Grammys hit on major social issues

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Pop singer Kesha performed at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards this past Sunday in honor of the Time’s Up movement.

CRISTIAN ORTIZ, Opinion Columnist

This past Sunday was music’s biggest night. The 60th Annual Grammy Awards left Los Angeles for the first time since 2003 and returned to the Big Apple — New York City.

It was a night of extraordinary, star-studded performances and beautiful messages, but some moments left a bad taste in viewers’ mouths, as some artists were un-deservedly shut out of any wins.

The night started off with a bang and went straight to business with Kendrick Lamar. He performed some songs from his album “DAMN,” which later in the night won him yet another Grammy for Best Rap Album.

He brought out U2 for their collaboration on Kendrick’s song “XXX.” Dave Chappelle even made a couple appearances during Kendrick’s amazing set, which brought the audience to their feet when he finished.

Then host James Corden, who is one of my favorite late-night hosts, came out and introduced the night to everyone, revealing all of the amazing performances yet to come. He said how this year’s Grammys held the most diverse nominees so far, which is fantastic and much-deserved.

He then cracked a joke saying how, for the second year in a row, they had the least diverse host. He didn’t give a long monologue because the night had so much yet to come, and he also had some previously recorded skits.

Lady Gaga then came in and gave an absolutely moving performance of her songs “Joanne” and “Million Reasons.” Afterwards, the night continued on with more awards presentations.

John Legend and Tony Bennett presented Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, which brought back Kendrick Lamar, alongside Rihanna, for their song “Loyalty.”

After Sam Smith gave a great performance, Alessia Cara won Best New Artist, which was well-deserved, in my opinion.

For me, the award should have went to either Cara or Khalid, who both had amazing years in the music industry and even had a collaboration together on Logic’s powerful song “1-800-273-8255.”

Little Big Town then gave a beautiful performance of their song “Better Man,” which was written by Taylor Swift.

The night continued with more much-coveted awards and rocking performances. I absolutely loved Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s performance of “Finesse.” It was one of my favorites of the night.

Janelle Monae gave an excellent speech on behalf of the Time’s Up Movement that introduced Kesha’s performance of “Praying,” which was also one of the most beautiful, emotional moments of the night.

She performed with a female choir and Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper and Andra Day.

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee then gave an electric performance of “Despacito,” followed by Camila Cabello, who gave a wonderful speech on behalf of all the Dreamers out there.

Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid also gave a moving performance of “1-800-273-8255” after the annual memoriam played, which rested a few seconds on Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, who committed suicide earlier this year.

The song’s title is the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the song deals with the struggle of overcoming those dark times and knowing that no one is alone.

There are also some parts of the night that simply didn’t live up to expectations.

James Corden’s Subway Karaoke skit was a waste of time. I didn’t find it funny or entertaining. That’s sad because his Carpool Karaoke bits are usually so good!

I also expected Jay-Z to win at least one Grammy because he was nominated for eight. However, he still went home with none.

“Despacito” was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, but surprisingly didn’t win in any of those categories, even though it felt like the biggest song of the year.

The night was an amazing one, despite the shut-outs, snubs and few cringe worthy moments.

Overall, the Grammys offered more positive moments, grand performances and powerful speeches that hopefully helped shed a light and helped influence the world to become a better one.

I, for one, can’t wait for what this next year of music has to offer.