By Sam Wolstenholm
GENERAL FIELD
Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.
* "Don't Shut Me Down" -ABBA
* "Easy On Me" -Adele
* "BREAK MY SOUL" -Beyoncé
* "Good Morning Gorgeous" -Mary J. Blige
* "You And Me On The Rock" -Brandi Carlile featuring Lucious
* "Woman" -Doja Cat
* "Bad Habit" -Steve Lacy
* "The Heart Part 5" -Kendrick Lamar
* "About Damn Time" -Lizzo
* "As It Was" -Harry Styles
Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s).
* Voyage -ABBA
* 30 -Adele
* Un Verano Sin Ti -Bad Bunny
* RENAISSANCE -Beyoncé
* Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) -Mary J. Blige
* In These Silent Days -Brandi Carlile
* Music Of The Spheres -Coldplay
* Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers -Kendrick Lamar
* Special -Lizzo
* Harry's House -Harry Styles
Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
* "abcdefu" -Sara Davis, GAYLE & Dave Pittenger, songwriters (GAYLE)
* "About Damn Time" -Melissa “Lizzo” Jefferson, Eric Frederic, Blake Slatkin & Theron Makiel Thomas, songwriters (Lizzo)
* "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)" Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
* "As It Was" -Tyler Johnson, Kid Harpoon & Harry Styles, songwriters (Harry Styles)
* "Bad Habit" -Matthew Castellanos, Brittany Fousheé, Diana Gordon, John Carroll Kirby & Steve Lacy, songwriters (Steve Lacy)
* "BREAK MY SOUL" -Beyoncé, S. Carter, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant & Christopher A. Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
* "Easy On Me" -Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)
* "GOD DID" -Tarik Azzouz, E. Blackmon, Khaled Khaled, F. LeBlanc, Shawn Carter, John Stephens, Dwayne Carter, William Roberts & Nicholas Warwar, songwriters (DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy)
* "The Heart Part 5" -Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar & Matt Schaeffer, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
* "Just Like That" -Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt)
Best New Artist
This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
* Anitta
* Omar Apollo
* DOMi & JD Beck
* Muni Long
* Samara Joy
* Latto
* Måneskin
* Tobe Nwigwe
* Molly Tuttle
* Wet Leg
POP
Best Pop Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
* "Easy On Me" -Adele
* "Moscow Mule" -Bad Bunny
* "Woman" -Doja Cat
* "Bad Habit" -Steve Lacy
* "About Damn Time" -Lizzo
* "As It Was" -Harry Styles
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
* "Don't Shut Me Down" -ABBA
* "Bam Bam" -Camila Cabello Featuring Ed Sheeran
* "My Universe" -Coldplay & BTS
* "I Like You (A Happier Song)" -Post Malone & Doja Cat
* "Unholy" -Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.
* "Higher" -Michael Bublé
* "When Christmas Comes Around..." -Kelly Clarkson
* "I Dream Of Christmas (Extended)" -Norah Jones
* "Evergreen" -Pentatonix
* "Thank You" -Diana Ross
Best Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new pop vocal recordings.
* Voyage -ABBA
* 30 -Adele
* Music Of The Spheres -Coldplay
* Special -Lizzo
* Harry's House -Harry Styles
DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC
Best Dance/Electronic Recording
For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.
* "BREAK MY SOUL" -Beyoncé Beyoncé, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, Jens Christian Isaksen & Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Stuart White, mixer
* "Rosewood" -Bonobo Simon Green, producer; Simon Green, mixer
* "Don't Forget My Love" -Diplo & Miguel Diplo & Maximilian Jaeger, producers; Luca Pretolesi, mixer
* "I'm Good (Blue)" -David Guetta & Bebe Rexha David Guetta & Timofey Reznikov, producers; David Guetta & Timofey Reznikov, mixers
* "Intimidated" -KAYTRANADA Featuring H.E.R. H.E.R. & KAYTRANADA, producers; KAYTRANADA, mixer
* "On My Knees" -RÜFÜS DU SOL Jason Evigan & RÜFÜS DU SOL, producers; Cassian Stewart-Kasimba, mixer
Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.
* Renaissance -Beyoncé
* Fragments -Bonobo
* Diplo -Diplo
* The Last Goodbye -ODESZA
* Surrender -RÜFÜS DU SOL
ROCK
Best Rock Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.
* "So Happy It Hurts" -Bryan Adams
* "Old Man" -Beck
* "Wild Child" -The Black Keys
* "Broken Horses" -Brandi Carlile
* "Crawl!" -Idles
* "Patient Number 9' -Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck
* "Holiday" -Turnstile
Best Metal Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.
* "Call Me Little Sunshine" -Ghost
* "We'll Be Back" -Megadeth
* "Kill Or Be Killed" -Muse
* "Degradation Rules" -Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Tony Iommi
* "Blackout" -Turnstile
Best Rock Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
* "Black Summer" -Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith, songwriters (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
* "Blackout" -Brady Ebert, Daniel Fang, Franz Lyons, Pat McCrory & Brendan Yates, songwriters (Turnstile)
* "Broken Horses" -Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
* "Harmonia's Dream" -Robbie Bennett & Adam Granduciel, songwriters (The War On Drugs)
* "Patient Number 9" -John Osbourne, Chad Smith, Ali Tamposi, Robert Trujillo & Andrew Wotman, songwriters (Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck)
Best Rock Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.
* Dropout Boogie -The Black Keys
* The Boy Named If -Elvis Costello & The Imposters
* Crawler -Idles
* Mainstream Sellout -Machine Gun Kelly
* Patient Number 9 -Ozzy Osbourne
* Lucifer On The Sofa -Spoon
ALTERNATIVE
Best Alternative Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.
* "There'd Better Be A Mirrorball" -Arctic Monkeys
* "Certainty" -Big Thief
* "King" -Florence + The Machine
*Chaise Longue - Chaise Longue" -Wet Leg
* "Spitting Off The Edge Of The World" -Yeah Yeah Yeahs Featuring Perfume Genius
Best Alternative Music Album
Vocal or Instrumental.
* WE -Arcade Fire
* Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You -Big Thief
* Fossora -Björk
* Wet Leg -Wet Leg
* Cool It Down -Yeah Yeah Yeahs
R&B
Best R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.
* "VIRGO’S GROOVE" -Beyoncé
* "Here With Me" -Mary J. Blige Featuring Anderson .Paak
* "Hrs & Hrs" -Muni Long
* "Over" -Lucky Daye
* "Hurt Me So Good" -Jazmine Sullivan
Best Traditional R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.
* "Do 4 Love" -Snoh Aalegra
* "Keeps On Fallin'" -Babyface Featuring Ella Mai
* PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA" -Beyoncé
* "'Round Midnight" -Adam Blackstone Featuring Jazmine Sullivan
* "Good Morning Gorgeous" -Mary J. Blige
Best R&B Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
* "CUFF IT" -Denisia "Blu June" Andrews, Beyoncé, Mary Christine Brockert, Brittany "Chi" Coney, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, Morten Ristorp, Nile Rodgers & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
* "Good Morning Gorgeous" -Mary J. Blige, David Brown, Dernst Emile II, Gabriella Wilson & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (Mary J. Blige)
* "Hrs & Hrs" -Hamadi Aaabi, Dylan Graham, Priscilla Renea, Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Brandon John-Baptiste, Isaac Wriston & Justin Nathaniel Zim, songwriters (Muni Long)
* "Hurt Me So Good" -Akeel Henry, Michael Holmes, Luca Mauti, Jazmine Sullivan & Elliott Trent, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan)
* "Please Don't Walk Away" -PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton)
Best Progressive R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.
* Operation Funk -Cory Henry
* Gemini Rights -Steve Lacy
* Drones -Terrace Martin
* Starfruit -Moonchild
* Red Balloon -Tank And The Bangas
Best R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new R&B recordings.
* Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) -Mary J. Blige
* Breezy (Deluxe) -Chris Brown
* Black Radio III -Robert Glasper
* Candydrip -Lucky Daye
* Watch The Sun -PJ Morton
RAP
Best Rap Performance
For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.
* "GOD DID" -DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy
* "Vegas" -Doja Cat
* "pushin P" -Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug
* "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" -Hitkidd & GloRilla
* "The Heart Part 5" -Kendrick Lamar
Best Melodic Rap Performance
For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.
* "BEAUTIFUL" -DJ Khaled Featuring Future & SZA
* "WAIT FOR U" -Future Featuring Drake & Tems
* "First Class" -Jack Harlow
* "Die Hard" -Kendrick Lamar Featuring Blxst & Amanda Reifer
* "Big Energy (Live)" -Latto
Best Rap Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
* "Churchill Downs" -Ace G, BEDRM, Matthew Samuels, Tahrence Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Jack Harlow & Jose Velazquez, songwriters (Jack Harlow Featuring Drake)
* "GOD DID" -Tarik Azzouz, E. Blackmon, Khaled Khaled, F. LeBlanc, Shawn Carter, John Stephens, Dwayne Carter, William Roberts & Nicholas Warwar, songwriters (DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy)
* "The Heart Part 5" -Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar & Matt Schaeffer, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
* "pushin P" -Lucas Depante, Nayvadius Wilburn, Sergio Kitchens, Wesley Tyler Glass & Jeffery Lamar Williams, songwriters (Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug)
* "WAIT FOR U" -Tejiri Akpoghene, Floyd E. Bentley III, Jacob Canady, Isaac De Boni, Aubrey Graham, Israel Ayomide Fowobaje, Nayvadius Wilburn, Michael Mule, Oluwatoroti Oke & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Future Featuring Drake & Tems)
Best Rap Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new rap recordings.
* GOD DID -DJ Khaled
* I Never Liked You -Future
* Come Home The Kids Miss You -Jack Harlow
* Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers -Kendrick Lamar
* It's Almost Dry -Pusha T
COUNTRY
Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
* "Heartfirst" -Kelsea Ballerini
* "Something In The Orange" -Zach Bryan
* "In His Arms" -Miranda Lambert
* "Circles Around This Town" -Maren Morris
* "Live Forever" -Willie Nelson
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
* "Wishful Drinking" -Ingrid Andress & Sam Hunt
* "Midnight Rider's Prayer" -Brothers Osborne
* "Outrunnin' Your Memory" -Luke Combs & Miranda Lambert
* "Does He Love You - Revisited" -Reba McEntire & Dolly Parton
* "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" -Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde
* "Going Where The Lonely Go" -Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
* "Circles Around This Town" -Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels, Maren Morris & Jimmy Robbins, songwriters (Maren Morris)
* "Doin' This" -Luke Combs, Drew Parker & Robert Williford, songwriters (Luke Combs)
* "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)" -Lori McKenna & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
* "If I Was A Cowboy" -Jesse Frasure & Miranda Lambert, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
* "I'll Love You Till The Day I Die" -Rodney Crowell & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Willie Nelson)
* "'Til You Can't" -Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis, songwriters (Cody Johnson)
Best Country Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new country recordings.
* Growin' Up -Luke Combs
* Palomino -Miranda Lambert
* Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville -Ashley McBryde
* Humble Quest -Maren Morris
* A Beautiful Time -Willie Nelson
To see the complete list of 2023 winners, click here.
PERFORMANCES
(In order of appearance)
(only includes performances aired on tv)
(I will attach videos of the performances as/if they become available)
Bad Bunny
Walked in wearing jeans and shit. It began as more of a low energy chant/march. He does start do his singing thing after that though, and it’s really good. The red stage lights and curtains gave a “warm” feeling. A “warm welcome” to the show, if you will. Then he brought out dancers and it just turned into a party. The music got so fast-paced and the entire audience was feeling it. I have no idea what he was saying, but it looked really fun. He was a great choice to bring the energy from the jump. Side note: the keyboard player was going berserk. Palm trees and cars and shit. A nod to Puerto Rican culture. Yea this is a great show opener, even if it started off a little off beat and dry.
Brandi Carlile
Classic high energy rock performance. No crazy show, just some nice lighting and high-quality singing and instrument playing. It’s a good song too, “Broken Horses”, so that helps make up for the lack of props and dancing and stuff. I wish I could say more but there just wasn’t much going on at all. The song itself was one of my favorites though out of the night’s performances, so there’s that.
Stevie Wonder
Dedicated to Smokey Robinson, Stevie begins his performance just by talking to the audience. Says he’s happy. Four young men accompany him as singers. They’re wearing some fresh suits and bow ties too. They’re also dancing. It’s fun to watch. Smokey Robinson joins them in a bright blue suit. He isn’t very loud, but that’s fine because of who he is. Stevie still can sing with some power. Smokey can still sing too, but it feels more held back or restricted. Not as free. Great band behind them though. Then Chris fricking Stapleton joins Stevie for a performance of the classic “Higher Ground”. Chris was the strongest singer up there (though there’s no doubt in my mind that age is essentially the deciding factor there). They end it on a sick ass guitar/piano solo (I guess it isn’t much of a solo if they do it together but you get it).
Lizzo
Introduced by one of her backup dancers, Lizzo is described as basically an angel, and the visuals support that. Her silhouette in a foggy, bright ass tunnel looked otherworldly. It’s all for sure on purpose too. She’s wearing a cross chain and literally said “ready to go to church y’all?” The choir singers look and sound amazing as well. There’s a lot of power in this performance. She’s singing with the intensity of a preacher and the backing music is just massive. It’s filling the air with spirit to support her unreal vocal performance. Absolutely amazing.
Harry Styles
He’s got to be extra. He’s not one of those that’s just gunnu stand up there and sing in front of a band (although he does move to doing this very thing pretty quickly). Literally dude is wearing something that looks like a sparkly piñata that bounces around like wet hair. The spinny thing from the music video is there too with random people just kinda wandering around on it (turns out, the wheel started spinning in reverse and the dancers didn't know what to do). Idk who they’re supposed to be, but it looks like it's supposed to mean something. Then he and this girl do kind of Hamilton-like acting on the spinning circle before all the other people come back to participate in about 5 seconds of choreography. A wild-thing for sure, but I can’t say I was bored watching it.
KacyMusgraves/Quavo/Maverick City Music/Sheryl crow/Bonnie Raitt/Mick Fleetwood
Kacy Musgraves just sat and played guitar and sang a country ass song. It’s okay though because she’s actually talented and doesn’t twang around with those cookie-cutter-sounding pop country tracks. Anyway, this was done over the first part of the section of the show where they honor those in the music business that have passed away this past year. Quavo brings a pretty stark switchup when he comes in autotune singing some emotional stuff to honor his late friend Takeoff. A singer, from Mavrick City Music, comes in and absolutely rips a rendition of “See You Again” (remember that song from Fast and Furious from 2015). As a Migos fan, that part was actually extremely emotional to watch. Quavo held up a chain that I assume either belonged to Takeoff or is meant to represent him somehow. Nothing too flashy, but it sure did cut pretty deep. Then we cut to Sheryl Crow singing at a piano. I personally wasn’t feeling the vocals from her. Bonnie Raitt, standing next to the piano, sings much better. Something was off though when they started singing together. I enjoyed the track in all its softness and somberness, but I was kind of just distracted by Mick Fleetwood standing there hitting a drum that couldn’t even really be heard.
Sam Smith/Kim Petras
This track gets better every time I hear it, damn. Sam Smith definitely has a different image than he did a few years ago lol. Who cares though? He seems very comfortable and confident. That’s coming out in his performance too. Kim Petras just appears inside a cage on the stage for her part. It’s freaky, but perfect. Definitely interesting (I particularly enjoyed the camera angle from one of the inside corners of the cage). I also absolutely loved Sam Smith’s devil-horned top hat. It goes perfect with the sound of the track. It’s demonic. There’s fire imagery everywhere. The lights are red as hell (pun not intended, but it should’ve been). Really solid performance by these two.
Mary J. Blige
Fucking queen oh my god. That hat is top tier. Oh yea and she can sing a little too. This was similar ish to Lizzo’s performance in that the choir/group singers gave a gospel vibe. It was easily the most powerful performance of the night due solely to Mary J. Bilge’s legendary stage presence. Like, she’s just standing there like a god singing her ass off about self-love with her track “Good Morning Gorgeous.” The golden lighting helped make the whole thing feel luxurious and powerful. I wish I was there to see that one live.
Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday
Everyone from Black Thought to Flava Flav. LL Cool J to Queen Latifah. Busta Rhymes to Nelly. Public Enemy to Lil Baby. Lil Uzi! And Questlove on the drums of course. (I missed a few names, but there were A LOT.) This was really, really cool to see actually. So many hip hop icons dropping a verse one right after another. The classic tracks were just pouring out. A hip hop fan’s dream come true honestly. Every time they showed the crowd, you could see every single person having the time of their life. I’m personally amazed at the number of performances they were able to string together in just one venue. What a truly incredible celebration. That was, wow.
Luke Combs
His voice sounds fake. He is dressed sharp though, and I enjoy the imagery. The big moon and stars background with a tree projected on the backdrop. The grass on the stage. The white lights simulate moonlight too. It really does give a “summer night in a country field” vibe. Oh and his guitar was dark blue, matching the color of the night sky background. The song wasn’t my cup of tea (just because I’m not a fan of the genre), but it was performed really well. They made good use of a big band there while still letting Luke Combs and his guitar be the star.
Steve Lacy
A universally loved song, even if you don’t want to admit it. The performance itself wasn’t anything special honestly, it was cool with Steve Lacy’s logo thing in the background and some interesting lighting effects. They must’ve been bright because Steve Lacy was still wearing his dumb-looking sunglasses. I will say that I think he sounded maybe even better as a live performer than he did on his actual album recordings. Also, whoever did that crazy guitar solo is a beast. I don’t want to seem like I’m just hating on Steve Lacy though. I love that song. The performance was fine too. It just wasn’t anything special. It would’ve played better earlier in the show than near the end. Ugh I don’t want to be a hater but I just don’t see this dude’s hype.
DJ Khalid/Fridayy/Rick Ross/Lil Wayne/JAY Z/John Legend
The epic conclusion to the 56th Grammys Awards. DJ Khalid does his thing at the start, just yelling at the crowd and camera like they're his Snapchat. Rick Ross and Lil Wayne did their things for sure, but the main event was clearly Hov. And bro what they put JAY Z on a Last Supper table! That’s legendary. Everyone on the track is sitting there too (I'm not 100% sure who was all actually sitting at the table to be honest). That’s quite the imagery. There isn’t a whole lot happening in terms of choreography. I don’t really know what you’d do though for this song. It’s performed outside, so they’re relying more on the camerawork as this is a finale for the fans (so, everyone watching on tv) more than it is for the people at the actual event. “They said we couldn't do it! So we did an eight minute song on the Grammys!” LET EM KNOW DJ KHALID! (That's probably not exactly what he said but it's the gist.)
Peace and love.
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