Relationships between a father and a daughter are special, and that’s a more emotional topic than usual today, given the sudden death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. That was the focus of Camila Cabello’s Grammys performance of “First Man,” a song she wrote about her own father. Although the performance didn’t specifically reference the Bryants, it felt especially poignant given the day’s events.
Cabello previously said of the song, “‘First Man’ was actually the first song that I wrote for the album, and I remember walking to the studio that day. I had a bunch of lyrics and a bunch of ideas, but I started talking about my dad. And I started getting really emotional about it. I’ve heard that song — I don’t know how many times — every single time I picture my dad’s face and it makes me cry. I think it’s just going to be a song that I listen to when I’m 80 years old and it’ll make me sob in the same way because I’ve immortalized a memory of somebody that was one of the people that I love most in the entire world.”
Cabello earned herself one nomination this year, as her Shawn Mendes collaboration “Señorita” is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The track faces stiff competition in the category from Ariana Grande and Social House’s “Boyfriend,” Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker,” Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.”
Watch the performance above, and find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.
