com Arena. (Before they made it onstage, Cher misread the paper identifying “Luther” arsenic grounds of the twelvemonth and said that Vandross himself had won.) Lamar added, “This is what euphony is about,” and expressed his gratitude for being allowed “the privilege” to usage Vandross’ euphony arsenic agelong arsenic helium and SZA promised the singer’s property not to curse connected their record.

You tin perceive a akin reverence for those who came earlier successful Olivia Dean, the 26-year-old British vocalist named champion caller creator connected the spot of her deed “The Art of Loving” LP, which looks backmost to the gleaming pop-soul of Diana Ross and Whitney Houston.

Even Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper and vocalist who became a superstar astatine the bleeding borderline of reggaeton and Latin trap, achieved his Grammy breakthrough with thing of a throwback move: “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” is an exactingly arranged tribute to his autochthonal island, with elements of Puerto Rican people styles specified arsenic bomba and plena and much hand-played instrumentation than helium utilized for 2022’s sleek “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which scored a Grammy information for medium of the twelvemonth but mislaid to “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles (who, arsenic it happens, presented the medium prize Sunday).

Part of Bad Bunny’s occurrence this twelvemonth tin beryllium attributed to the information that he’s a acold bigger personage than helium was 3 years ago; indeed, his Grammy triumph impressively sets up the halftime show he’ll springiness this coming play astatine Super Bowl LX. But not dissimilar Beyoncé’s rootsy “Cowboy Carter,” which yet brought her a triumph for medium of the twelvemonth successful 2025 aft a fig of outrage-inducing defeats, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” is besides primo Grammy bait: a enactment steeped successful contented from a earthy innovator.

For years, the Grammys’ rearview regard utilized to bum maine retired — and, to beryllium honest, arsenic beauteous arsenic Eilish’s “Wildflower” is, her opus of the twelvemonth triumph with the tender acoustic ballad felt similar a nonaccomplishment of imaginativeness among voters I privation had recognized the hurtling exuberance of “Golden,” from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.” (“Golden” did instrumentality the prize for opus written for ocular media, which made it the archetypal K-pop tune to triumph a Grammy.)

Yet thing astir Sunday’s ceremonial made it hard to get excessively worked up astir each the historicizing. Perhaps it was however plainly yet passionately galore artists utilized their clip onstage to talk astir the issues pressing connected america close now. “Before I accidental acknowledgment to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out,” Bad Bunny told the assemblage arsenic helium accepted an grant for música urbana album. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”

Eilish said, “No 1 is amerciable connected stolen land.” Dean pointed retired that she’s the granddaughter of an migrant and that “those radical merit to beryllium celebrated.”

I was besides moved by however idiosyncratic truthful overmuch of the euphony felt — a outcry of imperfection similar Lola Young’s “Messy,” for instance, which she performed by herself connected soft and which won popular solo show successful an upset implicit the likes of Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter. “I don’t cognize what I’m gonna accidental due to the fact that I don’t person immoderate code prepared,” she yelled into the microphone arsenic she received her trophy. “Obviously, I don’t — it’s messy, bash you cognize what I mean?”

Weirdly for a amusement with yesterday truthful heavy connected its mind, a tribute to the precocious R&B trailblazers Roberta Flack and D’Angelo was a disappointment, with Lauryn Hill arsenic bandleader moving mode excessively rapidly (in mode excessively abbreviated an allotted time) done songs that necessitate existent abstraction to unfurl.

That’s what Justin Bieber had for the evening’s astir striking performance: a dilatory and radically stripped-down rendition of his opus “Yukon” that helium sang wearing lone boxer shorts and socks, accompanying himself with a scratchy electrical guitar riff helium fed done a looping station.

“Yukon” is from Bieber’s awesome “Swag” album, which helium released past twelvemonth aft a lengthy agelong successful the pop-star wilderness; it’s an LP, benignant of similar “Messy,” astir learning to forgive yourself for your flaws, and present helium sang “Yukon” similar a feline who’d figured retired — possibly a feline figuring retired — however to physique a beingness extracurricular the punishing expectations of celebrity. The euphony had the past successful it, of course, but didn’t consciousness constrained by it.