Grammys awards 2023: Harry Styles fends off Adele, Coldplay for best pop vocal album

Singer Harry Styles won the first major 2023 Grammy award today, for best pop vocal album for Harry’s House.

The singer fended off fellow British talents Adele and Coldplay for the award, which was presented by Jennifer Lopez. 

“This album from start to finish has been the greatest experience of my life. Thank you so much,” he said, accepting the award.

In total, Adele is nominated in seven categories at this year’s Grammys and Styles in six.

Host for the 65th annual Grammys Awards, on Sunday US time,  at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, is former Daily Show host Trevor Noah.

Styles later took to the stage for an energetic performance of his double-Grammy nominated track As It Was.

The singer, who has already claimed the award for best pop vocal album, wore a long tassled silver shirt, with matching trousers, which shimmered as he charged around the stage.

Styles was joined by a troupe of dancers for a neatly choreographed routine on a separate rotating stage piece, similar to the song’s music video. As It Was is nominated for both song of the year and record of the year.

Beyonce has become the most decorated Grammy artist of all time after making a head-turning late entrance to the awards ceremony.

The pop superstar, 41, won the best dance/electronic music album award for her latest album Renaissance, taking her total to 32. This is one more than the previous record, held by Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who died in 1997.

She also won best traditional R&B performance and best R&B song at the event. She was however too late arriving to accept the latter award personally.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the Grammy for best pop duo performance for their collaborative song Unholy. Smith handed the floor to Petras as the duo celebrated her becoming the first transgender woman to win best pop duo/group performance at the Grammys.  

“Sam, I love you so much and this song has been such an incredible journey for me,” she said. Petras also thanked the “transgender legends” who had “kicked open the doors for me” and allies including Madonna, saying “I don’t think I could be here without Madonna”, and thanked her mother.

Their chart-topping collaboration Unholy claimed the gong on Sunday night with German vocalist Petras thanking other trans performers who came before her.

“Sam, I love you so much and this song has been such an incredible journey for me,” Petras said after they took to the stage.

“Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I am the first transgender woman to win this award,” she added, prompting a standing ovation from parts of the audience. Petras also thanked the “transgender legends” who had “kicked open the doors”.

The 2023 awards kicked off with an explosive performance by Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican rapper is nominated for three awards at the ceremony.

The performance featured pyrotechnics and scores of dancers dressed in traditional dress, set against a tropical background.

Multiple members of the audience got to their feet to dance, including famous faces such as Taylor Swift.

Referring to Bad Bunny as he opened the show, host Noah said: “That album is so fire it makes (Donald) Trump want to learn Spanish.”

Bad Bunny went on to win the Grammy for best musica urbana album for Un Verano Sin Ti.

Adele, although missing out on an award gone to Styles, was given the chance to meet one of her heroes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the opening minutes of the Grammys.

Noah revealed that the unlikely pair were big fans of each other, before making the introduction. “Adele meet The Rock, The Rock meet Adele,” he said, to laughter from the audience.

A red-faced Adele laughed and embraced Johnson, who appeared behind her to surprise her.

Best country album went to Willie Nelson for A Beautiful Time. Shania Twain,wearing a bright red wig, both presented and accepted the award on behalf of theveteran singer, 89, who was absent.

Actor Viola Davis won a Grammy for her audio recording of her memoir “Finding Me”, granting her entry into the elite ranks of EGOT winners with an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award.

Davis is the third black woman to earn this title, and the 18th person in history, and was thrilled to celebrate the moment on stage.

The 57-year-old actor proudly said, “I got EGOT!” as she won a Grammy for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording.

Davis has a 2015 Emmy for TV series “How To Get Away with Murder”, won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2017 for her role in 2016’s “Fences” and has two Tony awards for “Fences” and “King Hedley II”.

“Oh my God,” she said today as she accepted her Grammy. “I wrote this book to honour the six-year-old Viola, to honor her, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything.”

Davis was the only female nominee in her category this year alongside big names Lin-Manuel Miranda, Questlove, Mel Brooks and Jamie Foxx. Other EGOT winners include Jennifer Hudson, Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn and Whoopi Goldberg. 

Taylor Swift earlier said she was “blown away” after winning best music video at the Grammys for her filmmaking debut.

All Too Well: The Short Film, starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf’s Dylan O’Brien as a couple in the midst of a tumultuous relationship, beat off competition including Adele’s Easy On Me and Doja Cat’s Woman.

The award was given out during a pre-ceremony event with Swift tweeting after: “I can’t put into words what this means to me.

“For the @RecordingAcad and my peers to acknowledge me as a director, and in doing so, acknowledge my work to try and reclaim my music… I’m blown away.

“Thank you to all the fans who willed this to happen.”

The film is set to the recently released uncut, 10-minute version of the 2012 song. After claiming the award, Swift took to the red carpet in a sequinned blue gown baring her midriff.

The pop superstar matched the outfit with dazzling earrings constructed of triangles. Swift previously took home the coveted best video, best longform video and best direction gongs in November at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards for the All Too Well music video.

Her 10-minute version of All Too Well is also nominated for song of the year, an accolade she has not won previously.

Earlier in the night Smith and Petras drew attention on the red carpet in matching red ensembles.

Smith wore a floor-length scarlet coat with oversized collar which they paired with a top hat and cane, while Petras opted for a mini-dress and matching red heels.

They were also accompanied by Gottmik and Violet Chachki, from RuPaul’s Drag Race, who appeared in their music video.

It crowns a successful week for Smith after the singer, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, scored their third number one with Gloria.

Smith previously said the album “feels like a coming of age” and helped “through some dark times”.

The Stay With Me singer also prompted an online backlash this month after releasing the risque music video I’m Not Here To Make Friends, in which Smith wore a corset and nipple tassels while performing a suggestive routine with scantily-clad dancers.

The video has been criticised by some as oversexualised, while fans of the singer have said Smith is a victim of double standards due to them being queer and larger in size.