A clique of the nation’s most illustrious musical celebrities gathered under a tent outside the Sears Center on March 14th. Instead of packing the arena’s interior with their starpower, the artists watched as host Trevor Noah slipped in and out of the arena throughout the broadcast.

Had all the artists remained inside, their performances would have raised the roof.

Lil Baby and Mickey Guyton both presented an engaging social commentary on race in America through their music. The former staged his act in the streets of Los Angeles, complete with his portrayal of an abusive cop alongside guard members in riot gear. The latter’s fascinating single “Black Like Me” came off as a vehicle of empathy for her country fans to enjoy.

Taylor Swift’s Folklore won album of the year after a masterful medley performance on her part. The set was a dream-like combination of visuals from the Cardigan music video and the woodsy log cabin in which she recorded the album during the summer of 2021. Her renditions of “August” and “Willow” were particularly haunting.

Two Grammy records were set in 2021. At 28, Beyonce has now won more of the show’s awards than any other female artist in history. Furthermore, Swift is the only woman to win Album of the Year three different times.

Not all the acts hit a high note, however. Megan Three Stallion and Cardi B’s joint performance of “Body”, “Savage”, and “WAP” proved to be distasteful, obscene, and generally unwatchable. Furthermore, Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “DÁKITI” was quite unexciting.

Halftime show performer The Weekend was noticeably absent from the ceremonies after receiving no nominations for 2021. Accordingly, main singer Abel M. Tesfaye directed his label not to submit any more of his music to the committee in the future.

Billie Eilish opened up the show in style alongside Harry Styles and HAIM. Eilish and Styles would take home awards that night for Album of the Year and Best Solo Pop Performance, respectively.

Surprisingly, one of the broadcast’s greatest moments came courtesy of a superstar who wasn’t even nominated this year. Bruno Mars debuted his new song “Leave the Door Open” alongside Anderson Paak as Silk Sonic, with a vocal performance nothing less than stunning.

Out of all America’s award shows, the Grammys may do the best job of including something for every musical taste. This will prove vital considering that CBS’s 2021’s ratings fell by over 50% from last year. The nearly four-hour broadcast did, however, outscore NBC’s Golden Globes by nearly three million viewers.

Viewing this year’s award show felt like riding a rollercoaster that hit highs of musical brilliance before diving into more tedious troughs. The visionary short films featuring interviews with top artists was a nice touch, and the social activism aspect of the latest performance was inspiring. Even during a notoriously tough time for award shows, it appears that the Grammys will always have the star power to get by.

All this year’s winners may be viewed here.