The Grammys always come with a bit of controversy and the 61st Grammy Awards proved to be no different. Although the Canadian hip-hop connection to it is pretty mild, depending on who you ask.
There’s the fact that Drake even showed up to the ceremony—still shocking to many—and then Drake’s speech getting cut off as he was accepting an award. Accidentally or deliberately? According to a spokesperson, it was just a mistake:
“During Drake’s speech, there was a natural pause and at that moment the producers did assume that he was done and then cut to commercial,” explained Sunshine Sachs’ Michael Samonte. “However the producers did speak with Drake following his speech and did offer him to come back on stage to finish whatever his thoughts were. But Drake said he was happy with what he said and didn’t have anything to add.”
Some people are wondering if Grammy organizers are just trying to save face after the fact since Drake was basically in the process of telling young artists that they don’t need award shows to feel gratitude. Perhaps members of The Recording Academy thought he was throwing a bit of shade at the organization? As you can see from the footage below, there was a long pause right when it gets cut, so it’s certainly a plausible explanation.
But the real news is why Drake was on stage to begin with; adding another big accolade to his already massive list of accomplishments. Drake won his 161st major award as a recording artist, and bagged his fourth career Grammy (from 42 nominations).
It’s the second time in his career that the OVO general has won the Grammy for Best Rap Song, with “God’s Plan” beating out some stiff competition to take the honours (including another song he was featured on). He previously won the award in 2017 with the Nineteen85-powered “Hotline Bling.”
The single, produced by Cardo, Yung Exclusive, and Toronto’s Boi-1da, beat out Kendrick Lamar, Future, Jay Rock and James Blake’s “King’s Dead,” Eminem’s “Lucky You” (featuring Joyner Lucas), Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode (featuring Drake), and Jay Rock’s “Win.”
Along with the two Best Rap Song nominations, Drake was also nominated for Record of the Year (“God’s Plan”) which lost to Childish Gambino (“This is America”), Album of the Year (Scorpion) which lost to Kacey Musgraves (Golden Hour), Song of the Year (“God’s Plan”) which lost to Childish Gambino (“This Is America”), and Best Rap Performance (“Nice for What” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode”) which lost out to a tie between “King’s Dead” and Anderson .Paak’s “Bubblin.”
“God’s Plan,” which was originally released on Jan. 19, 2018, lead the charge for an incredibly successful year for Drake. It was originally included on his second EP, Scary Hours, before becoming the lead single off his double-album, and fifth studio project, Scorpion. It sold 749,000 album equivalent units in its first week of sales, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
Drake at the 61st Grammy Awards
The single was the 29th song in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Drake’s fourth time at the top of the list, and his second as a lead artist. Along with the United States, “God’s Plan” topped the charts in fourteen countries, including Canada, and reached the top ten in nine others. The song broke first-day streaming records on both Apple Music and Spotify, and was named the most streamed song of the year on both platforms. It was also certified octuple platinum, having moved 8 million units in under a year.
Along with the Best Rap Song win, “God’s Plan” has done quite well for Drake at other award shows. It won Video of the Year at the 2018 BET Awards, Best Song: International at the 2018 Hiphop.de Awards, and Best Director (Karena Evans) at the iHeartRadio MMVAs. In total, the single has been nominated 29 times across 11 different award shows.
Next up, “God’s Plan” is up for four awards at the iHeartRadio Music Awards including Song of the Year, Hip-Hop Song of the Year, Best Lyrics, and Best Music Video. The sixth annual iHeartRadio show will be held on March 14, 2019 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on Fox.
For more information about the Grammy Awards and The Recording Academy, visit Grammy.com.
