As It Happened: The 2023 Grammy Awards

Sunday’s Grammy Awards seemed to have something for just about everyone.

The show has often been targeted as out of touch with music lovers, awarding some of its biggest trophies to winners who have been discussed and contested across social media.

The night Beyoncé broke the record for the most wins in award show history, things got a little different.

That’s not to say there haven’t been surprises. Even Bonnie Raitt seemed flabbergasted by her Song of the Year win. And Bey fans are surely disappointed that Album of the Year went to Harry Styles (although most people couldn’t help but love him, even if they were shooting for someone else ).

This year felt more inclusive.

In 2020, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which hosts the show, responded to allegations of a lack of diversity and being a “boys club”. They announced a series of initiatives to address this and opened up their membership ranks to make it more diverse.

On Sunday, the show’s epic hip-hop tribute, marking 50 years of the genre with an all-star lineup that spanned decades of hip-hop history, created some of the most memorable moments ever. issue. Lizzo gave one of the most impactful speeches of the evening, celebrating positivity in popular music, including themes of body inclusivity.

Bad Bunny earned the first Album of the Year nomination for an all-Spanish project. He was the show’s opening performer and ultimately won the award for Best Urban Music Album for his work, “Un Verano Sin Ti”.

In an evening that also featured 23-year-old black jazz singer Samara Joy, winner of the Best New Artist award, and Sam Smith and Kim Petras making Grammys history as the first non-binary and transgender duo to win in the Best Duo category, it felt like progress had been made.

CNN’s Matt Meyer contributed to this post.