Grammys offer tribute to Los Angeles firefighters, victims

All eyes at the Grammy Awards were on whether the most-nominated artist in the history of the telecast would finally walk away with the coveted album of the year trophy. She did. 

Beyoncé winning for “Cowboy Carter” capped a night that turned into a tribute to a suffering Los Angeles, with city firefighters chosen to reveal the winner of the last award and speeches offering words of encouragement for communities devastated. The Grammys almost veered into a telethon; $7 million was pledged from viewers of the show.

It was also a telecast where the best new artist nominees like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter were given plenty of time to show why there’s a deep well of talent coming up. And there was a shock return for The Weeknd, who had been boycotting the Grammys.

Here are some of the night’s notable moments:

Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were right there, as were Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, but the honor of opening the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles was given to two local brothers deeply affected by the wildfires: Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of the band Dawes.

They lost one brother’s home along with their childhood home, instruments and much else. They’ve advocated for victims, raised money and were included in the FireAid benefit concert on Thursday.

Chappell Roan was crowned best new artist and then used her speech to demand change in the music business.

“I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said.

Lady Gaga, accepting the trophy for best pop duo or group alongside Bruno Mars for their chart-topping collab, “Die with a Smile.”

The Grammy Awards had a powerful way to prove that they’ve changed. They got a surprise endorsement by The Weeknd, who was last on the Grammy stage in 2017.

The pop superstar in 2020 slammed the Grammys, calling them “corrupt” after he landed zero nominations despite a megahit album. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency,” he wrote on social media.

Grammys CEO Harvey Mason jr., who started in his post in 2020, on Sunday said he understood the criticism and listed all the things the Academy has done to fix it.

“We have completely re-made our membership, adding more than 3,000 women voting members. The Grammy electorate is now younger, nearly 40% people of color, and 66% of our members are new since we started our transformation,” he said. “Over the past few years, we have listened, we’ve acted and we’ve changed.”




(AP Photos Chris Pizello)