On Sunday, Feb. 4, the 66th annual Grammy Awards took place. However, the majority of the awards were given out during the pre-ceremony — a trend that has been escalating within the last few years. This year the spotlight was on the musical performances and the general field categories.
The awards given during the awards ceremony were Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Música Urbana Album, Best Country Album, etc.
The show was hosted by Trevor Noah for the fourth year in a row and made jabs at cultural events including the NFL and Taylor-mania, Universal Music Group pulling their music off of TikTok and Doja Cat’s monstrous hit single “Paint the Town Red.”
The first award of the night was Best Pop Solo Performance, which was won by Miley Cyrus for her song “Flowers” — which won over Doja Cat’s aforementioned single, Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire.”
After the first award, Luke Combs took the stage with Tracy Chapman to perform “Fast Car,” an iconic cover of a truly iconic song that took over the charts in 2023.
For the next award, Karol G won Best Música Urbana Album in a stacked field that included Rauw Alejandro and Tainy.
A spur of iconic performances occurred at the Grammys Sunday night. SZA danced and weaved around combatants with katanas, the sibling duo of Billie Eilish and FINNEAS performed “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” soundtrack and Olivia Rodrigo’s blood-suckingly amazing performance for “Vampire.”
Best Country Album went to Lainey Wilson for “Bell Bottom Country,” she beat out high-profile modern country legends including Brothers Osborne, Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers.
The award for Best R&B Song went to SZA for “Snooze,” beating out a high-profile nominee, Victoria Monét for “On My Mama.”
Best Pop Vocal Album went to Taylor Swift for “Midnights,” where she also announced her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department” — out April 19. This surpise shocked the internet and Taylor’s fanbase as many people were expecting a “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” announcement.
The in-memoriam section of the Grammys really surprised me as a multitude of artists did tributes and covers, including Jon Batiste, Annie Lennox and Stevie Wonder — as well as a tribute to Tina Turner by Oprah Winfrey and Fantasia.
Song of the Year went to Billie Eilish for “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” soundtrack.
After, Joni Mitchell performed live for the first time ever at the Grammys. A performance that was built up to be the best performance of the night — and frankly it was. It was a solemn yet heartfelt achievement in songwriting and for the human spirit.
Mitchell has overcome so much and this triumphant moment not only for the Grammys but for her career as a whole really showed the power of a great song. “Both Sides Now” stands the test of time.
Travis Scott performed next, and it was a true rager as he rapped and sang his verse on “FE1N” with Playboi Carti climbing onto the stage as a surprise performer. Scott threw and broke folding chairs on stage, all while flames shot up and engulfed his surroundings — some speculating his aggression came from losing the Best Rap Album award to Killer Mike.
One of the final awards of the night went to Victoria Monét for Best New Artist, in a totally stacked category with new country powerhouses: The War and Treaty, Jelly Roll and Noah Kahan — as well as Ice Spice.
The final awards for Record of the Year and Album of the Year were highly anticipated and in two extremely tough categories.
Miley Cyrus walked away with a total of two Grammys for the night — including Record of the Year — both for her single, “Flowers.”
The biggest award of the night, Album of the Year, went to… Taylor Swift for “Midnights” — making her the singular artist with four Album of the Year awards.
Taylor’s acceptance speech was incredibly classy and humble, thanking Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey, Sam Dew and others. This award capped off her monumental 2023 not only as a recording artist but as a musical icon.
Let’s see if 2024 will be an even bigger year for music.
