in my perfect world... i wouldn't need pepto bismol to recap the grammys.
from best cat eye to the album of the year discourse.
I woke up this morning with a pit in my stomach.
Not because it was the start of a new week and I was coming off of a 9 hour travel day (I was.)
Not because I had to go back to normal life after spending a long weekend in Miami (I did.)
Not because my suitcase still sat unpacked, I had hit snooze multiple times and I was due to clock in at work in an hour.
It was because I hadn’t watched the Grammys last night, and the cultural conversations were being had without me (how dare they!) What was the album of the year? Who had the best red carpet look? How were the performances? I had no clue, and it made me sick. I realize that’s probably a little extreme, but I have pop culture FOMO.
I write to you now after consuming media like I consumed cheese pizza in our Airbnb on Saturday night at 2 AM: ravenously. Miami nightlife took it out of me, but we’ll talk about that another time.
Let’s break this recap up, if only for my stream of thoughts to come out as organized as possible. First? Red carpet, of course.
Red Carpet Recap
In the spirit of honesty, I was mildly upset when I saw Harry’s look (this colorful, sparkly jumpsuit by Egonlab.) Not because it wasn’t fabulous and he didn’t look great, but because to me it echoed what he’s been wearing on tour. I would’ve loved to see something different, but he made up for it with his disco ball-esque, dripping-in-fringe performance look and the cropped white blazer for his controversial acceptance speech (we’ll get to that). His signature Adidas sneakers were absent on the carpet, but came back when he took the stage. Between you and me, I think my brain is still processing the leather suit from his 2021 Grammys performance.
The Harris Reed Cinematic Universe now includes Shania Twain, which made me smile because of the Harry connection. They performed together and brought one of the most iconic Coachella performances to date (Beychella still holds the #1 spot for me, though) and true fans know that Harry was a Shania Twain lover before he got into the industry himself. She looked whimsical and opulent, in true Harris Reed fashion. Maybe I’ll wear the necklace I got from the Harris Reed x Missoma collection and pretend I’m in the HRCU with them.
As for outfits I personally enjoyed, a few come to mind. Doja Cat has been on fire following Paris Fashion Week and her now memeified Schiaparelli look. Believe it or not, her red carpet latex ensemble was more tame in comparison to a head adorned with red Swarovski crystals, but it caught my eye nonetheless (only Doja could make me say “latex” and “tame” in the same sentence.) Her makeup also stood out to me, and I should only be so lucky to ever even attempt a cat eye that bold.
Some rapid fire reactions: Benny Blanco looked like a camp counselor I would’ve admired at the arts and crafts hut, Miguel put a streetwear twist on the Canadian tuxedo down to the boots, Taylor Swift embodied “Midnights” and her earrings are now a conspiracy of their own, Anderson .Paak was fresh out of the 70s per usual, Cardi B took my breath away in electric blue, I want Steve Lacy’s shoes, Lizzo was radiant in her monochromatic, orange-y peach D&G look from floral cape to eyeshadow, and Beyoncé was notably absent on the carpet, much to everyone’s dismay.
So much for being succinct; time for awards... or the lack thereof.
The Winners (and the Losers)
It seems like who didn’t win is more important than who did win this year. Namely, Beyoncé.
Sunday night left Beyoncé setting records: she is now the most awarded artist in Grammy history (32 wins.) It also left her empty handed when it came that award, AKA, Album of the Year.
To Lizzo, she is “the artist of our lives,” but to the Recording Academy apparently not, and she lost out yet again. After the Lemonade album’s 2021 loss to Adele’s 30 for Album of the Year, it was surprising… yet not. In the words of a good friend of mine: “Harry’s House was fun, but Renaissance was huge.” Even from my position as a Harry Styles enthusiast, I can’t disagree. Shit You Should Care About (excuse my language) did a great job of seeing both sides in their daily newsletter, if you want to read that here. If you want the TL;DR, here’s a quote I liked: “It’s possible, and good, to use cultural moments like this to understand the systemic issues within institutions like the Grammys and the lack of transparency in who votes/ how they decide who wins without wanting the person who won the award to be shunned from the planet.”
So there wasn't the highly anticipated AOTY revenge tour for Renaissance, but there is the highly anticipated Renaissance World Tour. If we thought Taylor Swift tickets were a tough get… I’ll be eager to see how the BeyHive fares.
Other notable winners: Viola Davis is an EGOT, Bonnie Raitt beat out Lizzo, Beyoncé and the other more star studded names in the Song of the Year category, Lizzo won Record of The Year but not before a sip from her flask, “All Too Well: The Short Film” won Best Music Video to no one’s surprise (it does has 83M views on YouTube…) and the Encanto soundtrack was a hit. That aforementioned friend of mine also concluded Omar Apollo should’ve won Best New Artist and I wholeheartedly agree.
In Conclusion <3
Like Grammys past, there were highs and there were lows, and the same will be for Grammys yet to come. There will always be snubs, the reunion of iconic exes and bad jokes from the host (sorry not sorry to Trevor Noah.) As long as the Grammys keep going, I’ll keep recapping.
While we’re here, you might notice Claire’s Perfect World has undergone a slight facelift, including some color changes and a fun new logo! Keep subscribing, keep interacting, keep DM’ing me about what I should write about next.
In my perfect world… Ben Affleck will work on his poker face.