Four great moments for Toronto at last night’s Grammys
Sunday’s Grammy Awards featured some head-scratching upsets, a whole lot of Bruno Mars and, because it’s 2018, a few shots at Donald Trump. The ceremony was kind to Toronto, too: Alessia Cara won the trophy for Best New Artist, and Starboy earned The Weeknd a win. Here, four of the city’s proudest moments.
Best New Artist winner @alessiacara gives a ? to her #fans! ❤️ #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/F2dsMHNP6j
— Recording Academy (@RecordingAcad) January 29, 2018
A big (but confusing) win for Brampton
Cara’s award was a coup for Canada: the Brampton singer is the first Canuck to win the category, succeeding where Drake and Justin Bieber both failed. But most viewers were fixated on other matters. For one, Cara was the only woman to win a main award (Recording Academy president Neil Portnow unhelpfully said that women should make more music if they want more Grammys). And Cara’s inclusion in the Best New Artist category was a bit of a mystery in the first place, given her debut album, Know-It-All, came out in 2015:
Me trying to figure out how Alessia Cara won Best New Artist over SZA when her debut album came out in 2015. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/WWZeisz3sM
— NUFF (@nuffsaidNY) January 29, 2018
Logic ft. Alessia, Cara, Khalid – 1-800-273-8255 – 60th Grammy Awards Performance #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/3H3S69Iv8a
— snap: thedjjei (@thedjjei) January 29, 2018
A moving finale
Cara shook off the controversy, took the stage with Logic and Khalid and nailed the night’s closing performance of “1-800-273-8255” (the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline). Logic’s emotional monologue at the end of the performance sent love to women, refugees, people of colour and just about everyone else who might feel a bit down in these Trump-y times.
The Weeknd's "Starboy" wins "Best Urban Contemporary Album" at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards. He is the first artist to win twice in this category. pic.twitter.com/XLfYP8rTpl
— The Weeknd Bible (@TheWeekndBible) January 29, 2018
An absentee win for the Weeknd
Tesfaye wasn’t in the house last night, but his award—Best Urban Contemporary Album for Starboy—made history. He’s the first artist to win the category twice; the first was for 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness. The Weeknd posted the news on Instagram, saying, “Couldn’t have done it without my team and my fans #history #backtoback.”
Up out the basement. ? #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/cKmko8T6Hr
— Sean Brown (@byseanbrown) January 29, 2018
Daniel Caesar’s cosmic encounter
Bruno Mars may have kept Daniel Caesar out of the winners’ circle—he beat the Obama-approved Pickering upstart in both Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance—but he didn’t ruin Caesar’s night. He and his team shared celebratory shots and popped champagne, results be damed. Plus, any evening involving a run-in with this guy has to be considered a victory: