March 14 the 63rd annual Grammy Awards made history with its standout wins for women and wowed us all with great performances and wardrobes. Because of COVID-19, guests were required to wear masks in the crowd while sitting at safely spaced-out tables, and the entire show took place outside of Los Angeles Staples center. However, the Grammy Awards that we know and love still blew us all away. Here is a recap of the best (and worst) moments and takeaways from the spectacular night!

Women made a strong mark

This year’s Grammy Awards was dominated by big wins for female artists. Beyoncé became the most Grammy-decorated artist for women, now holding 28 Grammy Awards and making her title as “Queen Bee” even more real. This year, she won Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for her hot single “Savage” with Megan Thee Stallion, as well as Best R&B Performance for her song “Black Skin Parade” and Best Music Video for “BROWN SKIN GIRL”, a song performed with her daughter Blue Ivy that has almost 34 million views on YouTube. Additionally, female rapper Megan Thee Stallion won three Grammy Awards, two for her song “Savage” with Beyoncé and one for Best New Artist of the Year. Billie Eilish struck again and added two more Grammys to her plentiful collection with Best Record of the Year for “Everything I Wanted” and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “No Time To Die”, while still being 19 years old. Pretty impressive, right? Other female winners include Dua Lipa for Best Pop Vocal Album, Taylor Swift for Best Album of the Year, and H.E.R. for Best Song of the Year.

“Seeing all these women win so many Grammys shows that you can do anything you want and is very inspirational and cool to see,” freshman Natalie Stryker said.

Best Performances

Many strong artists made an appearance at this year’s Grammys, but there were a few that wowed the crowd. Megan Thee Stallion, a prominent artist of the 2021 Grammys, performed her single “WAP” with Cardi B, showing their spunk and attitude with fiery dancing and rapping. Harry Styles blew us all away with his outstanding performance of “Watermelon Sugar”, the song that rightfully won him his first Grammy ever for Best Pop Song Performance. DaBaby and Roddy Rich, in their performance of “Rockstar” shocked the audience with their use of a back-up choir that to many people resembled “grandmas”. Lil Baby made a powerful tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement with his performance of “The Bigger Picture”. Additionally, many artists performed in duos, including Dua Lipa and DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, DaBaby and Roddy Rich, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, and Taylor Swift with her collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff.“My favorite performance of the Grammys was Harry Styles. His song choice was great, and so was his outfit. It was the best part of the Grammys,” junior Owen Van Stralen said.

Best Dressed

The Grammys isn’t just any other awards ceremony, it’s something special. No event can compare to the designer pieces and attention-grabbing outfits worn by the artists attending. At the 2021 ceremony, the outfits worn by many were daring, to say the least. One of the most prominent accessories for some of the artists were their masks. Megan Thee Stallion had a winning outfit this year, arriving in a vibrant orange Dolce & Gabbana strapless gown that featured a thigh-high slit and massive bow in the back. She took this look to the next level by matching an orange mask. Harry Styles shocked the crowd during his performance of “Watermelon Sugar” where he sang in a head-to-toe Gucci black leather suit and a mint feather boa. Dua Lipa did not disappoint this year, as she arrived in a glamorous Versace gown decked out with crystals. To match this look, she wore a stunning silver mask. Billie Eilish’s fashion is never boring, and that was definitely displayed at this year’s Grammys. Eilish strutted the red carpet in white sneakers and a custom Gucci shirt and pants combo, which featured black sequins, along with a matching bucket hat, gloves, and of course, mask. Beyoncé went with the classic little black dress this year. She wowed the audience wearing a tight leather dress by Schiaparelli. “I love seeing all of the outfits the artists wear at the Grammys. They’re always so fun and different!” junior Anna Painter said. 

The Worst

You can’t have the Grammys without a few awkward speeches or bad performances. Billie Eilish tried to remain humble while receiving her Record of the Year Award, but instead turned her speech into a tribute to Megan Thee Stallion, gushing over how much Megan deserved the award instead. Bruno Mars stole the show this year, but not in a good way. Not only did Mars lead the Memoriam Tributes and sang a medley of Little Richard songs, he practically begged the Recording Academy to let his new duo Silk Sonic, consisting of himself and Anderson .Paak, perform. Post Malone turned his performance of “Hollywood’s Bleeding” into one of the most generic performances. The song aims for goth and punk rock, but the performance displayed neither, as he occasionally paced the stage and turned his back to the camera. However the artists weren’t the only ones who had bad moments during the 2021 Grammys. Trevor Noah, the host, started out the night by taking the guests to a dull setting and made awkward coronavirus jokes. These weren’t the only jokes he cracked that night. When introducing Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” performance, Noah thought it was necessary to aim a joke at the UK prime minister. “It’s crazy to think that someone that handsome and talented is from the same place as Boris Johnson,” Noah said. Hopefully next year the host can stick to some more classic lines. “This year was just a little awkward because of the pandemic and the weird venue, but hopefully next year everything will be back to normal,” sophomore John Williams said.