68th Annual Grammy Awards Highlight Musical Achievements, Political Statements, and Unexpected Closures
The 68th annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday in Los Angeles, honored the best in music while also featuring political statements and unexpected announcements. Kendrick Lamar dominated the nominations with nine and secured wins for Record of the Year, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Melodic Rap Performance, according to CBS News. The awards show, broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount, also saw Bad Bunny use his acceptance speech to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In other news, President Trump announced the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts would close for two years of renovations, starting July 4.
Lamar's win for "GNX" marked his fifth consecutive studio album nominated for Album of the Year, a first for any artist, according to Variety. Trevor Noah hosted the Grammys for the sixth consecutive year. Steven Spielberg achieved EGOT status, securing a Grammy to complete his collection of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
Bad Bunny, accepting the Grammy Award for his album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" in the música urbana album category, made a powerful statement. "Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ICE out," he declared, adding, "We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans." His statement was met with applause and standing ovations, according to CBS News. The statement coincided with protests against ICE taking place across the country.
The Grammy Awards also introduced two new categories this year: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover, bringing the total number of awards to 95. The category formerly known as Best Country Album is now named Best Contemporary Country Album.
In a separate announcement, President Trump stated that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., would close for approximately two years for "Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding." Trump said in a social media post that the decision to fully close the center came after a year of review by experts. "The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class B."
The East Coast was also dealing with a powerful winter storm on Sunday. Blizzardlike conditions from a "bomb cyclone" brought heavy snow to the Southeast and frigid temperatures to much of the East Coast. Approximately 150 million people were under cold weather alerts as the storm moved off into the Atlantic.
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