The Grammys are considered music’s biggest night. However this year’s awards ceremony was special because it was a night dedicated to the city of Los Angeles. The city’s artists, firefighters, and businesses were front and center throughout the ceremony. There were also calls for donations during the broadcast with a QR code appearing on the TV screens of people watching at home. Artists such as Doja Cat and Charlie Puth took a stand with small businesses in Los Angeles by appearing in ads with business owners and calling on viewers to donate and help support the cause.

The night was also loaded with great performances, from Sabrina Carpenter’s comically messy and glitzy renditions of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” to Charli XCX’s bratty and rebellious performance of “Von Dutch.” And who can forget Doechii’s electrifying and show-stopping mashup of “DENIAL IS A RIVER” and “CATFISH”? There were also beautiful speeches that stood out, particularly from Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan. During her acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars, Gaga advocated for lifting up transgender individuals and the queer community as a whole. Chappell Roan, accepting Best New Artist, targeted record labels directly as a call to action. 

“I told myself, if I ever won a Grammy, … I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists,” she said. “It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system. … Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”

It’s beautiful to watch influential artists advocating for underrepresented communities, being honest about their experiences on live TV, and fighting for their art to be seen.

Kendrick Lamar might be the biggest winner from Sunday night. He swept all of the categories he was nominated in with his wildly popular single “Not Like Us.” Released in May, the diss track directed at Drake took the world, and the Grammys, by storm. Nominated for Best Music Video, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, the Compton-born rapper took home the Grammy for each category. As he made his way to the stage to accept Record of the Year, Lamar’s former collaborators Taylor Swift and Beyoncé danced along, and the whole crowd sang to the song as it played. He dedicated his acceptance speech to Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Compton, Long Beach, and Watts. He gave thanks to families in the Palisades and Altadena, saying that this award and song is “a true testament that we’re going to continue to restore this city [Los Angeles].”

Doechii also had a monumental night. She accepted the Grammy for Best Rap Album for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, becoming the third female rapper to win this prize since its inception in 1989. It was a beautiful moment to watch as Cardi B, the most recent Black woman to win that Grammy, gave Doechii the trophy. She had a breakthrough year with this mixtape. The eclectic Tampa emcee took a moment to talk to Black women during her speech.

“I know that there is some Black girl out there—so many Black women out there that are watching me right now—and I want to tell you that you can do it,” Doechii said. “Anything is possible … Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark, or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic, or you’re too loud. You’re exactly who you need to be to be right where you are. And I am a testimony.” Powerful words from a true artist and superstar in the making.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department received the biggest applause of the night. As they rose to announce the winner of Album of the Year, they were given a standing ovation, and everyone in the room remained standing as they presented. 

In a pleasant surprise, the award went to Beyoncé for her eighth studio album, COWBOY CARTER. Of course, the internet ​​​has been in a fury expressing their opinions on this win. I enjoyed the Brat summer aesthetic and energy from Charli XCX’s “Brat,” the instrumental flute stylings of André 3000’s New Blue Sun, and even some of the songs from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — Chappell Roan’s album. However, my standouts were Billie Eilish and Beyoncé’s projects. Eilish’s third studio album stood out with its dynamic production and songwriting from her and Finneas, her equally talented brother. Beyoncé’s album is a deconstruction of what it means to be an artist and exist in a singular genre. Both are testaments to their talent and overwhelming artistry. Beyoncé allowed her experience of exclusion and discrimination from the country genre to drive her into an artistic research project, even enlisting help from country legends like Linda Martell and musicians like Rhiannon Giddens, OC ’00, on the song “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” 

This year’s album of the year win is not just for Beyoncé. It is for the Black women who have long been disregarded from this award in the name of mediocrity, racism, or misogynoir. This is not just for Cowboy Carter. It is for the decorated bodies of work by Black women that have been denied the coveted award.