Thanks for this after I left yesterday to get back from Vegas. I’m sure to look for videos today because who doesn’t love this show? (Was the sound better than usual?)
I too enjoyed the mix of winners, and loved that Beyoncé took home Country Album, and AOTY. Long time coming, and that album really was a banger. Now to cross my fingers and toes in the hopes that I can get tickets for her tour.
The tributes to LA were all so lovely, and thank you for your mention of those affected by Helene as well. My family live in Helene-affected areas, and there is still so much work to be done to even just get all the roads rebuilt, let alone people's houses and businesses.
For those who would like to hear more about Helene, I would recommend the series of articles from the Asheville Watchdog called "The Lives We Lost to Helene", which is a beautiful and heartbreaking tribute to the North Carolinian victims of Helene, 11 of whom were from the same family (I wouldn't read at work though unless you also want to cry at work, like I did). https://avlwatchdog.org/the-lives-we-lost-to-helene/
Speaking of not bleeping Sabrina Carpenter, the Kidz Bop version of "Please Please Please" makes a much better lyric choice with "don't embarrass me or my mother" than the official radio edit.
Haha - also a Kidz Bop house, and I am often tickled by their edits.
"100% that kid" from Lizzo is the only one I can remember right now, but there are so many clever little choices that they make. (I play the real versions in the car, and I wonder if my daughter is like, um, what? lol)
The Grammys was... good? This is so unusual for them. Good winners (spread out across acts too), great performances, Trevor Noah was solid, the speeches were heartfelt and often fiercely political, the LA tributes were lovely, and Kendrick won 5 awards for calling Drake a sex offender.
I must admit that the Academy did way better with its wins than I predicted. They so often play it uber-safe and they were much less so here. Good for Beyonce finally getting the big one, and I love that Chappell refuses to back down on standing up for herself and her boundaries even on the biggest stage of the year.
Downsides: Why do they keep giving Chris Brown awards? Also, accused sexual harassed Kanye West is gross and tedious and I find it unbearably uncomfortable to watch him parade his Kim lookalike silent wife around like a nude toy.
Agreed. I try not to assume people's emotions based on a photograph, but I was really disturbed by what I saw.
Also, writing from Helene-land to say the destruction remains real. Just down the road from me is a 3-story-high pile of garbage. The trucks coming in and out have to be logged in case human remains are found.
I'll have to track down videos of that Best New Artist performance gauntlet as I joined in right after (and was watching on regular old network CBS and couldn't rewind). If anyone finds a particularly well done supercut of that section of the broadcast I'd love the recommendation!
"...name anything besides “Whip My Hair” that either Willow or Jaden has done"
I'm not one to go to bat for the Smiths (the band yes, the family no) but I'd definitely recommend giving Willow's more mature tracks a shot. "Wait a Minute" and "Meet Me at Our Spot" are in my rotation and are truly unexpected bops if you're only familiar with "Whip My Hair".
Also Chappell Roan can do no wrong to my eyes or ears - I'll watch every grand, theatrical live performance she puts on (her pyrotechnic-laden Joan of Arc cosplay for "Good Luck, Babe!" at the VMAs thrilled me). This one was a treat as well.
My husband LOVES meet me at our spot. It’s definitely a bop. I find Jaden insufferable (for no real reason other than his red carpet shenanigans — a true BEC for me), but I do have more time for Willow.
Usually I don't give your grammar/spelling mistakes a second glance - especially because they're so rare. However, because of the importance of the line and topic overall, the article should say that Alicia Keys said DEI is not a "threat" instead of "treat".
I was coming to say this also. Her speech was so good! As someone said in the chat last night, we obviously need Alicia Keys to give us all our pep talks!
As I said in last night's chat, i basically watched because i got your email and thought it would be fun to follow along with the convo, and I'm so glad I did! What an amazing crew of best new artists! Benson Boone looking so much like a figure skater that he even did a flip! Bruno and Gaga California dreaming! Janelle moonwalking and then Taylor proudly donning the jacket she shed! The amazing Chappell Roan performing so well and then giving a lovely speech!
I'm generally truly indifferent to Beyonce, truly, but Cowboy Carter is a banger of an album and I was so glad it won after country music snubbed it, though sad to see her in an ill-fitting dress. the top just looked painful.
The thing with the Weeknd definitely was the low point, and I wished Kendrick hadn't won but mostly because i have no patience with 'beef.' It's just so immature to me. You're grown-up millionaires. I do hope he said hi 'Dre' and not 'hi Drake.'
I’m like 95% sure he said Dre. Who, I also noted last night, is a handsome, distinguished looking gentleman — who would have guessed, back in the day?!
As I said last night, I never would have watched the Grammy’s without the chat, so if you weren’t there last night, you really missed out. The Grammy’s was, with the exception of two performances, pretty freaking amazing! I have a whole list of new music to look forward to, and was all around pretty impressed. All the new artists were fun. I even enjoyed Gaga’s Mastercard sponsored music video. The club scene must be really fun right now, and it kind of makes me sad to be so far beyond that time period in my life. I LOVED dancing in the club. I guess I’ll be creating a Club Music playlist on Apple Music. Suggestions for tracks are very welcome.
I, too, only watched the Grammy's because of the live chat. It's not usually on my radar, but DWBs really makes it for me. The DWB live chats have reinvigorated my interest in award shows overall, actually. It's fun to be back.
I too miss my club days. Do the kids even still do that? My 19 and 21 year-old step kiddos just looked at me with horror when I mentioned it. I still use a lot of the early 90s club hits when I workout. Makes the whole experience less painful.
Alan Cumming’s club on the Lower East Side has an afternoon dance party, which I keep meaning to go to but have a hard time getting myself out of the house sometimes.
Every now and then I wind up getting to dance for a few hours somewhere that’s not a “club” and it always makes me wish there were more options for people who want to end their night by midnight to make it easier to get my friends out.
I have a friend who organizes exactly these events every month or so- I've never gone bc I feel like the late night is part of it AND I hate driving to the west side, but I very much support it in theory!
Personally I'm still okay with later hours here in my dotage, but I've gotten a bit more delicate about bathrooms and coat checks - and I've found a reasonable occasional substitute in charity galas.
I aim for the events put on by the junior boards which tend to be cheaper and more fun, and there's enough of an age range that I don't feel like I'm all "hey, fellow kids." The music is usually more wedding-DJ (albeit a very good one) than truly clubby but I do better with songs I know anyway. It's an excuse to dress up, there are snacks and open bar, I dance my a** off and have a great time!
I'd certainly be up for visiting a more permanent club setup but I'd also be okay if I could find enough of the charity fetes so I had a reliable one every quarter or so.
The math museum, of all places, has dance parties about twice a year, and those are always a lot of fun, and the American Museum of Natural History used to have dance parties, though I can’t remember if they did them last summer. NYPL has some after hours parties, too, though they usually have so much else going on I don’t always make it to the dance floor.
I personally am still a night owl, but so many of my friends are introverts that just getting them out of the house is hard.
(Incidentally, last year around this time one of my usual hermits met me at a new bar/restaurant she wanted to check out, and since I expected the night to end early and to have a table, I carried a bigger bag that say. But she asked to go check out a band afterward!
I'll caveat by saying that neither is quite back to full pre-2020 levels of extravaganza just yet, but my two favorites are:
Zoo-ologie - in May benefits and hosted at the zoo. DJ in the Lion House, band in a big tent, heavy apps from local restaurants, open bar, ride the Endangered Species Carousel in your fancy outfits as often as you want until 10 (normally there's a charge and a line).
Snowball - benefits the children's hospital, hosted most frequently at our natural history museum (the Field). Heavy apps from local restaurants, open bar. Dance next to dinosaur skeletons and if you need a break, feel free to wander the exhibits (and maybe pretend you're in a heist movie - there is a gem Hall, after all).
Last night was a hoot, thanks broads. And I didn't have to flip my couch because Beyonce won AOTY! I was hoping for some surprise collabs, but overall really liked the performances. My only disappointment was my boyfriend Shaboozey getting totally locked out. I mean, sure, folks like Billie and Taylor got 0 as well, but A Bar Song was literally the song of the year. Spent more weeks at #1 than any other song. That felt like a snub. I knew the CMAs weren't going to give him anything, but I sort of hoped the Grammy's would.
Oh, and Billie was shown with tears in her eyes when Beyonce won AOTY. She might have been sad she lost (understandable), but they cut to her twice, and I feel like it may have also been happy tears for Beyonce? They also showed Taylor clinking glasses with Bey's family, which is very classy (and frankly on-brand) for her.
I agree. Also, this from NYT -- the "relief" angle which makes sense: "At last, Beyoncé’s long album of the year drought is over. As she accepted the night’s highest honor for “Cowboy Carter,” the emotions were palpable in the room: Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish had tears in their eyes (of joy for Beyoncé, and in Eilish’s case, perhaps of relief that she would not have to be the one to stand in the way of this much-deserved win); Taylor Swift clinked champagne glasses with Jay-Z. Beyoncé’s speech was short — she knows the conversation this win sets off will be long."
I didn't watch (although I regret that) BUT a delightful YouTuber I watch was there with her husband because he does sound-something-something for Bey, and he won his first Grammy, and I am so happy for them. It's nice to know that the awards go beyond just those big names on stage. (Get The to the Stitchery--I don't even sew, but Charlie is a delight)
The Swifties were apparently moaning last night that Taylor did not win. Well, kids, TTPD is not her best album. Even when I had it on repeat during the summer, I’d skip four or five songs. That album wasn’t written to win prizes, she wrote it to vent and put things behind her. It did not seem to bother her a tad that she did not win. In her own words: you need to calm down.
The J. Balvin graduation gown-as-designed-by-a-major-fashion-conglomerate caption on GFY (which, ha!) reminded me that in 2008 Dame Vivienne Westwood designed the academic dress for King's College London! (I saw a recent photo of a grad in their KCL gown and it was swoonworthy.)
I went back to the P+ official copy of the show to watch a couple of the performances again, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that it still includes the "local" ads. Kudos to CBS for that one.
Also I dipped into Raye's discography this morning and discovered she did a killer O Holy Night, which I've stored for next holiday season.
I was really not ready to see Will Smith featured so prominently at this event, and for what reason? Agree that the new artist nominees really got a chance to shine, and thank goodness Beyonce finally won one of the big awards. I don't love all of her music, but she's undeniably a huge talent and it was overdue.
Thanks for this after I left yesterday to get back from Vegas. I’m sure to look for videos today because who doesn’t love this show? (Was the sound better than usual?)
I too enjoyed the mix of winners, and loved that Beyoncé took home Country Album, and AOTY. Long time coming, and that album really was a banger. Now to cross my fingers and toes in the hopes that I can get tickets for her tour.
The tributes to LA were all so lovely, and thank you for your mention of those affected by Helene as well. My family live in Helene-affected areas, and there is still so much work to be done to even just get all the roads rebuilt, let alone people's houses and businesses.
For those who would like to hear more about Helene, I would recommend the series of articles from the Asheville Watchdog called "The Lives We Lost to Helene", which is a beautiful and heartbreaking tribute to the North Carolinian victims of Helene, 11 of whom were from the same family (I wouldn't read at work though unless you also want to cry at work, like I did). https://avlwatchdog.org/the-lives-we-lost-to-helene/
I look forward to reading these. And thank you to H&J for the mention of those affected by Helene.
Speaking of not bleeping Sabrina Carpenter, the Kidz Bop version of "Please Please Please" makes a much better lyric choice with "don't embarrass me or my mother" than the official radio edit.
Haha - also a Kidz Bop house, and I am often tickled by their edits.
"100% that kid" from Lizzo is the only one I can remember right now, but there are so many clever little choices that they make. (I play the real versions in the car, and I wonder if my daughter is like, um, what? lol)
The Grammys was... good? This is so unusual for them. Good winners (spread out across acts too), great performances, Trevor Noah was solid, the speeches were heartfelt and often fiercely political, the LA tributes were lovely, and Kendrick won 5 awards for calling Drake a sex offender.
I must admit that the Academy did way better with its wins than I predicted. They so often play it uber-safe and they were much less so here. Good for Beyonce finally getting the big one, and I love that Chappell refuses to back down on standing up for herself and her boundaries even on the biggest stage of the year.
Downsides: Why do they keep giving Chris Brown awards? Also, accused sexual harassed Kanye West is gross and tedious and I find it unbearably uncomfortable to watch him parade his Kim lookalike silent wife around like a nude toy.
Kanye is so gross. I can’t help but feel there will be a forthcoming confession in which she states that he forced her to humiliate herself in public
Agreed. I try not to assume people's emotions based on a photograph, but I was really disturbed by what I saw.
Also, writing from Helene-land to say the destruction remains real. Just down the road from me is a 3-story-high pile of garbage. The trucks coming in and out have to be logged in case human remains are found.
I'll have to track down videos of that Best New Artist performance gauntlet as I joined in right after (and was watching on regular old network CBS and couldn't rewind). If anyone finds a particularly well done supercut of that section of the broadcast I'd love the recommendation!
"...name anything besides “Whip My Hair” that either Willow or Jaden has done"
I'm not one to go to bat for the Smiths (the band yes, the family no) but I'd definitely recommend giving Willow's more mature tracks a shot. "Wait a Minute" and "Meet Me at Our Spot" are in my rotation and are truly unexpected bops if you're only familiar with "Whip My Hair".
Also Chappell Roan can do no wrong to my eyes or ears - I'll watch every grand, theatrical live performance she puts on (her pyrotechnic-laden Joan of Arc cosplay for "Good Luck, Babe!" at the VMAs thrilled me). This one was a treat as well.
My husband LOVES meet me at our spot. It’s definitely a bop. I find Jaden insufferable (for no real reason other than his red carpet shenanigans — a true BEC for me), but I do have more time for Willow.
I think my point is, how many people knew she HAD other tracks? I’m glad to hear they’re good! -H
Totally fair! I don't think I would've, either, if Todd in the Shadows hadn't put "Meet Me at Our Spot" in his top 10 a few years back.
Usually I don't give your grammar/spelling mistakes a second glance - especially because they're so rare. However, because of the importance of the line and topic overall, the article should say that Alicia Keys said DEI is not a "threat" instead of "treat".
I was coming to say this also. Her speech was so good! As someone said in the chat last night, we obviously need Alicia Keys to give us all our pep talks!
OH MY GOD WHAT A TYPOOOOOOO. I will fix -H
FIXED. Classic case of both of us knowing what it was supposed to say and reading RIGHT over the error. -H
As I said in last night's chat, i basically watched because i got your email and thought it would be fun to follow along with the convo, and I'm so glad I did! What an amazing crew of best new artists! Benson Boone looking so much like a figure skater that he even did a flip! Bruno and Gaga California dreaming! Janelle moonwalking and then Taylor proudly donning the jacket she shed! The amazing Chappell Roan performing so well and then giving a lovely speech!
I'm generally truly indifferent to Beyonce, truly, but Cowboy Carter is a banger of an album and I was so glad it won after country music snubbed it, though sad to see her in an ill-fitting dress. the top just looked painful.
The thing with the Weeknd definitely was the low point, and I wished Kendrick hadn't won but mostly because i have no patience with 'beef.' It's just so immature to me. You're grown-up millionaires. I do hope he said hi 'Dre' and not 'hi Drake.'
I’m like 95% sure he said Dre. Who, I also noted last night, is a handsome, distinguished looking gentleman — who would have guessed, back in the day?!
I was just watching Kendrick's speech for Song of the Year and he's looking at Dre often so I hope it was Dre and not Drake.
I also think he said hi to Dre, as he then said some other names of people in the room.
As I said last night, I never would have watched the Grammy’s without the chat, so if you weren’t there last night, you really missed out. The Grammy’s was, with the exception of two performances, pretty freaking amazing! I have a whole list of new music to look forward to, and was all around pretty impressed. All the new artists were fun. I even enjoyed Gaga’s Mastercard sponsored music video. The club scene must be really fun right now, and it kind of makes me sad to be so far beyond that time period in my life. I LOVED dancing in the club. I guess I’ll be creating a Club Music playlist on Apple Music. Suggestions for tracks are very welcome.
I, too, only watched the Grammy's because of the live chat. It's not usually on my radar, but DWBs really makes it for me. The DWB live chats have reinvigorated my interest in award shows overall, actually. It's fun to be back.
Had I not had to drive my students home I would have been in there with you all, but I'm glad it know it was a great time for all.
We missed you! -H
Aww, thanks!
I too miss my club days. Do the kids even still do that? My 19 and 21 year-old step kiddos just looked at me with horror when I mentioned it. I still use a lot of the early 90s club hits when I workout. Makes the whole experience less painful.
Alan Cumming’s club on the Lower East Side has an afternoon dance party, which I keep meaning to go to but have a hard time getting myself out of the house sometimes.
Every now and then I wind up getting to dance for a few hours somewhere that’s not a “club” and it always makes me wish there were more options for people who want to end their night by midnight to make it easier to get my friends out.
I’m jealous and also I totally agree. I need a Gen X Club - starts at 6 and ends at midnight.
Could it end at 10 so I can sleep like a normal human? The xennial in me wants good sleeping hours but also a reasonable about of sleep.
What if they encouraged people to start dancing right away so if you left at 10 you wouldn’t feel like you were missing anything? 😉
It was always weird to me in PA that people didn’t really hit the dance floor until after 11 when the bars close at 2.
I approve of that!
This could work really well!
I have a friend who organizes exactly these events every month or so- I've never gone bc I feel like the late night is part of it AND I hate driving to the west side, but I very much support it in theory!
That is so awesome!
this is their copy, lol:
"The Early Bird Special = A place for the early birds to gather and dance before the night owls swoop in. You’re not old, you’re old school."
I love this so much.
Personally I'm still okay with later hours here in my dotage, but I've gotten a bit more delicate about bathrooms and coat checks - and I've found a reasonable occasional substitute in charity galas.
I aim for the events put on by the junior boards which tend to be cheaper and more fun, and there's enough of an age range that I don't feel like I'm all "hey, fellow kids." The music is usually more wedding-DJ (albeit a very good one) than truly clubby but I do better with songs I know anyway. It's an excuse to dress up, there are snacks and open bar, I dance my a** off and have a great time!
I'd certainly be up for visiting a more permanent club setup but I'd also be okay if I could find enough of the charity fetes so I had a reliable one every quarter or so.
Good idea!
The math museum, of all places, has dance parties about twice a year, and those are always a lot of fun, and the American Museum of Natural History used to have dance parties, though I can’t remember if they did them last summer. NYPL has some after hours parties, too, though they usually have so much else going on I don’t always make it to the dance floor.
I personally am still a night owl, but so many of my friends are introverts that just getting them out of the house is hard.
(Incidentally, last year around this time one of my usual hermits met me at a new bar/restaurant she wanted to check out, and since I expected the night to end early and to have a table, I carried a bigger bag that say. But she asked to go check out a band afterward!
I would be very tempted by a math museum dance party!
I'll caveat by saying that neither is quite back to full pre-2020 levels of extravaganza just yet, but my two favorites are:
Zoo-ologie - in May benefits and hosted at the zoo. DJ in the Lion House, band in a big tent, heavy apps from local restaurants, open bar, ride the Endangered Species Carousel in your fancy outfits as often as you want until 10 (normally there's a charge and a line).
Snowball - benefits the children's hospital, hosted most frequently at our natural history museum (the Field). Heavy apps from local restaurants, open bar. Dance next to dinosaur skeletons and if you need a break, feel free to wander the exhibits (and maybe pretend you're in a heist movie - there is a gem Hall, after all).
Ohhh thank you for this tidbit -- I'm going to be in the city for 10 days at the end of March and I may just have to drop in on this.
Last night was a hoot, thanks broads. And I didn't have to flip my couch because Beyonce won AOTY! I was hoping for some surprise collabs, but overall really liked the performances. My only disappointment was my boyfriend Shaboozey getting totally locked out. I mean, sure, folks like Billie and Taylor got 0 as well, but A Bar Song was literally the song of the year. Spent more weeks at #1 than any other song. That felt like a snub. I knew the CMAs weren't going to give him anything, but I sort of hoped the Grammy's would.
Oh, and Billie was shown with tears in her eyes when Beyonce won AOTY. She might have been sad she lost (understandable), but they cut to her twice, and I feel like it may have also been happy tears for Beyonce? They also showed Taylor clinking glasses with Bey's family, which is very classy (and frankly on-brand) for her.
Billie was very emotional last night in general. I definitely think she was happy for Beyonce and not sad for herself. -J
I agree. Also, this from NYT -- the "relief" angle which makes sense: "At last, Beyoncé’s long album of the year drought is over. As she accepted the night’s highest honor for “Cowboy Carter,” the emotions were palpable in the room: Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish had tears in their eyes (of joy for Beyoncé, and in Eilish’s case, perhaps of relief that she would not have to be the one to stand in the way of this much-deserved win); Taylor Swift clinked champagne glasses with Jay-Z. Beyoncé’s speech was short — she knows the conversation this win sets off will be long."
One of my local radio stations bleeps out the "mother" and leaves the "fucker," which tickles me every time.
😂
Do they think that it's not fucker and left it alone? I'm so confused how you could bleep the wrong half.
I love this -- it seems subversive and hilarious.
I didn't watch (although I regret that) BUT a delightful YouTuber I watch was there with her husband because he does sound-something-something for Bey, and he won his first Grammy, and I am so happy for them. It's nice to know that the awards go beyond just those big names on stage. (Get The to the Stitchery--I don't even sew, but Charlie is a delight)
The Swifties were apparently moaning last night that Taylor did not win. Well, kids, TTPD is not her best album. Even when I had it on repeat during the summer, I’d skip four or five songs. That album wasn’t written to win prizes, she wrote it to vent and put things behind her. It did not seem to bother her a tad that she did not win. In her own words: you need to calm down.
I suspect she is glad she did not win, honestly.
All the Swifties I know personally are happy for Bey! - J
YES!!!! No fandom is a monolith and we must all beware clickbait-y headlines which love to play into it all :)
The J. Balvin graduation gown-as-designed-by-a-major-fashion-conglomerate caption on GFY (which, ha!) reminded me that in 2008 Dame Vivienne Westwood designed the academic dress for King's College London! (I saw a recent photo of a grad in their KCL gown and it was swoonworthy.)
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/remembering-dame-vivienne-westwood
I went back to the P+ official copy of the show to watch a couple of the performances again, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that it still includes the "local" ads. Kudos to CBS for that one.
Also I dipped into Raye's discography this morning and discovered she did a killer O Holy Night, which I've stored for next holiday season.
I was really not ready to see Will Smith featured so prominently at this event, and for what reason? Agree that the new artist nominees really got a chance to shine, and thank goodness Beyonce finally won one of the big awards. I don't love all of her music, but she's undeniably a huge talent and it was overdue.