Five years ago, Adele upset Beyoncé for album of the year at the Grammys. Will lightning strike twice Sunday night?
Both the Beyhive and Adele faithful have rooting interests going into the 65th Grammy Awards. With a leading nine nominations, Beyoncé needs just one victory (after winning three so far) to become the most-winning Grammy artist of all time. But for the night’s biggest prize, she faces not only Adele but also Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and – a blast from the past – ABBA, among others.
Check out all the winners and highlights from the pre-show Premiere Ceremony and the main Grammys event.
2023 Grammy winners:See which stars took home the gold
Bad Bunny snags Grammy for best música urbana album
“I just made this album with love and passion, and when you do everything with love and passion, it’s just easier,” Bunny says, accepting his honor for “Un Verano Sin Ti” and dedicating the Grammy win to Puerto Rico.
It’s about damn time Lizzo rules the Grammy stage
“We’re about to have some church up in here!” Lizzo feels the spirit and comes to the stage to do a bit of her hit “About Damn Time” before launching into her empowerment anthem “Special” with a gold-drenched dancing gospel choir surrounding her.
Sam Smith, Kim Petras walk away with an ‘Unholy’ win
Best pop duo/group performance goes to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy.” “This song has been such an incredible journey for me,” says Petras, who receives rapturous applause when she announces she’s the first transgender woman to win this award. She shouts out influences (“I don’t know if I’d be here without Madonna”) and also Smith: “Sam, you are a true angel in my life.”
Willie Nelson wins country Grammy, Stevie Wonder leads a Motown medley
A red-haired Shania Twain presents the Grammy for best country album. Willie Nelson wins for “A Beautiful Time” but isn’t at the show. Another icon is in the house: Stevie Wonder, who leads a Motown tribute to Smokey Robinson. Wonder teams with WanMor on “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” duets with Robinson on “Tears of a Clown” – which gets a huge crowd reaction – and closes the set with “Higher Ground” alongside Chris Stapleton.
Beyoncé wins best R&B song, ties record for most Grammy wins ever
Newly minted EGOT winner Viola Davis comes out to a standing ovation. She’s here to quote Aretha Franklin and give out the Grammy for best R&B song, which goes to Beyoncé for “Cuff It.” The win now makes her tied for biggest Grammy winner of all time, though she’s still on her way to the show.
Harry Styles takes home best pop vocal album
The first award of the main show goes to Harry Styles, who wins for “Harry’s House.” “This album from start to finish has been the greatest experience of my life,” the British singer says.
Brandi Carlile arrives to unleash ‘Broken Horses’
After winning a few early Grammys, Carlile takes the stage to give a blistering performance of “Broken Horses.” When it comes to rockin’ – at least on this night – Carlile overtakes The Rock with killer guitar riffs and growling vocals.
The Rock, meet Adele. Adele, meet The Rock.
Noah walks through the crowd pointing out trivia: LL Cool J loves breakfast cereals, Cardi B loves presidents and Adele loves tea. Noah also makes a friend connection between Adele and her super-fan, Dwayne Johnson. (She seems very excited by the meet-and-greet.)
Bad Bunny gets the Grammy show started in Latin style
Host Trevor Noah kicks off the main Grammys show and introduces the opening performance by Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican singer (aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), who’s looking to be the first artist to take album of the year honors for a Spanish-language record, comes through the audience to hit the stage with dancers and his band to perform hits “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa.” Jack Harlow is one of the many music lovers dancing in the audience. “This album is so fire it makes Trump want to learn Spanish,” Noah jokes.
Måneskin is clear favorite to win best new artist
New artist is one of the most high-profile Grammy categories of all, with winners over the years including The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Carly Simon, Adele and John Legend. Among this year’s varied crop of contenders, the Italian rockers of Måneskin are expected to be victorious. Winners of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, the band played Coachella and multiple Lollapaloozas before embarking on a sold-out tour of large clubs and theaters late last year.
Wins by Taylor Swift, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrap up pre-show ceremony
Madison Cunningham, who performed as part of the pre-show ceremony, wins best folk album for “Revealer” and admits, “I’m in shock.” Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” gets a Grammy for best comedy album, and a 2022 Broadway cast recording of “Into the Woods” is named best musical theater album.
Adding to two earlier victories for “Encanto,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” gets best song written for visual media, while Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well: The Short Film” takes best music video and documentary “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” wins best music film. And Jack Antonoff is named producer of the year for his work with Swift, Florence + The Machine, Diana Ross, The 1975 and the “Minions: The Rise of Gru” soundtrack.
Bonnie Raitt scores a pair of Grammys, Brandi Carlile takes Americana
Aaron Neville scores a Grammy for best American roots performance for “Stompin’ Ground” with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Carlile’s “In These Silent Days” wins best Americana album while Raitt take home a pair of awards: best Americana performance for “Made Up My Mind” and best roots song for “Just Like That.”
Country categories honor Willie Nelson, Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
Nelson’s “Live Forever” takes the honor for best country solo performance and Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde’s “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” wins duo/group performance. “This has transcended so many of my wildest dreams,” Pearce says when accepting her first Grammy. And best country song goes to Matt Rogers and Ben Stennis’ “Till You Can’t.”
New artist nominee Wet Leg snags a pair of alternative honors
The British rock band – up for best new artist later in the night – wins a pair of Grammys: best alternative performance for “Chaise Lounge” and alternative music album for the group’s self-titled debut.
Kendrick Lamar, Brandi Carlile, Ozzy Osbourne take home two honors each
Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” wins for best rap song and rap performance, while Carlile’s “Broken Horses” snags best rock performance and rock song. Osbourne gets best metal performance for “Degradation Rules” with Tony Iommi and rock album for “Patient Number 9.”
Viola Davis officially becomes an EGOT winner, Beyoncé wins second Grammy
The actress makes history by earning her first Grammy Award, for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for “Finding Me.” “I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma. It has been such a journey. I JUST EGOT!” says Davis, adding to her Oscar, Emmy and Tony wins. And on the heels of that, Beyoncé takes best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa.”
Orchestral version of Christine McVie’s ‘Songbird,’ Michael Bublé earn Grammy victories
Vince Mendoza pays tribute to the late Christine McVie when he wins for best arrangement, instrumental and vocals. “I owe a debt of gratitude for so many of her beautiful stories and moments,” says Mendoza, adding that he was 16 when the seminal 1977 Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours” was released. “This record and this music has followed me all through my life.” In addition, Michael Bublé’s “Higher” conquers the best traditional pop album category.
Beyoncé picks up first win of the show for best dance/electronic recording
“MJ the Musical” Broadway star Myles Frost arrives to present the next group of honors. Best dance/electronic recording goes to Beyoncé – her first of what could be a historic day – for “Break My Soul,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” snags the Grammy for best remixed recording (non-classical) and Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” takes best engineered album. Plus, former The Police member Stewart Copeland’s “Divine Tides” wins best immersive audio album.
Disney’s ‘Encanto’ begins the day with two Grammy Award wins
The first two Grammys of the day – best compilation soundtrack album for visual media and best score album – goes to Disney’s animated musical “Encanto,” which featured songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” takes the victory for best score soundtrack for a video game.
This year’s Grammy Awards have quite the guest list
The list of performers during the main Grammys show includes Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Lizzo and the “Unholy” duo of Sam Smith and Kim Petras.
As for presenters, first lady Jill Biden will be one of the main folks giving out hardware alongside Cardi B, James Corden, Billy Crystal, Viola Davis (who could become an EGOT during the Premiere Ceremony), Olivia Rodrigo, Shania Twain and Dwayne Johnson.
Who’s ready for the Grammy Awards red carpet?
The Grammys are usually a place where musicians strut their most interesting stuff. (Lady Gaga’s egg entrance, anyone?) You can get a look at all this year’s looks during the Recording Academy’s “Live from the Red Carpet” livestream scheduled to begin at 6 EST/3 PST on live.grammy.com. E!’s “Live from the Red Carpet” special is slated to start at the same time, co-hosted by Laverne Cox and Bobby Bones, and that’s preceded by a “Live From E!: Countdown to the Grammys” pre-show at 4 EST/1 PST.
How to watch the 65th Grammy Awards
If you like watching musicians accept trophies, the Premiere Ceremony is for you as it doles out the vast majority – 81 of 91 Grammys – of the honors. Streaming on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and live.grammy.com, the early event is hosted by Randy Rainbow and features performances by Blind Boys of Alabama, Samara Joy and more.
Once you’ve sat through that, or just want to see the major Grammys awarded, the more performance-heavy main show airs live on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
