Bruno Mars has seen musical success before, including previous wins at the Grammys, but in an acceptance speech shout out, it was as if it was his first recognition.
“Look at me, Pop, look at me. I’m at the Grammys right now!” Mars said in his Record of the Year award acceptance speech.
Sunday night’s 60th Grammys were filled with political messages, from Kendrick Lamar’s powerful opener to Hillary Clinton reading from Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” to tributes to the #MeToo Movement.
Singer Camilla Cabello made sure to include “Dreamers," immigrants who came or stayed in this country illegally as children and are now the center of a political battle over whether they should be allowed to eventually become citizens.
“Tonight in this room full of music’s dreamers, we remember this country was built by dremers, for dreamers, chasing the American dream,” said Cabello, a Cuban-Mexican immigrant.
Mars – with help from breakout artist Cardi B – added the swing – new jack swing – in a performance of “Finesse."
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With high energy dance moves and Cardi B looking fly, as in Fly Girl, they took the audience back to the 90s with an homage to “In Living Color,” the television variety/sketch comedy show created by Keenan Ivory Wayans.
Finesse is a track from Mars’ “24 K Magic,” which took Album of the Year, Mars’ upset win over Jay Z, Kenrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and Lorde.
Mars, who is of Puerto Rican descent, also won Song of the Year with “That’s What I Like” beating out “Despacito,” “4:44,” “Issues,” and “1-800-273-8255.” Although it didn't win it's award, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee sang their chart-topping hit entirely in Spanish, delivering one of the highlights of Grammy performances.
Onstage to accept the Album of the Year Grammy, Mars dedicated the award to the R&B artists who inspired him, telling the story of the music he sang at 15 to open for a show called the “Magic of Polynesia” in Hawaii. The show entertained 1000 tour groups from around the world, he said.
“Later on I found out that those songs I was singing were written by either Baby Face, Jimmy Jam Terry Lewis or Teddy Riley,” he said.
“Those songs were written with nothing but joy and for one reason and one reason only and that’s love and that’s all I wanted to bring with this album was love,” he said.
Mars also won Grammys in the categories of R&B Song, R&B Album, R&B Performance and Engineered Album Non-Classical.
There were other Latinos who took home Grammys including, but not limited to: Best Latin Jazz Album: Pablo Ziegler Trio, "Jazz Tango"; Best Latin Pop Album: Shakira, "El Dorado", Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, Residente, "Residente," Best Regional Mexican Music Album: Aida Cuevas, "Arriero Somos Versiones Acústicas"; Best Tropical Latin Album, Ruben Bladés con Roberto Delgado y Orquestra, "Salsa Big Band" and Best Song Written for Visual Media: Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli'i Cravalho) "How Far I'll Go".
