From pop to rap. From R&B to country. The Grammys is a place where everyone has the same emotion— hope. Only a few people come out victorious, but in the end, most are welcomed back the next year to try and win. 

 On April 3rd, the 64th annual Grammy awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Trevor Noah hosted as many influential artists performed, including  Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, BTS, Billie Eilish, and many more. 

To be eligible for a Grammy, an artist must release a recording or video in the United States during the eligibility year, and that recording should be submitted, usually by a record company, for consideration. 

This year, John Batiste took home the most awards with five Grammys, including Best Album, Best American Roots Performance and Song, Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and Best Music Video. Silk Sonic also had a big night, winning four awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best R&B Performance and song.   

Olivia Rodrigo, a favorite among young listeners, won Best New Artist. She also won Best Pop Solo Performance for her hit song “Drivers License” and Best Pop Vocal Album for her first album, Sour. 

Eighth grader Arsen H. was a little disappointed with this result, however. 

“Baby Keem should have won for Best New Artist. He had a banger album this year,” Arsen said.

Baby Keem did win Best Rap Performance for his popular song, “Family Ties,” which featured all-time great Kendrick Lamar. 

There were many “snubs” this year that had the media pretty mad. Kanye West, who was nominated for Best Rap Album for Donda, did not win this year.  Instead, he lost to Tyler The Creator, who won the award with his album Call Me If You Get Lost.  

The New York Post reported that “Although West did win two other rap categories (Best Rap Song and Best Melodic Rap Performance) for “Donda,” the hip-hop star — who was reportedly disinvited from performing at the Grammys because of his recent bad behavior — clearly didn’t have the same kind of support from the Recording Academy in his genre that he has enjoyed in the past.

The New York Post had something to say about BTS’s loss. “South Korean sensations BTS may rule the world, but Grammy isn’t quite ready to anoint them with any golden gramophones. Coming off of their first Grammy nomination for ‘Dynamite’ last year, they were up this year for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their No. 1 smash ‘Butter.’ But, in a stunner, it was Doja Cat featuring SZA who took home the award for “Kiss Me More” over BTS.”  

This year’s Grammys were full of ups and downs, but Covid did not seem to be a worry.

“I do not think it matters because they are all vaxxed, so it doesn’t affect them much,” hypothesized Arsen. 

Most artists were either masked or vaxxed, and they just wanted to experience what, for some, might be the best day of their life without any restrictions.