The 64th Grammy Awards have come to an end after a star-studded night of performances, tributes, and thank you speeches
Silk Sonic, with Bruno Mars and Anderson Pak, opened the Grammys and later took home the award for both ‘Song of the year’ and ‘Record of their year’ for their hit debut single ‘Leave the Door Open’.
In what was Olivia Rodrigo’s first appearance at the Grammys, the star managed to snag three golden gramophones for Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album. The 19 yr old gave a theatrical performance of her song ‘driver’s license’ in a white dress with a matching vintage Mercedes Benz.
Olivia Rodrigo performs her song Drivers License.
Among the night’s other iconic wins, was Doja Cat rushing to the stage to accept her award for Best Pop Duo alongside SZA after taking an ill-timed bathroom break. After catching her breath, Doja gave an emotional acceptance speech wherein she broke down and said she usually downplays a lot of things, but this award was a big deal.
Doja Cat accepts her award for Best Pop Duo alongside SZA.
Music’s biggest night was packed with performances full of cheer and dancing. BTS’s performance of the song ‘Butter’ had seemingly new choreography from the K-pop group that got the audience out of their seats and dancing.
Lil Nas X also performed a medley of his songs. In between one of his outfit changes, a montage of the controversy surrounding his hit single ‘Montero (Call Me by Your Name)’ played. The montage included tweets and articles including those from Fox News.
Lil Nas X’s performance at Grammy Awards 2022.
Grammys’s ‘In-Memoriam’ segment was kickstarted with an emotional tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Billie Eilish also honored Hawkins through her performance of the song ‘Happier than ever’ while wearing a T-shirt with his name and face.
Grammy pays tribute to Taylor Hawkins.
The in-memoriam segment also paid a tribute to DMX, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Virgil Abloh, and Biz Markie.
In one of the more surprising moments of the night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a pre-taped speech to the grammy audience.
The Ukrainian President delivers a speech.
“What is more opposite of music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people,” Zelenskyy said, asking the musicians to fill the silence caused by Russian bombs with their music.
The speech was followed by John Legend’s performance of his new song ‘Free’ alongside Ukrainian musicians Mika Newton and Suzanna Iglidan. Ukrainian poet, Lyuba Yakimchuk who flew to the country recently also delivered a poem.
Jon Batiste accepts the Grammy award for Album of the Year.
The night ended with Jon Batiste winning Album of the Year for ‘We Are’. This makes for a memorable win as not only did Batiste win 5 out of his 11 nominations, but he also became the first Black artist to win Album of The Year since 2008.
In Short:
– Trump gives Hamas three to four days to accept a U.S.-backed Gaza peace plan, warning of consequences.
– Hamas calls the plan biased and insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal before considering any agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has given Hamas three to four days to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan for Gaza, warning of severe consequences if they reject it.The plan, shared by mediators Qatar and Egypt, emerged after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed it during a visit to the White House. Hamas, which was not part of the talks, is expected to review the proposal that calls for disarmament, a previously rejected demand.
Trump stated that support for the plan came from both Israeli and Arab leaders, and he emphasised the need for Hamas to respond promptly. The proposal includes a ceasefire, hostage exchanges, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and disarmament of Hamas, along with a transitional government.
A Hamas source described the plan as biased towards Israel and containing unacceptable conditions.
The group maintains that a complete Israeli withdrawal is a prerequisite for their agreement to any deal, while they are unwilling to disarm.
Pressure Mounts
Hamas faces significant pressure as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt have supported the initiative. Turkey’s intelligence head is also set to join discussions in Doha, marking a new level of mediation.
Despite expressing initial support, Netanyahu is cautious about the plan’s implications for Palestinian statehood and faces pressure from his coalition. Public sentiment in Gaza reflects a desire for peace, albeit with scepticism about the sincerity of both Trump and Netanyahu’s commitments.