Harry Styles steals the show

By Micah Hart Circulation Manager

The big winner of the Grammy Awards was Harry Styles.

Styles took home the coveted album of the year award, beating out Beyoncé, who now holds the record for most Grammy wins in history. Styles also won the pop vocal album award for “Harry’s House.”

On top of his big win, Styles shined in his performance of “As it Was.” her name out again and outshine up-and-coming female country artists— like Kelsey Ballerini, who just released an incredible pop-country album— Twain is only digging herself into a hole.

His rendition was reminiscent of the music video for the smash hit, but included a significantly bigger group of people. The turntable set the scene as Styles sang the iconic tune, standing at the microphone for the majority of the song. Shimmering in a pantsuit while the dancers performed, Styles joined the group in the latter half for a high-energy performance.

Over the weekend, Twain appeared on the “The Late Late Show” with James Corden. When asked to describe her album, she said, “I am celebrating happiness and joy and taking control of your own mood and your own spirit.”

Corden’s reply was simple: “Well, there are some absolute bangers on this album.”

That’s all he said about the music, because that’s all you can say. None of these songs stand out, none are comparable to past hits, and none fall in line with the old Shania Twain we know and love. The country pop star of my childhood has completely fallen off the charts.

Styles wasn’t the only musician to give an impressive performance. Lizzo rocked a gospel-styled rendition of “About Damn Time” and “Special.” The performance was definitely one for the books, as Lizzo created a powerful moment from two distinct songs that made for a unique and attention-grabbing experience. Onstage with Lizzo was a gospel choir, with a very toned down stage that had nothing but the performers on it. The singer was also adorned with a black cross necklace as she belted out her songs. Lizzo created a strong presence from very little scenery and action, something that seems increasingly rare in music these days.

After Lizzo’s performance, Sam Smith and Kim Petras delivered a show that also made use of Christian themes, but instead of glorifying, it was sacrilegious.

The duo performed their hit “Unholy,” in which they used visuals and props of Satan, fire, whips, and cages.

Conservatives such as Ted Cruz called out the performance. On Sunday night, Cruz retweeted Liz Wheeler’s critical comment about the performance and wrote, “This…is…evil.”

This same song, however, won the best pop duo or group performance. Kim Petras also added to the historic victories on the Grammy stage, becoming the first trans-woman to win in the category, according to CNN. All of this drama just scrapes at the surface of what went down at Crypto.com Arena. Ninety-one Grammys were awarded throughout the day, whether it be at the preshow or the main event.

Overall, the show was a group of Hollywood elitists gathering together to celebrate the work they have done.

Some are shocked about Styles’ win over Beyoncé, but he deserved the coveted award. Both artists created strong albums, which is why they were nominated in the first place. At the end of the day, it comes down to who the judges thought had the best album. Feelings about a person or their accomplishments should not come into play. Both musicians are well respected and received in the industry, and a win by either should be considered a victory.

While it was great to see Beyoncé break a record, it was equally as terrible to witness Sam Smith and Kim Petras create a demonic atmosphere that praised both Satan and adultery.

The Grammys should be a night to celebrate music, but stunts put forth by people like Smith and Petras make it an undesirable show to watch.

Performances like those of Harry Styles and Lizzo deserve to be applauded for their focus on music and creating an atmosphere that supports true musicianship. Styles and Lizzo both brought energy to the stage, but they focused on the music. Both delivered different types of performances, yet expressed themselves in a respectful and thoughtful manner. The two didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but were still able to create memorable performances.