Olivia Dean is now a Grammy winner! The British singer-songwriter took home the award for Best New Artist, after participating in a compilation performance featuring all eight nominees. With tears in her eyes, the “Man I Need” singer exclaimed, “I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant … I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
The first televised 68th GRAMMY Awards win set the tone for the evening as Kendrick Lamar took home Best Rap Album for GNX. “Hip hop is always gonna be right here,” he declared while accepting his statue and noted that the genre would always represent the culture up front and center.
With earlier wins for Best Rap Song for “TV Off” featuring Lefty Gunplay and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Luther” with SZA, Lamar is sprinting toward another honor: with four or more wins tonight, he’ll become the most decorated rapper in Grammy history.
Several artists are already winners from the Academy’s earlier non-televised portion. From Doechii’s Best Music Video win for “Anxiety” to Leon Thomas clinching the Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Vibes Don’t Lie,” Black performers are already dominating at this year’s ceremony. Shaboozey won the Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Amen” featuring Jelly Roll, marking his first Grammy win.
Tyler, The Creator won the first-ever Best Album Cover Award for his seventh studio album CHROMAKOPIA, accepting the award as its art director under his given name Tyler Okonma.
The award for Best R&B song went to Kehlani’s “Folded,” for songwriters Darius Dixson, Andre Harris, Kehlani Parrish, Donovan Knight, Don Mills, Khris Riddick-Tynes, and Dawit Kamal Wilson, while the artist herself took home the Best R&B Performance for the song.
Sinners took home two awards: Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for Ludwig Göransson and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, and Serena Göransson produced the soundtrack which features blues and jazz artists, was produced by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande took home the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Wicked‘s “Defying Gravity,” while Sinners won
At just 8 years old, Aura V becomes the youngest credited GRAMMY winner in history, alongside her father, Fyütch, for Harmony, which won Best Children’s Music Album. Legacy performers CeCe Winans and Shirley Caesar won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance/Song for their collaboration “Come Jesus Come.”
FKA twigs’s “Eusexua” won Best Dance/Electronic Album. Israel & New Breed won Best Contemporary Christian Album for their project Coritos Vol. 1. Darrel Walls and PJ Morton won Best Gospel Album for their collaboration Heart Of Mine. Jon Batiste won Best Americana Album for Big Money, his ninth studio album. Robert Randolph, who leads the Family Band earned his first Grammy Award, winning the “Best Contemporary Blues Album” for Preacher K.