Bream: Grammys did right by honoring Beyoncé and Lamar, but the Beatles?

Ground Hog Day was celebrated Sunday in Punxsutawney, Pa., but not at the 67th annual Grammy Awards.

Beyoncé, who holds the record for most Grammys received in a lifetime, finally won the one that got away — the prestigious album of the year — in her fifth time as a finalist in that category. “Cowboy Carter,” her reflection on the Southern roots of Black music, was named top album.

“I feel very full and honored,” Queen Bey said accepting the prize. “It’s been many, many years.” She dedicated the award to Linda Martell, the first Black woman to land on Billboard’s country chart, back in 1969.

“Cowboy Carter” was indeed the best album of 2024, ambitious, adventurous and purposeful, filled with guest stars famous (Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Post Malone) and not yet famous (Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Martell).

“Cowboy Carter” also was honored as best country album, a triumph that shocked Beyoncé, who received no recognition for the project from the Country Music Association.

“Genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists,” she said. “I encourage every artist to do what your passion is about.”

Queen Bey, the leading nominee this year with 11, collected another Grammy, for best country vocals by a duo/group for “II Wanted Most,” with Miley Cyrus, adding to her ever-increasing record total of 35.

Beyoncé previously lost the top trophy to Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Adele and Beck.

Why? Because Grammy voters tend to favor the most conservative or safest choice. Heck, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones both captured Grammys on Sunday. Talk about safe and conservative.

The Beatles disbanded 55 years ago but snagged best rock performance with what has been called an AI-assisted song, “Now and Then.” The collage of a recording features John Lennon vocals from 1977 and George Harrison guitar tracks from 1995 with recent instrumentation by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

To be honest, it’s far from a Beatles classic and it was far from the best rock performance — heck it’s a cut-and-paste job, not a performance — compared to the efforts of other finalists Pearl Jam, St. Vincent, Green Day, Idles and the Black Keys. But then who is going to vote against the Beatles?

The Stones, still kicking after more than 60 years, claimed best rock album for “Hackney Diamonds,” their best record since 1981’s “Tattoo You” and a deserving winner.

No complaints about the big awards. “Cowboy Carter” was No. 1 on my list of best albums of 2024. Sierra Ferrell, who grabbed a remarkable four Grammys during Sunday’s four-hour non-televised “Premiere Ceremony,” ranked at No. 2 with “Trail of Flowers.”

No complaints about Kendrick Lamar becoming the first rapper to win both record and song of the year, for “Not Like Us,” since 2019 when Childish Gambino triumphed with “This Is America.”

This was a Gen Z-centric Grammys — at least during the 3¾ televised ceremonies, which that lasted longer than a Taylor Swift Eras Tour show but wasn’t nearly as exciting. The oldest winners on camera were Shakira at 48, Beyoncé at 43. Some distinguished Grammy-winning vets like Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow performed in backup bands. During the “In Memoriam” segment, the most time was given to Liam Payne, 31, of One Direction fame whereas everyone else, including celebrated figures like Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson and Seiji Ozawa, got passing mentions.

Hosted for the fifth consecutive year by comic Trevor Noah, the Grammys featured lots and lots of talking, especially about the devastation from the wildfires in Los Angeles (where the Grammys take place) to the point that it almost felt like a telethon. Album of the year was presented by a group of fire fighters from Los Angeles County, a nice touch as the long evening’s final award. The show opened with a rendition of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” by the band of brothers known as Dawes, who lost their homes in the fires.

Lamar dedicated his record of the year prize to Los Angeles and then rattled off all the L.A. neighborhoods/cities that were part of his life. The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper promised that the city would be restored. He later declared: “At the end of the day, nothing more powerful than rap music.”

The most pointed speech of the night came from best new artist Chappell Roan as she lobbied for health care for developing artists, something she didn’t have after signing a contract as a teenager and then getting dropped.

Urging record labels to treat all artists as valuable employees, she concluded by asking: “Labels, we got you but do you got us?”

Alicia Keys, who received the special Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, gave a stirring speech late in the evening, proclaiming, “DEI [diversity, equity, inclusion] is not a threat, it’s a gift.” She received a rousing ovation.

Props, too, for Shakira and Lady Gaga using their moments on the microphone to show support for immigrants and trans rights, respectively.

Some artists let their music do the talking. Gaga and Bruno Mars, who have the current No. 1 song with their Grammy-winning retro duet “Die with a Smile,” dusted off a 1960s anthem “California Dreamin,’ ” that was poignant and powerful.

Other live highlights included Roan’s effervescent “Pink Pony Club,” Teddy Swims’ dramatic “Lose Control,” Grammy-winning rapper Doechi’s smartly choreographed “Catfish/Denial Is a River,” and Janelle Monae’s electrifying “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” to conclude a long tribute to the late producer/musician Quincy Jones.

There was an unadvertised performance by the Weeknd, who announced a boycott of the Grammys in 2021 because he felt snubbed by the lack of nominations for his ubiquitous smash “Blinding Lights.” On Sunday, he delivered a two-song medley of the brand new “Cry for Me” and “Timeless” (with Playboy Carti) that was intriguingly mysterious but less compelling than Lady Gaga’s ensuing two-minute heavily choreographed (with dozens of dancers) “Abracadabra,” which was actually a commercial for Mastercard.

In the end, it was Beyoncé’s night. When she finally grabbed the Grammy crown she’s so richly deserved, no one seemed happier, believe it or not, than Swift, who topped her for album of the year in 2024. Although she’s been a Grammy darling for years, Swift got shut out Sunday in all six of his categories. But she was a good sport about it. When Beyoncé was giving her album-of-the-year acceptance speech, Swift walked over to Jay-Z, Bey’s husband, and clinked champagne glasses with him.