Hit/Bitch: The Grammys

graphic by lance evans

Missed The Grammys this year? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our latest Hit and Bitch of everything we loved and loved to hate from “music’s biggest night of the year.”

HIT (What We Love):

The Performances 

Lil Baby “The Bigger Picture”

A much needed tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement on network television. Don’t get us wrong though, The Grammys still has a loooooong way to go in terms of diversity and inclusion. 

Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B 

Despite Megan and Cardi having to censor every other word of “WAP,” this performance was POWERFUL. Honestly, watching the two of them stut around the stage and execute their *acrobatic* dance moves made us realize that they probably exercised more in those 9 minutes than we have in the past 9 months. 

Haim 

Who is cooler than the Haim sisters? Absolutely no one. They stomped around in chunky boots. They dramatically flipped their hair. They banged on their drums. They STRUMMED  their guitars. Where are applications to become the fourth sister?

Dua Lipa 

Dua came to us like a glittery, pink angel from discotheque heaven and we are truly blessed. She can sing, she can dance, she has attitude, she has a British accent… we are simply not worthy. 

Women making history (per usual)

Beyoncé made history as the first woman and singer to win 28 Grammy awards (the most awards anyone has ever won). Taylor Swift became the first female artist to win Album of the Year three times. Let’s hear it for the ladieessss!

Stans and support!

Spotlighting Historic Venues

It’s no secret that the pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard, so it was encouraging to see the Grammys giving some beloved local music venues a shout out. 

Megan Thee Stallion stanning Beyoncé 

In case you didn’t know before, now you do: Megan Thee Stallion is the ultimate Beyoncé stan, and we support (and thoroughly understand) it. 

Taylor stanning Harry (from afar…)

Our divorced parents were finally reunited and we got to see “The 1” played out in real time. We can’t be the only ones who noticed the supportive clapping and longing looks from Taylor to Harry and vice versa… just saying.

Harry Styles and his boas

This one is self-explanatory. Harry Styles’ not just one, but three boas… what more could you ask for.

Trevor Noah

We love a good dad joke and Trevor Noah had plenty to go around. He made the best of an unorthodox awards ceremony situation and transitioned from the outdoor seating to the indoor performance venue as seamlessly and light-heartedly as possible. We appreciate you!

BITCH (What We Hate):

The Outdoor Venue

We know that given the circumstances there probably weren’t a ton of options for the ceremony venue, but this weird tent situation made it look like The Grammys had a lower production budget than “The Bachelorette” at La Quinta. 

The Awkward Record of the Year Situation

This was… uncomfortable to watch, to say the least. Reminiscent of Adele’s Album of the Year upset in 2017, Billie insisted that the award should have gone to Megan Thee Stallion much like Adele did with Beyoncé four years ago. The Recording Academy can say they see and respect Black artists as much as they want, but this unfortunate snub was proof that there’s still a lot of progress to be made. 

John Mayer’s Presence

We just want to know why. Why was John Mayer present at The Grammys? We understand that he’s an ~okay~ guitarist, but there are other musicians out there who don’t make Tik Toks about even numbers that seem odd. 

Snubs

Phoebe Bridgers

“Punisher” was a cultural fucking reset and Elton John agrees.

Roddy Ricch

Roddy Ricch was nominated for more Grammys than any other male artist, but didn’t walk away with an award… this seems off.

BTS

Although they made history as the first South Korean group nominated for a “major” category Grammys, they were epically snubbed when they didn’t win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Dynamite.” #scammys

Why wasn’t Best Rap Album televised??

Okay so we have time to air 10 different versions of the same pop music award, but not for one best rap album award? Make it make sense. 

Trevor Noah

Although the jokes started off strong, perhaps Trevor Noah’s Achilles’ heel is not knowing when to stop.