The 2023 Grammys' highs and lows, from Beyoncé's historic win ... to Beyoncé's historic loss

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday at Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena, was music’s biggest night — and it was predicted to be a really big night for Beyoncé, specifically. In some ways, it truly was. The diva picked up four trophies at the ceremony, bringing her grand total to 32 and establishing her as the most-decorated artist in Grammy history.

However, two of Beyoncé’s awards were presented off the air, at Sunday afternoon’s preshow Premiere Ceremony, and she actually missed one of her on-air categories because, according to the host, Trevor Noah, she was stuck in L.A. traffic. She was widely predicted to win the night’s most prestigious honor, Album of the Year, for Renaissance — her fourth nomination in that category, following her controversial defeats in previous years to Taylor Swift, Beck, and Adele — but once again, she lost, this time to Harry Styles’s Harry’s House.

While Harry’s House was undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed albums of 2022 — in fact, in Yahoo Entertainment’s year-end critics’ poll, it ranked second, while Renaissance was at No. 3 — the optics weren’t great here, bringing to mind that awkward 2017 Grammy moment when Adele’s 25 won and the British belter spent much of her time at the podium practically declaring that Beyoncé’s Lemonade had been robbed. Styles’s didn’t go quite that far in his Album of the Year acceptance speech Sunday, but his reaction was noticeably muted.

“I've been so, so inspired by every artist in this category with me in a lot of different times in my life. I've listened to everyone in this category. ... It's obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as ‘best’ in music,” a dazed Styles insisted. “I don't think any of us sit in the studio thinking and making decisions based on what is going to get us one of these [awards]. This is really, really kind. I'm so, so grateful.”

So, while Beyoncé set an impressive Grammy record with her 32 wins, it should be noted that with Renaissance losing Album of the Year and “Break My Soul” respectively losing Record and Song of the Year to Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” and, in a bit of an upset, to Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That,” she still has only won once in a Big Four category — when “Single Ladies” was named Song of the Year way back in 2010. (Lizzo actually devoted a good portion of her Record of the Year acceptance speech Sunday to praising Beyoncé, even sharing a cute anecdote about ditching school in the fifth grade to attend a Beyoncé concert. “They should give out a Grammy for Best Speech as well,” an amused Noah remarked.)

“She gets to be Beyoncé, so it’s a win-win,” Noah had joked earlier in the evening when predicting Bey's 2023 Grammy chances, and he wasn’t wrong. But Sunday was still a night of highs and lows — if not for Beyoncé, who graciously gave Styles a standing ovation when he won, then for her frustrated fans, who wanted to see her finally take home the top prize.

Below are some of the other highs and lows of a wildly unpredictable Grammy night.

HIGH: Yo! The Grammy ceremony raps

As Sean “Diddy” Combs argued in a 45-minute speech at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy gala in 2020 — when he sternly told the Recording Academy, “You’ve got 365 days to get this shit together” — hip-hop has been historically overlooked at the Grammys. (Only two hip-hop artists, Lauryn Hill and OutKast, have ever won Album of the Year, and that was in 1999 and 2004.) The Academy therefore seemed to be making up for lost time this year, staging a “50 Years of Hip-Hop” all-star medley curated by Questlove of the Roots. The nearly 15-minute spectacle featured luminaries of the old and new schools, ranging from LL Cool J, De La Soul, Ice-T, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa reunited with Spinderella, and both the Grandmasters, Flash and Melle Mel; to Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, the Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Scarface, and Too $hort; to Future, GloRilla, and Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Wayne. (LL Cool J also presented the first-ever Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to — fittingly — Dr. Dre.) It was absolutely the most electrifying performance of the evening, and while Combs did not take part, he must surely have been pleased.

LOW: DJ Khaled’s last supper is full of empty calories.

Noah claimed that the ceremony’s final performance — of DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” featuring Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend, and Fridayy — was one of the greatest in Grammy history. But it wasn’t even one of the greatest of this Grammy night, especially following the above-mentioned "50 Years" tour de force. Khaled didn’t bring much more to the table, literally and figuratively, than his usual aggressive, motivational-speaker-esque energy. And while Jay-Z’s verse was the saving grace of this eight-minute mess, it fell flat following the announcement of his wife’s Album of the Year defeat just minutes earlier.

HIGH: Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s “Unholy” alliance makes Grammy history

When British pop star Smith and German electropop maverick Petras went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year with “Unholy,” they made history as the both the first openly nonbinary solo artist and trans solo artist, respectively, to achieve that feat. They continued to blaze that trail at Sunday’s Grammys, when their sexy duet won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Smith, who already had four solo Grammys to their credit, let Petras seize the “huge moment” as the first trans woman to win this award. Petras gushingly thanked “all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” as well as her supportive mother and her idol, Madonna. Later in the night, in a torch-passing moment of sorts as a surprise guest, Madonna introduced Smith and Petras’s devilish, cage-dancing, red-leather-clad “Unholy” performance, declaring, “Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music: If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative or dangerous, you are definitely on to something.” Perhaps Petras’s next superstar collaborator will be Madonna herself.

HIGH: Viola Davis reaches EGOT status

While the actress’s Grammy category, Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, wasn’t presented on the air, her win for her memoir Finding Me — which she “wrote to honor the 6-year old Viola, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma” — was a sweet highlight of the Premiere Ceremony. “I just EGOT!” she cheered, as she picked up a Grammy to add to the Emmy, Oscar, and two Tony Awards on her mantel at home.

LOW: We’re not a fan of the Grammys’ fans

With the Grammy Awards ceremony running long, at about three hours and 45 minutes, the last thing it needed were several pretaped filler segments featuring random ABBA, Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Lizzo, and Kendrick Lamar fans debating who should win Album of the Year. Cutting that boring footage could have brought the broadcast a little closer to its advertised run time of three hours, or could have freed up some time to present more categories — like, say, Davis’s! That being said, we do kind of wonder what that Beyoncé fan thought of Harry House’s upset win.

HIGH: The In Memoriam is incredibly memorable

It’s never really enjoyable to reflect on all the musical greats that leave us every year, but this year’s three lovely musical tributes were still highlights of the night. Kacey Musgraves delivered an exquisite rendition of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” for Loretta Lynn, and Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Bonnie Raitt honored Christine McVie with “Songbird.” But the most heart-wrenching, gut-punching moment came when Quavo dedicated “Without You” to his nephew and Migos bandmate, Takeoff, who was shot dead in November. “Things ain’t the same without you/I don’t know if I’m the same without you,” Quavo sang, backed by Christian group Maverick City Music, while a spotlight glowed on an empty stool and microphone stand. It was a saddening reminder that if Takeoff were still alive, Migos probably would have been part of the “50 Years of Hip-Hop” performance, and his absence was dearly felt.

LOW: The In Memoriam doesn’t remember everyone

Of course, to include musical tributes to every single industry death would push the Grammy ceremony well past the 225-minute mark. It was admittedly odd that big names like Naomi Judd, Olivia Newton-John, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jeff Beck, and David Crosby were only mentioned in passing, but some stars, like former teen-pop idol Aaron Carter, Modest Mouse’s Jeremiah Green, Southern rap pioneer Gangsta Boo, and Atlanta rapper Lil Keed, were not even mentioned during the In Memoriam segment at all. The latter two omissions seemed especially egregious on a night honoring hip-hop, but Carter’s snub was the one that generated the most outrage on social media.

HIGH: We love the way Smokey, Stevie, and Stapleton do the things they do

The Grammys are famous for surprising cross-genre pairings, and this year’s such performance came from 2023 MusiCares Persons of the Year honoree Smokey Robinson and his fellow Motown legend Stevie Wonder, with country music star Chris Stapleton. The dynamic duo of Smokey and Stevie would have of course been thrilling performing “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “The Tears of a Clown,” and “Higher Ground” all on their own, but Stapleton’s shredding elevated the proceedings to a higher ground indeed.

HIGH: Machine Gun Kelly keeps it real

Most of the celebrity interviews during E!’s red carpet pre-show were vapid and fashion-oriented, but when pop-rocker Machine Gun Kelly chatted for several minutes with correspondent Laverne Cox, it was far from a typical “Who are you wearing?” conversation. At first, when Cox asked if Kelly’s famous fiancée, Megan Fox, wanted to join him for the segment, Kelly answered quietly, “Fox told me to give her a look if I'm feeling too vulnerable or anything, but I feel all right.” Kelly, whose Mainstream Sellout had been nominated for Best Rock Album but had just lost to Ozzy Osbourne’s Patient Number 9 during the Premiere Ceremony, confessed that he’s “always pretty uncomfortable” at awards shows, then told Cox: “Ultimately, I'm really happy to be in a company of celebrated musicians. I didn't take the category home, and I almost feel like I asked for that lesson. Like, I felt like I lacked self-love and was valuing myself so much on career accomplishments that I needed this [defeat]. The car ride here was very cathartic for me. I learned that … I need to appreciate what I already have. And once that self-love happens for me, things like the awards and all that will come.” Cox, finding Kelly’s rawness and honesty refreshing, shared her own stories of self-doubt, then told the rap-rocker, “Thank you so much. That was so beautiful. Thank you for doing that.”

LOW: The-Dream’s acceptance speech is a bit of a nightmare

When Beyoncé wasn’t yet in her seat when her first on-air award, Best R&B Song, was presented during the ceremony’s first hour, her longtime collaborator The-Dream accepted on her behalf, saying with a shrug, “Y’all know n****s be on CP time.” His tasteless comment was bleeped by CBS, but the uncensored version still circulated on Twitter.

HIGH: Nile Rodgers keeps it chic

Thankfully, 2023 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Nile Rodgers — a joint Best R&B Song winner for Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” due to his writing credit on the disco-infused song — was around to smooth over The-Dream’s awkward N-bomb. The neon-suited legend's (no pun intended) off-the-cuff speech was so classy and charming that he too was soon trending on Twitter, for all the right reasons.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which also featured vivacious performances from Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, and Mary J. Blige, took place Sunday, Feb. 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and aired on CBS and Paramount+. For a complete list of winners in all 91 categories, click here.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Green M&Ms. Chinese spy balloon. Adele and The Rock introduction. Trevor Noah's Grammy monologue is a journey.

• Lizzo, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and more hit the red carpet for the 2023 Grammys

• Aaron Carter excluded from Grammys' in memoriam segment, fans react: 'That was cold'

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