Topline
Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year on Sunday, making her the first artist in history to win the marquee prize for a record fourth time, as Miley Cyrus, Victoria Monét, Billie Eilish and Finneas took home the other top prizes in a night dominated by female artists.
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift accepts the Album Of The Year award for “Midnights” on stage … [+] during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Swift’s “Midnights” also won the Best Pop Vocal Album award and announced during her acceptance speech that she is working on a new album called “Tortured Poets Department,” that will release in April this year.
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” won Record of the Year, after the singer also won Best Pop Solo Performance for the single earlier in the night.
Victoria Monét gave an emotional acceptance speech after winning Best New Artist, as she thanked her single mother for “raising this really bad girl” and said the win was the culmination of a 15-year pursuit.
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell won Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” movie soundtrack and thanked director Greta Gerwig for “making the best movie of the year”—in a likely reference to the controversial Oscar snub.
Singer Celine Dion received a standing ovation as she made a surprise appearance at Sunday night’s ceremony to present Album of the Year, after being away from the spotlight following her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome in 2022.
SZA took home three prizes—Best Progressive R&B Album for “SOS,” Best Best R&B Song “Snooze” and Best Pop Duo Performance for “Ghost in the Machine” with Phoebe Bridgers.
Tangent
Rapper Killer Mike’s “Scientists & Engineers” won the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song awards while his album “Michael” won Best Rap Album. But the rapper’s big wins were marred by controversy after he was escorted out of the venue in handcuffs by Los Angeles police after allegedly being involved in an altercation. The Los Angeles Police Department told the Hollywood Reporter that Mike was detained “for a physical altercation” and was being “questioned.”
Key Background
Sunday’s award ceremony was dominated by women, with all of the “big four” prizes going to female performers. The big string of victories came a few years after the Recording Academy was accused of being of boys’ club with very limited representation, despite women usually topping the charts. The academy’s former chairman and CEO Neil Portnow fanned the #GrammysSoMale controversy further by saying: “Women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls… [need] to step up.”
Crucial Quote
After Sunday’s ceremony, Phoebe Bridgers called out Portnow, who has since been accused of sexual assault, saying: “I have something to say about women. The ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated in the Grammys, that they should step up… so and to him I’d like to say: I know you’re not dead yet, but when you are, I hope you rot in piss.”
Surprising Fact
Jay-Z took a shot at the Recording Academy by pointing out the his wife Beyoncé had never won album of the year. In his acceptance speech after winning the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, the billionaire musician said: “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but [Beyoncé] has the most Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that: The most Grammys. Never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.” Last year, Beyoncé made history by breaking the record for all time Grammy wins by taking her tally to 32 awards.
Further Reading
Taylor Swift, Victoria Monét and More Women Artists Win Big at 2024 Grammys (Variety)
Grammys Under Flood Watch: Already Nearly 200,000 Californians Without Power Amid Hurricane-Like Predictions (Forbes)
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