On February 4th, 2024, the 66th Grammys took place in Los Angeles, California. The Grammys are presented by members of the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. A-list celebrities attend, dressed head to toe in expensive outfits, hoping to win an impressive award for their music, and Trevor Noah hosted for the fourth consecutive year.
Some favorites that walked the red carpet include Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Billie Elish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lana Del Rey, SZA, John Batiste, and Janelle Monáe. Additionally, performances from the night include Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Billy Joel, and Tracy Chapman with Luke Combs, and many others.
The most awards from the night went to Phoebe Bridgers, taking home three from her band boygenius and another for a feature on SZA’s album SOS.
SZA walked into the Grammys with the most nominations, nine, and walked out winning three including Best R&B Song, Best Progressive R&B Album, and Best Pop/Duo Group Performance.
Another highlight of the night is the winner of Record of the Year. After being nominated eight times over the years, Miley Cyrus won her very first Grammy for “Flowers”. She exclaimed her excitement during her performance when she yelled “I just won my first Grammy!” and danced around the stage while singing her hit song “Flowers.”
Perhaps the biggest news of the Grammys was Swift’s announcement for her new album The Tortured Poets Department dropping on April 19th. During her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal for her album Midnights, Swift teased that she had something exciting up her sleeve that she had been working on for two years. Of course, the room went wild as no one was expecting her to drop her 11th studio album on that night. This wasn’t Swift’s only big moment. Later in the night, Swift became the first person ever to be a four-time Album of the Year winner with her 10th studio album Midnights. Her previous wins include Fearless, 1989, and folklore. Presented by Celine Dion, Swift happily accepted the award and brought some of her friends who collaborated on the album on stage including Jack Antanoff, Lana Del Ray, and others.
When Jay-Z went on stage to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, he gave a speech about the ongoing issues within the Grammys and other award shows. He called out the Grammys for snubbing his wife, Beyoncé, and the lack of recognition Black artists have endured at the award show. “We love y’all. We want to get it right,” he said “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady [Beyonce], but she has even more Grammys than anyone and has never won album of the year.” After the 2023 Grammys, Beyoncé became the most decorated artist in all of Grammy history with 32 awards.
Other winners from the night include Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” for Song of the Year, Victoria Monét for Best New Artist, Tyla for Best African Music, and Killer Mike’s album Michael for Rap Album of the Year.
