Mars sweeps a Grammys peppered with politics

Bruno Mars swept the major categories at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, winning album, song, and record of the year. Mars’ album 24K Magic has dominated the charts for the past year with the hit singles “24K Magic” and “That’s What I Like.” Rapper Kendrick Lamar also scored big at the Grammys, winning all of the rap categories for his offerings from his most recent album, which infuses traditional rap style with ponderings about God and theology. In the Christian music categories, Zach Williams’ Chain Breaker won best contemporary Christian album, and CeCe Winans’ Let Them Fall in Love won best gospel album. A variety of political statements colored the night, from stars’ wearing white roses on the red carpet to call attention to the problem of sexual assault to the group U2’s appearing in front of the Statue of Liberty with a muddled performance that appeared to criticize the Trump administration’s stance on immigration. The most overt political salvo was a video in which musicians and eventually 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton read passages from Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, a description of life in the White House that disparages President Donald Trump. White House spokesman Raj Shah responded to the gimmick Monday morning on Fox and Friends, saying, “When I see Hillary Clinton and other liberal politicians join forces with celebrities or try to show America how in touch they are, I don’t take it all that seriously.”