Little Big Town. Photo: Grammy.com
Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Taylor Swift and Jason Isbell were among the winners announced at the Grammy Awards pre-telecast on Monday (Feb. 15) in Los Angeles.
And a few hours later, during the televised portion, Little Big Town took to the stage, Stapleton and Swift returned to the podium, and Meghan Trainor tearfully accepted the trophy for Best New Artist.
Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” picked up Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Its trio of writers (Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna) earned Best Country Song. Stapleton’s Traveller won Best Country Solo Performance. Later in the night, Traveller picked up the Grammy for Best Country Album.
Chris Stapleton. Photo: Grammy.com
From the podium at the pre-telecast, Stapleton said, “I’ve never had one of these and that’s amazing. I’ve been sitting out in this audience a couple of different times. Third time’s a charm I guess.” He also thanked his wife Morgane, producer Dave Cobb, and the band and crew on his record.
Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild said, “Thank you the beautiful writers for this gorgeous song. Thank you for bringing us to this big ole party. Jay Joyce for killing this record in the studio, you just made the most beautiful music.”
“This is the best thing ever,” said Phillip Sweet. The band also performed “Girl Crush” on the show. Although it was nominated for overall Song of the Year, that honor went to Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge for “Thinking Out Loud.”
The first Grammy award of the day went to Taylor Swift for 1989. The Big Machine Records artist’s project earned Best Pop Vocal Album during the Grammy Awards’ pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony. Swift was not in attendance. Jack Antonoff, one of the producers of 1989, accepted on behalf of Swift — and then called Swift while on stage.
That’s not the only time Swift’s name was called as part of the winner’s list. She thanked fans for the last 10 years when 1989 claimed the all-genre Album of the Year trophy near the end of the night. In addition, the video clip for “Bad Blood” (ft. Kendrick Lamar) was honored with the Grammy for Best Music Video. The clip was directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Ron Mohrhoff.
Bad Blood just won a Grammy for Best Music Video and we are not ok.@selenagomez pic.twitter.com/EquWAq0UPg
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 15, 2016
The majority of this year’s 83 awards categories were handed out during the Grammy premiere ceremony, which aired live on grammy.com.
Jason Isbell earned two Grammy honors, for Best American Roots Song (“24 Frames”) and Best Americana Album for Something More Than Free. “Thanks to my rock and roll band when I played on this song,” Isbell said during his Best American Roots Song acceptance speech.
“Thanks to Dave Cobb for producing the album and song, and for doing a fantastic job. Thanks to everyone from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, for teaching me how to make music in the first place.”
Also winning an early Grammy nod was Nashvillian Jack White, along with Susan Archie and Dean Blackwood, in the category of Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, for The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, Volume Two (1928-32).
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media went to Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. The soundtrack’s producer and Big Machine Label Group VP A&R, Julian Raymond, stated, “God Bless Glen Campbell. Thank you to the best music company in the world – Scott Borchetta and the Big Machine Label Group – for releasing and supporting the soundtrack. And to James Keach for making a masterpiece of a film. Love to my wife Dorrie and our son Max and daughter Ava. And finally to the GRAMMYs for supporting Glen, his work and legacy for all these decades.”
Other selected winners during the Premiere Ceremony include:
Best Reggae Album: Morgan Heritage, Strictly Roots
Best Bluegrass Album: The SteelDrivers, Muscle Shoals Recordings
Best Folk Album: Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: “Holy Spirit,” Francesca Battistelli
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: This Is Not A Test, TobyMac
Best Roots Gospel Album: Still Rockin’ My Soul, The Fairfield Four
The Recording Academy’s top honors will be announced during the 58th annual Grammy Awards, which begins tonight (Monday, Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. CT.
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
