2023 Grammys: Beyoncé breaks awards record and other top moments

Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal breaks down the top five moments from the 2023 Grammys including Beyoncé securing the most Grammys of any artist, Harry Styles winning album of the year, Viola Davis achieving EGOT status, and Kim Petras becoming first transgender woman to win a Grammy award in the best pop duo category.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Hollywood rolls out the red carpet for the music industry's biggest night last night, the Grammys. Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal joins us to break down her top takeaways. So, Allie, what did you think of the show?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Well, Rachelle, I personally think the Grammys, they're one of the most fun award shows out there. It's always high energy. This year was no exception. And there were a ton of big moments. But for me, I'm going to focus on my top five. Number one, of course, being the queen, Beyonce. She now has the most Grammys of any artist with a record 32 wins after taking home Best Dance Electronic Album for "Renaissance." However, she did not win Album of the Year. And probably the biggest surprise of the night, that top award went to Harry Styles for his album, "Harry's House," which also won Best Pop Vocal Album. So big congrats to Harry there.

And then another big moment that stuck out to me was that star-studded 50 Years of Hip Hop performance with artists from Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah to Nelly and Jay-Z all performing. And then on top of that, we had some pretty groundbreaking moments as well, like Kim Petras becoming the first transgender woman to win a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group collaboration for her song with Sam Smith on "Holy."

And then finally, Viola Davis earning EGOT status for her best audiobook win, which is such a huge accomplishment for any performer. And for those of you who don't know what an EGOT is, it's someone who wins an Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award, so basically a quadruple level talent there. So big congrats to Viola. And overall, I think a lot of big moments, a few surprises, but I think a very memorable show at the end of the day.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: I mean, I know people online, a lot of big question marks there over that Beyonce loss. But of course, another big question among the viewers, what's the difference between the Song of the Year and the Record of the Year?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: And that's a great question, Rachelle. I think-- I've wondered that at some point. I think a lot of people wonder that. And according to the Grammys website, Record of the Year is awarded to the entire team behind the recording of a song, so the artist, producers, engineers, everyone who contributed to that record. And then a Song of the Year is the composition of the song and recognizes the songwriter. So that's the two main difference here. I'm very happy about the record of the year win, "About Damn Time" for Lizzo, she is such a great performer. Her speech was super memorable.

And then Song of the Year came as a bit of surprise, "Just Like That," with-- by Bonnie Raitt. So that is something that I think people were not fully expecting. But again, that has to do more specifically with the lyrics and composition, rather than the actual recording.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: I know that category is one that my beloved Amy Winehouse won for "Rehab" back in the day. Did you have a favorite performance of the night? Mine was Stevie Wonder, but I'm biased because I absolutely love him. Did you have a favorite?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: I'm just going back to that 50 Years of Hip-Hop. I just think it was so iconic. There were so many artists that we haven't seen in a really long time. Jay-Z, I just love seeing him perform on stage. And we had that boycott of the Grammys not too long ago, so the fact that he came back and was on stage to perform this. Questlove was the mastermind behind all of this. He's been on Yahoo Finance before, and I feel like he's such a visionary in the music space, so I think that would be my winner. But there were a ton of solid performances. And that's what makes the Grammys so fun. There's just so much energy, so many artists, and I think it's a great night. So I'm very curious to see how that translates to the TV ratings.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Indeed. We'll be following up on that. Thanks so much, Allie Canal, for that update.