State Champ Radio Grammys
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Just moments after Beyoncé made history at the 2023 Grammy Awards, hip-hop-soul superstar Mary J. Blige gave the crowd a chance to take a breath on Sunday night (Feb. 5).
The singer appeared during the live telecast to perform her single “Good Morning Gorgeous.” Descending from a high platform clad in a skin-tight crystalline dress with rhinestoned boots and gloves to match, Blige delivered her personalized message of self-love and confidence with her once-in-a-generation voice. “Sometimes, you gotta look in the mirror and say, ‘Good morning, gorgeous,’” the star sang.
As the performance went on, Blige was joined on stage by a full choir backing her up as she riffed and ran the house down. By the time she reached the song’s last note, the crowd was on its feet for a standing ovation.
Blige wasn’t only at the event to entertain the masses. She is nominated, including album of the year for Good Morning Gorgeous, and record of the year for the album’s titular track. 2023 marked the first time Blige was nominated as a solo artist in one of the Big Four the ceremony since her nomination for record and song of the year in 2007 for “Be Without You.”
The R&B icon spoke to Billboard on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, sharing that she felt honored to be nominated for album of the year for the first time in her career. “I’ve earned the moment, I’ve been in the game for a while,” she said. “It’s a blessing to still be around doing what I love.”
Beyoncé won best dance/electronic music album with Renaissance at the 2023 Grammys Sunday (Feb. 5), which made her the top Grammy winner of all time.
After taking the trophies for best R&B song for “Cuff It,” best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and best dance/electronic song with “Break My Soul,” the chart-topping superstar went onstage to collect her fourth award of the night (so far) and delivered an emotional speech.
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“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” Beyoncé, who set a new record with 32 Grammy Awards, said teary-eyed. “I’m trying to receive this night … I want to thank God for protecting me, thank you God. I’d like to thank my uncle Johnny, who’s not here, but he’s here in spirit. I’d like to thank my parents, my father, my mother, for loving me and pushing me. My beautiful husband and beautiful three children. Thank you to the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre, thank you so much to the Grammys.”
Even before her historic win, Beyoncé had already posted on social media a big thank you to “my hive.”
“Thank y’all so much for all of your love and loyalty! Big thank you for the BREAK MY SOUL and CUFF IT wins!!! To The Dream, Tricky, HOV, and Big Freedia. I love y’all!” she wrote. “It feels great to be honored for the vocal performance. Thank you to all the talented vocalists who killed those beautiful TikTok renditions! I feel very grateful and filled with joy!
Beyonce is up for a few more awards at the 2023 ceremony, including album (Renaissance), record and song of the year (“Break My Soul”).
See her message to the Beyhive below:
To introduce Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ Grammy-winning “Unholy,” which earlier on Sunday (Feb. 5) took the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, Madonna gave a stand-out speech about being daring, provocative, controversial and dangerous in music, deeming it all to be a sign that an artist is doing something important – if not “a bit unholy.”
Smith and Petras then performed a red-hot rendition of their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Unholy.” Smith opened the set — stunning in latex thigh-high platforms — on the circular center stage, surrounded by dancers who looked fresh off the set of The Ring. They then turned it over to Petras for her verse, which she performed on the main stage in a cage as flames burned brightly behind her.
When the cameras returned to Smith, they were donning a red top hat with horns, which, in addition to the whips and latex, played into and poked fun at the naysayers. (Host Trevor Noah later joked on a fake phone call to his mother, “No, that was not the devil.”)
“Unholy” became each artist’s first Hot 100 chart topper. Petras made even more history on Grammys night, becoming the first transgender woman to win the award for pop duo/group performance. During her speech, she thanked Madonna for “fighting for LGBTQ rights,” her mother “who believed me that I was a girl” and the late artist-producer SOPHIE, a dear friend.
“[SOPHIE] told me this would happen and always believed in me,” Petras said during her acceptance speech. “Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music.”
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 5) served as Quavo’s first TV performance since the death of his Migos bandmate and nephew, Takeoff.
Following Kacey Musgraves’s heartfelt tribute to Loretta Lynn for the ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment, Quavo and renowned gospel group Maverick City Music delivered a gripping rendition of his record “Without You.” Released in January, “Without You” highlights Quavo and Takeoff’s tight-knit relationship.
“I wish I had a time machine/ Just so you take a ride with me/ I miss just how you smile at me/ Unc & Phew until infinity,” sang Quavo. Maverick City Music matched Quavo’s somber tone with their resiliency as they anchored the ATL star, who performed sitting on a stool.
Soon, singers from the choir emerged and performed Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again.” Quavo — who wore an all-black outfit and a mask covering half his face — grabbed Takeoff’s chain and held it triumphantly in the air as the singers crescendoed.
Shortly after Takeoff’s death in November, Quavo posted a heartfelt message on his Instagram page. “It’s so hard to tell you Ima miss you because you always with me and we did everything together. Since we were kids you been by my side lookin up at me, them eyes waiting on me to make the next move.. then you followed up right behind me,” he wrote at the time. “You always made sure I did it first so you can do it right with me. You never competed with me, we were always on the same team.”
Along with Takeoff and Loretta Lynn being honored, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Mick Fleetwood paid respect to Christine McVie with “Songbird.”
