It was a somewhat somber occasion at the Staples Center for last night’s 62nd annual Grammy Awards. Mere hours before celebrities began to crowd reporters on the red carpet, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a fatal helicopter crash right outside Calabasas. Attempting to celebrate anything while stationed inside the very stadium where Bryant had won five NBA championships seemed like a tall order, but many of the night’s performers, presenters, and winners managed to find a nice balance between pure celebration and appropriate reverence for the recently deceased.
Last night’s show also saw a number of groundbreaking performances and wins from queer artists. Though she did not attend the ceremony, multi-Grammy winner Lady Gaga kicked the night off by securing two more trophies (both for A Star Is Born) to add to her mantle. Similarly, queer country-rapper Lil Nas X secured his first two trophies during the pre-telecast (both for his record-breaking single “Old Town Road”). During the main telecast, Lil Nas X continued his reign with a show-stopping performance that involved no less than ten other musicians; beforehand, Tyler, The Creator had literally lit the stage on fire during his own performance before securing a win for Best Rap Album. Elsewhere, Brandi Carlile delivered a cathartic duet and Ariana Grande shared the stage with a diverse group of lingerie-clad dancers. All in all, it was a great night to be queer in music.
Slayage on the Red Carpet
As always, the red carpet is where all the fun begins, and queer attendees at last night’s ceremony did not disappoint. There was Brandi Carlile in a vintage-inspired blue floral tuxedo, Ben Platt in a sparkly black-and-white argyle-print tuxedo jacket, Tyler, The Creator in a Golf Le Fleur powder-pink bellhop uniform (complete with matching luggage), Steve Lacy in a Comme des Garçons dress, and Orville Peck in a custom Dior crystallized gray western shirt that he wore with his token face-obscuring mask. An early standout was definitely Lil Nas X, who showed out in a head-to-toe hot pink Versace look, featuring a cropped leather jacket worn over a leather harness and a fishnet t-shirt, paired with matching leather pants and a studded cowboy hat. But the young star had some real competition from Billy Porter, who turned heads in a custom Baja East cerulean blue crystallized jumpsuit and bright silver platform moon-boots. As if that wasn’t enough, the Pose star gave it a little extra oomph by topping it off with a matching hat that featured a remote control-operated string of cascading crystals that could hide his face or show it off at will. Tech on the red carpet? Move over, Silicon Valley!
