Music’s Biggest Night was Ladies Night.
Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for Midnights on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, capping a night where women ruled and a year for the ages for pop’s biggest star.
Swift dominated 2023 with her Eras Tour concerts and movie and at one time had five albums in the Billboard Top 10 at the same time — the first living artist to do so. Her triumph tonight set the record for most career Album of the Year Grammys, with four. She was tied for the mark with Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder. And she’s only 34.
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Swift received her trophy from surprise presenter Celine Dion, who won the award 27 years ago and made a rare public appearance while battling stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder.
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Earlier, Swift picked up her 13th career Grammy — reminding the uninitiated that it’s her luck number — with a Best Pop Vocal Album win for Midnights. During her acceptance speech, she said: “I want to say thank-you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you the last for two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department.”
She then put the set’s cover on social media:
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Miley Cyrus‘ “Flowers” won Record of the Year, a producers award. During the speech, she said, “This award is amazing, but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything — because my life was beautiful yesterday.” After thanking several folks, she added: “Thank you all so much. I don’t think I forgot anyone, but I might have forgotten underwear.”
Cyrus was the primetime show’s first double winner, earlier picking up Best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers,” presented by Mariah Carey. That one marked Cyrus’ first career Grammy.
Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell won the first of the primetime show’s marquee awards as their “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie took Song of the Year, the songwriters award. Earlier, they performed the track, which hit No. 1 in the UK and topped the U.S. Rock & Alternative Songs chart. It was her seventh career statuette and his eighth.
Victoria Monét took Best New Artist, presented by last year’s winner Samara Joy. “This award was a 15-year pursuit,” Monét said onstage. “I moved to L.A. in 2009, and I liken myself to a plant who was planted and you can look at the music industry as soil. And it can be looked at as dirty, or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water, and my roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen, for so long.” The category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
During the inaugural presentation of the award Global Impact Award, which bears his name, Jay-Z called out the Grammys for his wife Beyoncé’s Album of the Year snubs — which have come as she holds the record for most career Grammys.
SZA, who came into the night with a leading nine nominations, won two during the pre-show and got a third with Best R&B Song for “Snooze.” Turning to one of the award presenters, she said: “Lizzo and I have been friends since 2013 when we were both on a tiny tour together, opening up in small rooms for like 100 people. And to be on the stage with her is amazing. I’m so grateful.”
SZA also gave a murderously choreographed performance of “Snooze” and her chart-topping hit “Kill Bill,” complete with a body count.
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After Cyrus won her first career Grammy with the first primetime award of the night, Karol G then made it 2-for-2 for rookie winners, taking Best Música Urbana Album for Mañana Será Bonito.
The first-timers then made it three straight with Lainey Wilson’s win for Best Country Album (Bell Bottom Country). In fact, none of the other four nominees in the category has won before.
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As for the performances, Cyrus played “Flowers” on TV for the first time. In her intro, she said, “I just want to be the artist that my idols would be proud of — Tina, Patti, Dolly, Celine, Whitney.” Cyrus added that it’s just the third time she’s played the song live. And she ended it with a very deliberate mic-stand drop.
Joni Mitchell has been making music since the 1960s but made her Grammy performance debut with a stirring rendition of her classic “Both Sides Now,” She harmonize with Brandi Carlile, who introduced the performance by reminding viewers that Mitchell had a debilitating stroke two years ago and has had to re-learn how to walk and talk..
Billy Joel offered the TV debut of “Turn the Lights On,” his first new single since 2007, before closing the show with his 1080 hit “You May Be Right,” and U2 gave the TV world its first look inside the Las Vegas Sphere, playing its one-off 2013 single “Atomic City.”
Travis Scott sang a smoke-and-pyrotechnics-fueled medley of his “My Eyes,” “I Know?” and “Fe!n,” smashing folding chairs onstage. Playboi Carti also joined in.
A cheek-bloodied Olivia Rodrigo played her Song and Record of the Year nominee “Vampire,” which topped the charts in the U.S., UK and more than a half-dozen other countries.
Joined by Brandy and 21 Savage, Burna Boy took the stage by demanding that the crowd stand, and they did. Then he played a medley of “On Form,” “City Boys” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World.”
Tracy Chapman joined Luke Combs onstage to play her “Fast Car,” her Top 10 hit from 1988 that Combs turned into a No. 1 country song last year and was up for Best Country Solo Performance tonight. In a taped intro, Combs said it was his “favorite song before I knew what a favorite song was. … I’d been playing that song since I could play guitar, honestly.”
Dua Lipa opened the show with a medley of “Houdini’ and her brand-new single “Training Session,” which included a snippet of “Dance the Night” from Barbie.
Stevie Wonder began the “In Memoriam” segment with a torchy version of his late-’60s hit “For Once in My Life” in a virtual duet with Tony Bennett, who died in July. The tributes also included Robbie Robertson, Wayne Shorter, Jerry Moss, Les McCann, Peter Schickele aka P.D.Q. Bach, Tommy Smothers, Denny Laine, Chita Rivera and Jimmy Buffett.
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Annie Lennox and the Revolution duo of Wendy & Lisa later took over, singing Sinead O’Connor‘s Prince-penned smash “Nothing Compares 2 U.” And the honor roll continued with O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, The MC5’s Wayne Kramer, legendary DJs Charlie Monk and Jim Ladd, The Smiths’ Andy Rourke, The Association’s Terry Kirkman, David Lindley, Trugot the Dove of De La Soul, The Eagles’ Randy Meisner, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington, Gary Wright, David Crosby, iconic songwriters Burt Bacharach and Cynthia Weil, executives Phil Quarararo and Seymour Stein, Melanie, Ahmad Jamal and Gordon Lightfoot.
Hi Alex, we’re checking with outdoor LA-area venues about possible weather-related closures this weekend. Does Magic Mountain have any plans yet to close on Sunday or Monday?
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Lenny Kravitz paid tribute to Clarence Avant, saying, “Known to generations as the ‘Godfather of Black Music,’ he was the kind of behind-the-scenes legend who makes other legends happy.”
Oprah Winfrey then introduced a Tina Turner tribute, with Fantasia Barrino taking on the late legend’s classic cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.”
Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr. gave a poignant, timely and moving address about the international flavor of this year’s Grammys as a string quartet played onstage.
“Every one of us,” he said, “no matter where we’re from, is united by the shared experience of music. It brings us together like nothing else can. And that’s why music must be our safe space. When that’s violated, it strikes at the very core of who we are.
“We felt that at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris,” he continued. “We felt that at the Manchester Arena in England. We felt that at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. And on October 7, we felt that again when we heard the tragic news from the Supernova Music Festival for Love that over 360 music fans lost their lives and another 40 were kidnapped. … Music must remain the common ground upon which we all stand together in peace and harmony. Because music has always been one of humanity’s greatest connectors.
“Think about it,” Mason added. “Every song we’re hearing or honoring tonight moved someone. No matter where they were from and what they believe in, they’re connected to others who were moved in the same way. Take this string quartet: As individuals, they sound really good. But together, they achieve something beautiful they could never do apart. These musicians of Palestinian, Israeli and Arab descent are here, playing together. And now is the time for us, for humanity, to play together.”
Trevor Noah was back to host Sunday’s marquee show for a fourth consecutive year. It aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
SZA and Bridgers together won the day’s first Grammy, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for their “Ghost in the Machine,” while SZA picked up a second win for Best Progressive R&B Album. Also in the pre-show, two acts took home three Grammys: boygenius, which won for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Not Strong Enough” and Best Alternative Music Album for The Record; and Killer Mike, who swept the Rap categories — Performance, Song and Album — for the single “Scientists & Engineers” and the album Michael.
SZA joins Lady Gaga as the only artists who have won twice in the Pop Duo/Group Performance category, and boygenius is the first all-female group to win Best Rock Song or Rock Performance.
Dave Chappelle also won today for Comedy Album, while Michelle Obama won for narrating her audio book The Light We Carry: Overcoming In Uncertain Times.
The Barbie movie was up for 11 Grammys tonight and won early for its Soundtrack and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “What Was I Made For?” Other double winners in the pre-show included Monét, Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. The latter, fronted by former Drive-By Trucker Isbell, took Best American Roots Song for “Cast Iron Skillet” and Americana Album for Weathervanes, becoming the first act to win either category three times.
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Composer Ludwig Göransson won the Score Grammy for Oppenheimer, while John Williams won his 26th Grammy for Best Instrumental Competition for “Helena’s Theme” from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Here are all the winners at the 2024 Primetime and Premiere Grammy Awards:
Primetime Ceremony
Album of the Year
Midnights
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Zem Audu, Serban Ghenea, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Ken Lewis, Michael Riddleberger, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Best New Artist
Victoria Monét
Song of the Year
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”]
Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best Pop Vocal Album
Midnights
Taylor Swift
Best R&B Song
Snooze
Kenny B. Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solána Rowe & Leon Thomas, songwriters (SZA)
Best Country Album
Bell Bottom Country
Lainey Wilson
Best Música Urbana Album
Mañana Será Bonito
Karol G
Best Pop Solo Performance
Flowers
Miley Cyrus
Premiere Ceremony
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Jack Antonoff
Being Funny In A Foreign Language (The 1975) (A)
Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Lana Del Rey) (A)
Midnights (Taylor Swift) (A)
Producer of the Year, Classical
Elaine Martone
Ascenso (Santiago Cañón-Valencia) (A)
Berg: Three Pieces From Lyric Suite; Strauss: Suite From Der Rosenkavalier (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Between Breaths (Third Coast Percussion) (A)
Difficult Grace (Seth Parker Woods) (A)
Man Up / Man Down (Constellation Men’s Ensemble) (A)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Rachmaninoff & Gershwin: Transcriptions By Earl Wild (John Wilson) (A)
Sirventés – Music From The Iranian Female Composers Association (Brian Thornton, Katherine Bormann, Alicia Koelz, Eleisha Nelson, Amahl Arulanadam & Nathan Petipas) (A)
Walker: Antifonys; Lilacs; Sinfonias Nos. 4 & 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Contemporary American Composers
David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Best Bluegrass Album
City Of Gold
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
As We Speak
Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
The Winds Of Change
Billy Childs
Best Jazz Performance
Tight
Samara Joy
Best Progressive R&B Album
SOS
SZA
Best R&B Performance
ICU
Coco Jones
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Montgomery: Rounds
Jessie Montgomery, composer (Awadagin Pratt, A Far Cry & Roomful Of Teeth)
Best Classical Compendium
Passion For Bach And Coltrane
Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith & A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown & Mark Dover, producers
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Walking In The Dark
Julia Bullock, soloist; Christian Reif, conductor (Philharmonia Orchestra)
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
The American Project
Yuja Wang; Teddy Abrams, conductor (Louisville Orchestra)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Rough Magic
Roomful Of Teeth
Best Choral Performance
Saariaho: Reconnaissance
Nils Schweckendiek, conductor (Uusinta Ensemble; Helsinki Chamber Choir)
Best Opera Recording
Blanchard: Champion
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ryan Speedo Green, Latonia Moore & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Best Orchestral Performance
Adès: Dante
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
Erin Bentlage, Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (säje Featuring Jacob Collier)
Best Regional Roots Music Album (TIE)
New Beginnings
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
Live: Orpheum Theater Nola
Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Best Folk Album
Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live]
Joni Mitchell
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
I Remember Everything
Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves
Best Jazz Vocal Album
How Love Begins
Nicole Zuraitis
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Folsom Prison Blues
John Carter Cash, Tommy Emmanuel, Markus Illko, Janet Robin & Roberto Luis Rodriguez, arrangers (The String Revolution Featuring Tommy Emmanuel)
Best Instrumental Composition
Helena’s Theme
John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording
The Light We Carry: Overcoming In Uncertain Times
Michelle Obama
Best Children’s Music Album
We Grow Together Preschool Songs
123 Andrés
Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album
So She Howls
Carla Patullo Featuring Tonality And The Scorchio Quartet
Best Reggae Album
Colors Of Royal
Julian Marley & Antaeus
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album (TIE)
Vida Cotidiana
Juanes
De Todas Las Flores
Natalia Lafourcade
Best Latin Pop Album
X Mí (Vol. 1)
Gaby Moreno
Best Alternative Jazz Album
The Omnichord Real Book
Meshell Ndegeocello
Best Latin Jazz Album
El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2
Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Basie Swings The Blues
The Count Basie Orchestra Directed By Scotty Barnhart
Best Historical Album
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
Robert Gordon, Deanie Parker, Cheryl Pawelski, Michele Smith & Mason Williams, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Michael Graves, restoration engineer (Various Artists)
Best Album Notes
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
Robert Gordon & Deanie Parker, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
For The Birds: The Birdsong Project
Jeri Heiden & John Heiden, art directors (Various Artists)
Best Recording Package
Stumpwork
Rottingdean Bazaar & Annie Collinge, art directors (Dry Cleaning)
Best Comedy Album
What’s In A Name?
Dave Chappelle
Best Alternative Music Album
The Record
boygenius
Best Alternative Music Performance
This Is Why
Paramore
Best Rock Album
This Is Why
Paramore
Best Rock Song
Not Strong Enough
Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters (boygenius)
Best Metal Performance
72 Seasons
Metallica
Best Rock Performance
Not Strong Enough
Boygenius
Best Musical Theater Album
Some Like It Hot
Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, Adrianna Hicks & NaTasha Yvette Williams, principal vocalists; Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Bryan Carter, Scott M. Riesett, Charlie Rosen & Marc Shaiman, producers; Scott Wittman, lyricist; Marc Shaiman, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Bewitched
Laufey
Best Global Music Album
This Moment
Shakti
Best African Music Performance
Water
Tyla
Best Global Music Performance
Pashto
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
The Light Inside
J. Ivy
Best Rap Album
MICHAEL
Killer Mike
Best Rap Song
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS
Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane)
Best Melodic Rap Performance
All My Life
Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
Best Rap Performance
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS
Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane
Best R&B Album
JAGUAR II
Victoria Monét
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Good Morning
PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol
Best Gospel Performance/Song
All Things
Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Theron Thomas
• All My Life (Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole) (S)
• Been Thinking (Tyla) (S)
• Cheatback (Chlöe & Future) (T)
• How We Roll (Ciara & Chris Brown) (S)
• Make Up Your Mind (Cordae) (S)
• Pretty Girls Walk (Big Boss Vette) (S)
• Seven (Jung Kook & Latto) (S)
• Told Ya (Chlöe & Missy Elliot) (T)
• You And I (Sekou) (T)
Best Roots Gospel Album
Echoes Of The South
Blind Boys Of Alabama
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Church Clothes 4
Lecrae
Best Gospel Album
All Things New: Live In Orlando
Tye Tribbett
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
Your Power
Lecrae & Tasha Cobbs Leonard; Alexandria Dollar, Jordan Dollar, Antonio Gardener, Micheal Girgenti, Lasanna “Ace” Harris, David Hein, Deandre Hunter, Dylan Hyde, Christian Louisana, Patrick Darius Mix Jr., Lecrae Moore, Justin Pelham, Jeffrey Lawrence Shannon, Allen Swoope, songwriters
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Blood Harmony
Larkin Poe
Best Traditional Blues Album
All My Love For You
Bobby Rush
Best Americana Album
Weathervanes
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
Best American Roots Song
Cast Iron Skillet
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
Best Americana Performance
Dear Insecurity
Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile
Best American Roots Performance
Eve Was Black
Allison Russell
Best Country Song
White Horse
Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
Best Country Solo Performance
White Horse
Chris Stapleton
Best Immersive Audio Album
The Diary Of Alicia Keys
George Massenburg & Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Alicia Keys & Ann Mincieli, immersive producers (Alicia Keys)
Best Remixed Recording
Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg Remix)
Wet Leg, remixers (Depeche Mode)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
JAGUAR II
John Kercy, Kyle Mann, Victoria Monét, Patrizio “Teezio” Pigliapoco, Neal H Pogue & Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Victoria Monét)
Best Music Film
Moonage Daydream
(David Bowie)
Brett Morgen, video director; Brett Morgen, video producer
Best Music Video
I’m Only Sleeping
(The Beatles)
Em Cooper, video director; Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin & Laura Thomas, video producers
Best Song Written For Visual Media
What Was I Made For? [From “Barbie The Album”]
Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Stephen Barton & Gordy Haab, composers
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Oppenheimer
Ludwig Göransson, composer
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Barbie The Album
Brandon Davis, Mark Ronson & Kevin Weaver, compilation producers; George Drakoulias, music supervisor
(Various Artists)
Best Tropical Latin Album
Siembra: 45º Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022)
Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
GÉNESIS
Peso Pluma
Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
Fred again..
Best Pop Dance Recording
Padam Padam
Kylie Minogue
Lostboy, producer; Guy Massey, mixer
Best Dance/Electronic Recording
Rumble
Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan
BEAM, Elley Duhé, Fred again.. & Skrillex, producers; Skrillex, mixer
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Ghost In The Machine
SZA Featuring Phoebe Bridgers
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