Taylor Swift Makes Grammy History
• Not surprisingly, the 66th Grammy Awards ran overtime, running three and a half hours from the Crypto.com Arena in a waterlogged downtown Los Angeles. While the storm raged outside, the atmosphere inside was decidedly hot, as Grammy history made by Taylor Swift, as her Album of the Year Grammy for Midnights resulted in her becoming the first artist to ever win Album of the Year four times!
The “Big Four” General Field Categories:
Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, won Grammys for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media for “What Was I Made For?” from The Motion Picture Barbie. [Photo: screen grab]
Last year’s Best New Artist Grammy winner, Samara Joy, presented this year’s Best New Artist Grammy to Victoria Monét, who earlier in the evening won Grammys for Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, for Jaguar II. Samara was honored with the 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Performance for “Tight.”
Producer Mark Ronson, accompanied by his mother-in-law, Meryl Streep, presented the Record of the Year Grammy to Miley Cyrus for “Flowers.” It was Miley’s second Grammy of the evening — and her career — “Flowers” also won for Best Pop Solo Performance.
The final Grammy of the evening, Album of the Year, was preceded by the television debut of Billy Joel‘s first new song in 30 years, “Turn The Lights Back On.” The Album of the Year Grammy was awarded to Taylor Swift (Midnights) by surprise guest presenter Celine Dion.
Taylor earlier won the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy (her lucky 13th) for Midnights, and during her acceptance speech set social media ablaze when she revealed the title of her forthcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, dropping April 19. Minutes later, as promised, Taylor posted the album art online.
Dua Lipa opened the show with an electrifying performance of her new song, “Training Season” and current hit, “Houdini.”
One of the best moments of the evening was Luke Combs and special guest Tracy Chapman performing Chapman’s timeless hit, “Fast Car,” drawing an extended standing ovation from the audience. The emotions also ran high during during Joni Mitchell‘s first-ever Grammy performance — her classic, “Both Sides Now,” accompanied by a stage full of accomplished musicians, including her friend Brandi Carlile. Mitchell also won the Grammy for Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live).
SZA, who lead this year’s Grammy class with nine nominations, won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost in the Machine,” featuring Phoebe Bridgers of boygenius, Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS, and Best R&B Song for “Snooze.”
And speaking of boygenius — they won three Grammys: Best Alternative Music Album for The Record, and Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Not Strong Enough.”
Killer Mike won all three Grammys he was nominated for — Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Scientists & Engineers,” ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane; and Best Rap Album, for Michael. Moments after receiving that third Grammy, in a bizarre pre-Grammy moment, Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter posted video of a handcuffed Killer Mike being escorted out the venue. Waiting on details.
Nice to see freeform radio pioneer Jim Ladd included in the lengthy “In Memorium” segment, which was highlighted by Stevie Wonder paying musical tribute to Tony Bennett, Annie Lennox‘s emotional cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U” in tribute to Sinead O’Connor, and Lenny Kravitz introducing a tribute to legendary label executive Clarence Avant. Oprah Winfrey introduced a tribute to her late friend, Tina Turner — a Tina-worthy performance of “Proud Mary by Fantasia Barrino.
Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre Global Icon Award, accompanied onstage by daughter, Blue Ivy. While wife Beyoncé looked on from the table, Jay-Z called out the Recording Academy for never awarding Beyoncé the Grammy for Album of the Year, despite her record-setting 32 wins. Variety has that moment.
The complete list of winners at the 66th Grammy Awards is posted at grammy.com.
