The 66th Grammys celebrated female talent across the musical spectrum, from Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus to SZA and Boygenius, plus special appearances from Joni Mitchell and Celine Dion. Jay-Z took a moment to celebrate Beyonce’s genius too.
Women dominate this year’s Grammys, with female artists taking home the biggest four awards of the night.
Taylor Swift made history when she won best album for Midnights, becoming the first artist to win the prize for a fourth time, having previously won for Fearless, 1989 and Folklore.
The 34-year-old pop megastar overtook Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Frank Sinatra, who had previously tied with her on three wins apiece.
Swift also delighted her legion of fans by revealing during the show that she would be releasing a new album on 19 April – The Tortured Poets Department – and sharing a photo of the album’s front cover on social media.
Accepting best pop vocal album, she said she’d been keeping the secret for the last two years.
The Grammys were the first big music event Swift has attended since falling victim to a deepfake attack on social media late last month, when fake, sexually explicit images of her were shared online.
Accepting the prize, Swift ushered her team around her saying, “Guys I feel so alone” before going on to thank everyone who made the album a success.
She said: “I would love to tell you this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song, or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love, or when I’m shortlisting a music video, or when I’m working with my dancers.
“For me the reward is the work… All I want to do is keep doing this, so thanks so much for giving me the opportunity. Mind blown!”
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Celine Dion. Pic: AP
The award was presented to a visibly shocked Swift by Canadian superstar Celine Dion, who in 2022 revealed that she was suffering from the rare neurological disorder known as stiff-person syndrome (SPS), forcing her to cancel numerous tour dates.
Clearly emotional to be back on the stage, Dion told the crowd – who gave her a standing ovation – “When I say that I’m happy to be here, I really mean it from my heart”.
‘I might have forgotten underwear’
Record of the year was taken by Miley Cyrus, for her viral summer hit Flowers, who broke her no-Grammy spell with two wins on the night. She said that she hoped her life didn’t change as it was already “beautiful yesterday”.
Reeling off a list of people to thank, the 31-year-old star who was wearing a sequined black gown with a high side split joked, “I don’t think I forgot anyone, but I might have forgotten underwear, bye”.
Big hair, don’t care – Miley Cyrus gets her first Grammy, swiftly followed by a second. Pic: AP
Cyrus also won best pop solo performance for the break-up track, which she sang during the ceremony, rounding off her Tina Turner-inspired performance with a mic drop.
Accepting her award from Mariah Carey, she told the audience she’d nearly missed the start of the show due to the rain, going on to tell a story of a little boy who could not catch a butterfly until one landed on his nose, concluding, “this song is my butterfly”.
The award was presented by record producer Mark Ronson, along with his mother-in-law, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep.
‘Damn, that’s stupid!’
Song of the year went to Billie Eilish, for her Barbie song What Was I Made For? who appeared to be truly shocked by her own win, telling the audience, “Wow, oops, yikes, oh my god. Damn that’s stupid!”
Billie Eilish. Pic: AP
She went on to use her acceptance speech to praise Barbie director Greta Gerwig for creating the “best movie of the year”.
The track from the movie which dominated the summer and broke box office records also took home the award for best song written for visual media.
Eilish performed on the night, dressed in black sunglasses and a pink headscarf in homage to the 1965 Barbie Poodle parade doll.
Victoria Monet. Pic: AP
Best new artist went to R&B singer-songwriter Victoria Monet, 34, who kicked off her acceptance speech by thanking “the champagne servers of the night,” going on to dedicate her award to anyone “who has a dream”.
Using the analogy of a growing plant in the “soil” of the music industry, Monet said her “roots had been growing underground for so long, and were finally sprouting overground”.
SZA gets emotional on stage. Pic: AP
‘I’m not an attractive crier’
SZA – who had the most nominations going into the night – took three awards including best R&B song for Snooze, giving an emotional and out-of-breath speech “because I was changing then I took a shot”, she said.
During her speech she gave a shout out to the star of the night saying, “Hi Taylor… I’m not an attractive crier. Have a good evening.”
Kylie Minogue . Pic: AP
(L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, of Boygenius. Pic: AP
Kylie Minogue was honoured with the inaugural best pop dance recording for hit Padam Padam – the Australian star’s second Grammy.
Highlighting the success of the night for female talent, indie supergroup Boygenius took three awards, with band member Phoebe Bridgers taking a fourth for her collaboration with SZA Ghost in the Machine.
The celebration of female talent was in stark contrast to a UK MP report released last week, which revealed that women working in the music industry face “endemic” misogyny and discrimination.
FEMALE STARS DOMINATE – BUT THAT’S NOT THE END OF THE STORY
This was undeniably a successful night for female artists. Women had dominated the nominations ahead of the ceremony, with Jon Batiste the only male artist shortlisted in the album, song and record categories, so the takeover was almost inevitable.
The pattern is similar in the nominations for the Brits: eight of the 10 stars up for international artist of the year are female, while 12 of the 15 songs up for best international song are performed by female artists.
But the music business is cyclical, and this year’s awards nominations reflect the fact we’ve had major releases from most of the biggest female stars in the world, bar Adele and Beyonce. Last year’s ceremonies reflected a period in which more big male stars had new music out, including Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar, and The 1975, Stormzy and Harry Styles representing the Brits.
Unfortunately for the boys, they were up against Beyonce’s critically acclaimed Renaissance at the 2023 Grammys. She was the one to beat.
But Renaissance lost out to Harry’s House. In fact, as Jay-Z pointed out during his acceptance speech this year, his superstar wife, a cultural powerhouse and the most decorated Grammys artist of all time thanks to the ceremony’s dozens of genre awards, has never won the top prize for best album. The last black female artist to do so was Lauryn Hill, in 1999.
This year’s Grammys ceremony definitely celebrates the achievements of female stars – as it should after they dominated the charts in 2023. But if Beyonce can’t win the Grammy for best album – and Swift has never won best song, despite being the event’s most shortlisted songwriter ever – it shows the battle that even those women at the very top are still facing.
‘When I get nervous, I tell the truth’
Another notable win went to rapper Jay-Z who won the Dr Dre global impact award. He took his daughter Blue Ivy up onto the stage, and used the opportunity to take a swipe at the Recording Academy.
He chided the Grammys for having previously neglected rap stars, before putting the spotlight on his wife, Beyonce, questioning how she’d won the most Grammys in history, but had never won best album.
Looking towards Beyonce, Jay-Z said: “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year.
“Think about that. Most Grammys, never won album of the year, that doesn’t work.
“Some of you will go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed, some of you may get robbed, some of you don’t belong in the category.”
Jay-Z and his daughter Blue Ivy. Pic: AP
His comments drew a few gasps, to which Jay-Z lightly responded: “Sorry, when I get nervous, I tell the truth”.
He finished by urging fellow artists “to keep showing up,” imploring, “Just in life, you’ve got to keep showing up. Just keep showing up.”
Living legends and nostalgic renditions
Held at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, the 66th annual ceremony was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah – his fourth consecutive year fronting the show.
There were a host of performances from living legends, with cultural icon Joni Mitchell making her Grammy debut aged 80.
Joni Mitchell performing Both Sides Now. Pic: AP
With an impressive five-decade music career, and after overcoming a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2015, she sang her 1966 hit Both Sides Now, sat in a golden armchair and accompanied by singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile on guitar.
Mitchell also took home the prize for best folk album. She previously won the Recording Academy lifetime achievement award in 2002.
Other veteran entertainers to perform included Stevie Wonder – who paid tribute to singer Tony Bennet – Billy Joel and Tracy Chapman.
The best music video Grammy was awarded to a project created for The Beatles song I’m Only Sleeping, while a documentary on the late David Bowie, titled Moonage Daydream, took home the best music film prize.
When showbiz gets political
Eurythmics star Annie Lennox gave an emotional rendition of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U during the In Memoriam section of the show, wearing a black suit and with a glittery black tear running from one eye.
Finishing the song, the 69-year-old singer brought politics to the fore, saying: “Artists for ceasefire, peace in the world,” appearing to refer to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Annie Lennox pays tribute to Sinead O’Connor. Pic: AP
Later in the show, Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr, spoke about the power of music to unite, calling out attacks at music venues including the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, the Manchester Arena in England, the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas and most recently the Supernova Music Festival for Love.
As he spoke, a string quartet of musicians of Palestinian, Israeli and Arab origin performed live, with Mason concluding: “Now is the time for us, for humanity, to play together and to come together with empathy and with love.”
Meanwhile, in sharp contrast to the glitz and glamour of the night, rapper Killer Mike was led from the ceremony in handcuffs, shortly after winning three gongs.
The 48-year-old activist and performer took home best rap album for his sixth studio album, Michael, while his track Scientists And Engineers featuring Andre 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane won best rap song and best rap performance.
A spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed a man had been arrested but did not give any further details.
