Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Adele and Bonnie Raitt
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
DJ Khaled and Jay-Z closed the 2023 Grammys with a dramatic performance of “God Did,” but the two rappers returned from the awards show empty-handed as they both lost all the awards they were nominated for . Khaled entered the show with six nods while Jay-Z had five.
Likewise, former Grammy darlings Taylor Swift and Adele each won only one award despite multiple nominations.
While Swift is the only solo female artist to win three albums of the year at the Grammys, she failed to win another key big four award, losing the highly sought-after Song of the Year award to the 10 minute version of “All Too Well”. However, the music video won an award at the Grammys premiere ceremony, but Swift wasn’t around to collect what would be her only award of the night.
Swift had a few more moments during the live broadcast, including a fun exchange with host Trevor Noah. Adele also got airtime on the CBS telecast, including stage time to accept her only award of the night, for Best Pop Solo Performance, losing on Album, Record and Song by the year as well as three other awards. The last time Adele and Beyoncé faced off in the top categories, in 2017, Adele emerged triumphant.
This year was the best of times and the worst of times for Beyoncé. She broke the record for the most wins in Grammy history and won four awards on Sunday night, but she lost the other five awards she was nominated for and continued her decade-plus streak of defeats in the album, record and song of the year categories.
Indeed, it was in the four main categories that some of the biggest surprises of the evening took place. Bonnie Raitt and Lizzo were unexpected picks for Song and Record of the Year, and the two looked visibly shocked to win. And Samara Joy winning Best New Artist was also a surprise.
The top three awards given to people other than Beyoncé and Taylor Swift shocked fans of both artists on social media on Sunday night. And Bad Bunny, who also has a vocal fanbase and has been somewhat snubbed with Grammy nominations, has disappointed fans after winning just one award and failing to win the album’s top prize. of the year, where his A Verano Sin Ti was the first Latin album to be nominated in the category.
Drake’s win at the first ceremony was surprising as the rapper didn’t even submit his latest album to the Grammys. He won for his role in Future’s best melodic rap performance winner “Wait for U”. The award was the only win for Future, who had six Grammy nominations.
ABBA veterans and Diana Ross are yet to win a competitive Grammy, as they both lost the awards they were aiming for this year. Still Ross was honored with a lifetime achievement award as part of The Supremes.
