63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020. The nominations were revealed via a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020. The performers for the ceremony were announced on March 7, 2021. South African comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony.
Beyoncé received the most nominations with nine, followed by Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch, and Taylor Swift with six each. Beyoncé received the most awards with four, surpassing Alison Krauss as the most-awarded woman in the show's history, with 28 awards overall. Her daughter Blue Ivy Carter became the youngest person ever to win a Grammy as an individual at the age of 8 years and 322 days for Best Music Video for "Brown Skin Girl".
Swift won Album of the Year for Folklore, making her the first woman to win the award three times and the first artist to do so since Paul Simon in 1988. Billie Eilish won Record of the Year for "Everything I Wanted", becoming the second solo artist, after Roberta Flack in 1974, to win two years consecutively, and the third overall since U2 in 2002. H.E.R. won Song of the Year for "I Can't Breathe" and Megan Thee Stallion won Best New Artist, becoming the second female rapper to win since Lauryn Hill in 1999.
The ceremony was originally scheduled for January 31, 2021; however, on January 5, 2021, the Recording Academy postponed the ceremony to March 14, 2021, due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles as well as health and safety concerns therein.
Background
The nominations were announced during a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020, by Chair, and Interim Recording Academy President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr., alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Mickey Guyton, Lauren Daigle, Pepe Aguilar, Nicola Benedetti, Gayle King, Yemi Alade, BTS, Imogen Heap and Sharon Osbourne. The academy announced Trevor Noah as the host of the ceremony.Category alterations
For the 2021 ceremony, the academy announced several changes for different categories and rules:- The category Best Urban Contemporary Album has been renamed Best Progressive R&B Album.
- The category Best Rap/Sung Performance has been renamed Best Melodic Rap Performance.
- The category Best Latin Pop Album has been renamed Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and the category Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album has been renamed Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.
- The category Best World Music Album has been renamed Best Global Music Album.
- The maximum number of releases have been removed from the category Best New Artist.
- The category Best Musical Theater Album can now only award up to four principal vocalists in addition to the album producer and the lyricists/composers. In the case of an ensemble-driven piece, all vocalists will receive a winner's certificate.
Venue and production
The Recording Academy appointed Ben Winston as the executive producer of the show, his first time working on a Grammy show. Winston, via Rolling Stone, stated that the show would feature multiple stages, but no audience, highlighting the "creative triumphs, social justice movements, as well as COVID-19's impact on the arts". Regarding the venue shift, Winston stated that he does believe Staples is a safe place, but he wanted "to go above and beyond to make even the most-skeptical participants feel undoubtedly safe". The production was overseen by COVID-19 safety officers. To minimize physical contact, artists had their own backstage area, and entered the stages from different directions.
The show involved five equally sized stages arranged in a circle facing inwards; one of the stages was for presenters and the other four for performers. Crew members worked from the center of the circular set. As soon as one performance ended, the next stage would be covered, and so on. Each stage set-up was changed every 45 minutes and replaced with a different performer in the lineup. Winston mentioned that the concept was inspired by the British entertainment programs Later... with Jools Holland and TFI Friday. The show was a mix of live and pre-recorded performances, as "a fully live show would involve too many crew members moving sets and risking close contact". However, the whole show was planned to feel entirely live.
To help plan the sprawling production and immersive spectacle of the show, Winston collaborated with a multitude of producers, such as co-executive producer Jesse Collins, who produced The Weeknd's Super Bowl halftime show; co-executive producer Raj Kapoor, who handled creative direction for many artists on the last seven Grammy shows and produced Las Vegas concert residencies for Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey; producer Fatima Robinson, worked on the Black Eyed Peas' 2011 halftime show; producer Misty Buckley, who produced Kacey Musgraves' 2020 Christmas show; talent executive Patrick Menton from Dick Clark Productions; James Corden collaborator Josie Cliff; and Hamish Hamilton, who directed Super Bowl halftimes, Olympic ceremonies, Academy Award, and Emmy Award shows.
Performers
Premiere ceremony
Performers were announced on March 2, 2021.| Artist | Song |
| Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra Thana Alexa John Beasley Camilo Regina Carter Alexandre Desplat Bebel Gilberto Lupita Infante Sarah Jarosz Mykal Kilgore Ledisi Mariachi Sol De Mexico PJ Morton Gregory Porter Grace Potter Gustavo Santaolalla Anoushka Shankar Kamasi Washington | Tribute to Marvin Gaye "Mercy Mercy Me " |
| Lido Pimienta | "Eso Que Tú Haces" |
| Igor Levit | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor |
| Jimmy "Duck" Holmes | "Catfish Blues" |
| Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science | "Trapped in the American Dream" |
| Rufus Wainwright | "Hatred" |
| Poppy | "Eat" |
| Burna Boy | Medley: "Level Up" "Onyeka" "Ye" |
Main ceremony
Performers for the ceremony were announced on March 7, 2021.| Artist | Song |
| Harry Styles | "Watermelon Sugar" |
| Billie Eilish Finneas | "Everything I Wanted" |
| Haim | "The Steps" |
| Black Pumas | "Colors" |
| DaBaby Roddy Ricch Anthony Hamilton | "Rockstar" |
| Bad Bunny Jhay Cortez | "Dakiti" |
| Dua Lipa | Medley: "Levitating" "Future Nostalgia" "Don't Start Now" |
| Silk Sonic | "Leave the Door Open" |
| Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff Aaron Dessner | Medley: "Cardigan" "August" "Willow" |
| Silk Sonic Lionel Richie Brandi Carlile Brittany Howard Chris Martin | In Memoriam "Long Tall Sally" "Good Golly Miss Molly" "Lady" "I Remember Everything" "You'll Never Walk Alone" |
| Mickey Guyton | "Black Like Me" |
| Miranda Lambert | "Bluebird" |
| Maren Morris John Mayer | "The Bones" |
| Megan Thee Stallion Cardi B | "Body" "Savage Remix" "Up" "WAP" |
| Post Malone | "Hollywood's Bleeding" |
| Lil Baby Tamika Mallory Killer Mike | "The Bigger Picture" |
| Doja Cat | "Say So" |
| BTS | "Dynamite" |
| Roddy Ricch | "Heartless" "The Box" |
Presenters
Premiere ceremony- Jhené Aiko – host
- Bill Burr
- Chika
- Lupita Infante
- Jimmy Jam
- Lizzo – presented Best New Artist
- Trevor Noah - presented Best Melodic Rap Performance, Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and Song of the Year
- Jacob Collier and Jhené Aiko – presented Best Pop Vocal Album
- Jimmy Jam and Babyface – presented Best R&B Performance
- Ringo Starr – presented Record of the Year
Winners and nominees
General field
Record of the Year- "Everything I Wanted" – Billie Eilish
- * Finneas O'Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O'Connell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer
- "Black Parade" – Beyoncé
- * Beyoncé & Derek Dixie, producers; Stuart White, engineer/mixer; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
- "Colors" – Black Pumas
- * Adrian Quesada, producer; Adrian Quesada, engineer/mixer; JJ Golden, mastering engineer
- "Rockstar" – DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
- * SethinTheKitchen, producer; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Chris Dennis, Liz Robson & Chris West, engineers/mixers; Glenn A Tabor III, mastering engineer
- "Say So" – Doja Cat
- * Tyson Trax, producer; Clint Gibbs & Kalani Thompson, engineer/mixer; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
- "Don't Start Now" – Dua Lipa
- * Caroline Ailin & Ian Kirkpatrick, producers; Josh Gudwin, Drew Jurecka & Ian Kirkpatrick, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
- "Circles" – Post Malone
- * Louis Bell, Frank Dukes & Post Malone, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
- "Savage" – Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
- * Beyoncé & J. White Did It, producers; Stuart White, engineer/mixer; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
- Folklore – Taylor Swift
- * Joe Alwyn, Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Șerban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jonathan Low & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
- Chilombo – Jhené Aiko
- * Fisticuffs & Julian-Quán Việt Lê, producers; Fisticuffs, Julian-Quán Việt Lê, Zeke Mishanec, Christian Plata & Gregg Rominiecki, engineers/mixers; Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo, Julian-Quán Việt Lê, Maclean Robinson & Brian Keith Warfield, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
- Black Pumas – Black Pumas
- * Adrian Quesada, producers; Adrian Quesada, engineer/mixer; Eric Burton & Adrian Quesada, songwriters; JJ Golden, mastering engineer
- Everyday Life – Coldplay
- * Daniel Green, Bill Rahko & Rik Simpson, producers; Mark "Spike" Stent, engineer/mixer; Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer
- Djesse Vol. 3 – Jacob Collier
- * Jacob Collier, producer; Ben Bloomberg & Jacob Collier, engineers/mixers; Jacob Collier, songwriter; Chris Allgood & Emily Lazar, mastering engineers
- Women in Music Pt. III – Haim
- * Rostam Batmanglij, Danielle Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, producers; Rostam Batmanglij, Jasmine Chen, John DeBold, Matt DiMona, Tom Elmhirst, Joey Messina-Doerning & Ariel Rechtshaid, engineers/mixers; Rostam Batmanglij, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, Este Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, songwriters; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer
- Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa
- * Lorna Blackwood & Koz, producer; Josh Gudwin & Cameron Gower Poole, engineers/mixers; Clarence Coffee Jr. & Dua Lipa, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
- Hollywood's Bleeding – Post Malone
- * Louis Bell & Frank Dukes, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Austin Post & Billy Walsh, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
- "I Can't Breathe"
- *Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters
- "Black Parade"
- *Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim "Kaydence" Krysiuk & Rickie "Caso" Tice, songwriters
- "The Box"
- * Larrance Dopson, Samuel Gloade, Rodrick Moore, Adarius Moragne, Eric Sloan & Khirye Anthony Tyler, songwriters
- "Cardigan"
- *Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters
- "Circles"
- *Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh, songwriters
- "Don't Start Now"
- *Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren, songwriters
- "Everything I Wanted"
- *Billie Eilish & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters
- "If the World Was Ending"
- *Julia Michaels & JP Saxe, songwriters
- Megan Thee Stallion
- Ingrid Andress
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Noah Cyrus
- Chika
- D Smoke
- Doja Cat
- Kaytranada