Where's Donald Glover? Childish Gambino skips Grammys as This Is America triumphs with FOUR wins for Song and Record Of The Year, Best Rap Performance and Best Music Video
Donald Glover's This Is America, which featured a thought-provoking and wildly experimental music video, was the big winner at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
The 35-year-old Childish Gambino artist walked away with four significant honors for the track, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, two of the four most prestigious Grammys.
Yet despite attending a few scattered pre-Grammys events in Los Angeles, the comedian and musician skipped out on the big day.
Instead his Childish Gambino collaborator Ludwig Göransson accepted his final award for Record of the Year on behalf of all his collaborators.
Huge win: Donald Glover, 35, walked away with four honors from Sunday's Grammy Awards; shown in September
Skipped out: Yet Donald, and his Atlanta screenwriter brother Steven were seen at Black Panther composer Ludwig Göransson's pre-Grammys bash Feb 7 in Los Angeles
Last year Glover performed at the Grammys. But while his song Awaken, My Love! was nominated for several gongs the artist went home empty handed.
After Sunday's early win for Best Music Video before the ceremony, the former Community star won three more high-profile honors from the Recording Academy.
The music video director Hiro Murai, who also directs most Atlanta episodes, dedicated the Best Music Video award to Donald's father Donald Glover Sr., who died late last year.
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The Song Of The Year award, which is presented to songwriters and lyricists, was awarded to Donald and his co-writers Ludwig Göransson and Jefferey Lamar Williams, better known as Young Thug.
Childish Gambino competed for the Song of the Year award against Apes*** by The Carters (Beyoncé and Jay-Z), I'm Not Racist by Joyner Lucas, PYNK by Janelle Monáe and MUMBO JUMBO by Tierra Whack.
Record Of The Year honors the performers and engineers involved in making a song.
Glover also won for Best Rap/Sung Performance, where he squared off against Christina Aguilera, 6lack, Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Post Malone.
Huge accomplishment: After his early win, the former Community star won three more high-profile honors from the Recording Academy, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, two of the four most prestigious Grammys; pictured in September
While Glover was the most conspicuous absence, many other big names skipped the Grammys, once an unmissable invite.
Beyonce and Jay-Z passed on the show, despite attending a pre-Grammy party Saturday and being named winners at the pre-show, for their work on joint album Everything Is Love.
Their absence comes after Beyonce was widely considered to have been snubbed for her album Lemonade back in 2017.
Then of course Ariana Grande very publicly announced her absense days before the show, after a dispute with producers over her planned performance.
Kendrick Lamar, up against Glover in the Best Rap/Sung Performance was another missing face.
But it was Glover who left the biggest hole, as the the first hip-hop Song of the Year winner in Grammy history.
In good company: Donald's song was previously honored with the Best Hip Hop Video and Impact Track awards at the 2018 BET Hip Hop awards
Indeed he was the first artist to win one of the big four awards to skip the show since 2008; the last was Amy Winehouse, who instead accepted her gong via video link from London.
Donald's song was previously honored with the Best Hip Hop Video and Impact Track awards at the 2018 BET Hip Hop awards.
It also walked away with honors for Best Video with a Social Message, Best Choreography and Best Direction at the MTV VIdeo Music Awards.
The Atlanta star's song and video sparked a bevy of conversation thanks to its politically charged content.
Donald's video was inspired by the early American tradition of minstrelsy, offensive racist depictions of African American people.
The future Lion King star also adopted dance poses associated with the Jim Crow caricature.
This Is America also featured critiques of American gun violence and mass shootings via Donald's use of a handgun and a Kalashnikov rifle.
Socially conscious: Donald and Hiro's video was inspired by the early American tradition of minstrelsy, offensive racist depictions of African American people
Out of nowhere: Donald surprise released the track on May 5, 2018, during a live performance of the same song on SNL; pictured in September
Donald surprise released the track on May 5, 2018, during a live performance of the same song on SNL.
Donald is currently at work on a new Childish Gambino album with his regular collaborator Ludwig Göransson.
Though he wasn't anywhere to be seen at the Grammys, audiences at home saw Donald showing off his dance moves in a commercial for the Google Pixel. \
The Childish Gambino rapper danced to his unreleased song Human Sacrifice against a Playmoji version of himself, which Pixel users can access on their phones.
Future Dance: Though he wasn't anywhere to be seen at the Grammys, audiences at home saw Donald showing off his dance moves in a commercial for the Google Pixel
Grammy Awards 2019: The Winners
RECORD OF THE YEAR
This Is America - Childish Gambino - WINNER
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves - WINNER
SONG OF THE YEAR
This Is America - Donald Glover and Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) - WINNER
Best New Artist
Dua Lipa - WINNER
Girl power: British songstress Dua Lipa picked up Best New Artist
Pop Field
Best Pop Solo Performance
Joanne (Where Do You Think You're Goin'?) - Lady Gaga - WINNER
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Shallow - Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - WINNER
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
My Way - Willie Nelson - WINNER
Best Pop Vocal Album
Sweetener - Ariana Grande - WINNER
Best Dance Recording
Electricity - Silk City and Dua Lipa Feat. Diplo and Mark Ronson - WINNER
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Woman Worldwide - Justice - WINNER
Fab: Lady Gaga scooped Best Pop Solo Performance for Joanne
Country Field
Best Country Solo Performance
Butterflies — Kacey Musgraves - WINNER
Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
Tequila - Dan + Shay - WINNER
Best Country Song
Space Cowboy - Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves,songwriters (Kacey Musgraves) - WINNER
Best Country Album
Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves - WINNER
Unstoppable: Kacey Musgraves picked up Best Country Solo Performance
ALTERNATIVE FIELD
Best Alternative Music Album
Colors - Beck - WINNER
R&B FIELD
Best R&B Performance
Best Part - H.E.R. Feat. Daniel Caesar - WINNER
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand - Leon Bridges - WINNER - TIE
How Deep Is Your Love - PJ Morton Featuring Yebba - WINNER - TIE
Best R&B Song
Boo’d Up - Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & DijonMcFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai) - WINNER
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Everything Is Love - The Carters - WINNER
Best R&B Album
H.E.R. - H.E.R. - WINNER
Victorious: Best R&B Album went to H.E.R. for her eponymous album
Contemporary Instrumental Field
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Steve Gadd Band — Steve Gadd Band - WINNER
Rock Field
Best Rock Performance
When Bad Does Good - Chris Cornell - WINNER
Best Metal Performance
Electric Messiah - High On Fire - WINNER
Best Rock Song
Masseduction - Jack Antonoff & Annie Clark, songwriters (St. Vincent) - WINNER
Best Rock Album
From The Fires - Greta Van Fleet - WINNER
Posthumous: Best Rock Performance went to Chris Cornell for When Bad Does Good, with his children accepting the award
Reggae Field
Best Reggae Album
44/876 - Sting & Shaggy - WINNER
Children's Field
Best Children’s Album
All The Sounds - Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats - WINNER
Latin Field
Best Latin Pop Album
Sincera - Claudia Brant - WINNER
Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
Aztlán - Zoé - WINNER
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
¡México Por Siempre! - Luis Miguel - WINNER
Best Tropical Latin Album
Anniversary - Spanish Harlem Orchestra - WINNER
Well done: Best Reggae Album was won by Sting & Shaggy for 44/876
Comedy Field
Best Comedy Album
Equanimity & The Bird Revelation - Dave Chappelle - WINNER
Musical Theater Field
Best Musical Theater Album
The Band’s Visit - Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Katrina Lenk & Ari’elStachel, principal soloists; Dean Sharenow & DavidYazbek, producers; David Yazbek, composer & lyricist(Original Broadway Cast) - WINNER
MUSIC VIDEO/FILM FIELD
Best Music Video
This Is America — Childish Gambino - WINNER
Best Music Film
Quincy — Quincy Jones
SURROUND SOUND FIELD
Best Immersive Audio Album
“Eye in The Sky – 35th Anniversary Edition” — Alan Parsons, surround mix engineer; Dave Donnelly, PJ Olsson & Alan Parsons, surround mastering engineers; Alan Parsons, surround producer (The Alan Parsons Project) - WINNER
HISTORICAL FIELD
Best Historical Album
“Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by WIlliam Ferris” — William Ferris, April Ledbetter & Steven LanceLedbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists) - WINNER
One to watch: Best Music Video went to This Is America by Childish Gambino
PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL FIELD
Best Engineered Album, Classical
“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra) - WINNER
Producer Of The Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh - WINNER
Notes Field
Best Album Notes
Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by WIlliam Ferris - David Evans, album notes writer (Various Artists) - WINNER
RAP FIELD
Best Rap Performance
King’s Dead - Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake - WINNER
Best Rap/Sung Performance
This Is America - Childish Gambino - WINNER
Best Rap Song
God’s Plan - Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, RonLaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake) - WINNER
Best Rap Album
Invasion Of Privacy - Cardi B - WINNER
New Age Field
Best New Age Album
Opium Moon - Opium Moon - WINNER
Well deserved: Cardi B picked up Best Rap Album for Invasion Of Privacy
Jazz Field
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Don’t Fence Me In - John Daversa, soloist - WINNER
Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Window - Cécile McLorin Salvant - WINNER
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Emanon - The Wayne Shorter Quartet - WINNER
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
American Dreamers: Voices Of Hope, Music Of Freedom - John Daversa Big Band Featuring DACA Artists - WINNER
Best Latin Jazz Album
Back To The Sunset - Dafnis Prieto Big Band - WINNER
Earned it: Best Gospel Performance/Song went to Never Alone by Tori Kelly
Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Field
Best Gospel Performance/Song
Never Alone - Tori Kelly Featuring Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin & Victoria Kelly, Songwriters - WINNER
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
You Say - Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram & Paul Mabury, songwriters - WINNER
Best Gospel Album
Hiding Place - Tori Kelly - WINNER
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Look Up Child - Lauren Daigle - WINNER
Best Roots Gospel Album
Unexpected - Jason Crabb - WINNER
Emotional: American Roots Performance went to The Joke by Brandi Carlile
American Roots Music Field
Best American Roots Performance
The Joke - Brandi Carlile - WINNER
Best American Roots Song
The Joke - Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile) - WINNER
Best Americana Album
By The Way, I Forgive You - Brandi Carlile - WINNER
Best Traditional Blues Album
The Blues Is Alive and Well — Buddy Guy - WINNER
Best Bluegrass Album
The Travelin’ McCourys” — The Travelin’ McCourys - WINNER
Best Contemporary Blues Album
“Please Don’t Be Dead” — Fantastic Negrito - WINNER
Best Folk Album
All Ashore — Punch Brothers - WINNER
Best Regional Roots Music Album
“No ‘Ane’i” — Kalani Pe’a - WINNER
Listen: Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media went to Greatest Showman
Spoken Word Field
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
Faith – A Journey For All - Jimmy Carter - WINNER
Music For Visual Media Field
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
The Greatest Showman - (Various Artists) - WINNER
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
Black Panther Ludwig Göransson, composer - WINNER
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Shallow - Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper) - WINNER
Sweeping the board: Best Song Written For Visual Media went to Shallow
Composing/Arranging Field
Best Instrumental Composition
Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil) -Terence Blanchard, composer (Terence Blanchard) - WINNER
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Stars and Stripes Forever - John Daversa, arranger (John Daversa Big Band Featuring DACA Artists) - WINNER
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Spiderman Theme - Randy Waldman, arranger (Randy Waldman Featuring Take 6 & Chris Potter) - WINNER
Package Field
Best Recording Package
Masseducation - Willo Perron, art director (St. Vincent) - WINNER
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic - Meghan Foley, Annie Stoll & Al Yankovic, art directors (“Weird Al” Yankovic) - WINNER
Talented: Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical went to Pharrell Williams
PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL FIELD
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:
“Colors” — Julian Burg, Serban Ghenea, David “Elevator” Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Greg Kurstin, Florian Lagatta, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco, Jesse Shatkin, Darrell Thorp & Cassidy Turbin, engineers; Chris Bellman, Tom Coyne,Emily Lazar & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers (Beck) - WINNER
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:
Pharrell Williams
Best Remixed Recording
“Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)” — Alex Crossan, remixer (Haim) - WINNER
CLASSICAL FIELD
Best Orchestral Performance
“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) - WINNER
Best Opera Recording
“Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” — Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra) - WINNER
Best Choral Performance
“McLoskey: Zealot Canticles” — Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing) - WINNER
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Anderson, Laurie: Landfall” — Laurie Anderson & Kronos - WINNER
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony) - WINNER
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
“Songs of Orpheus – Monteverdi, Caccini, D’India & Landi” — Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles - WINNER
Best Classical Compendium
“Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’; Poems of Life; Glacier; Rush” — JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer - WINNER
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — Aaron Jay Kernis, composer (James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony) - WINNER
World Music Field
Best World Music Album
Freedom - Soweto Gospel Choir - WINNER
