On Sunday, February 4th, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Hundreds of the biggest names in music gathered to celebrate the biggest night for musicians, producers and artists. The awards ceremony was hosted by Trevor Noah, his fourth consecutive year hosting the event. This past Grammy ceremony was the most viewed Grammys since 2020, with over 12 million people tuning in to see who would leave the night with a golden trophy in their hand.
The night started with a performance by popstar Dua Lipa, where she played her hit songs “Dance The Night” and “Houdini,” in addition to a snippet of her newest song, “Training Season.” Her high-energy performance was a great opener, as she had a metal jungle gym she incorporated into her set. The star was nominated for two awards that night, Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media, though she unfortunately left empty-handed.
Many other artists performed throughout the night. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, who both had amazing success with the Barbie movie hit “What Was I Made For,” performed a “tear-jerking” piano rendition of the song, as reviewed by Teen Vogue (Teen Vogue). Olivia Rodrigo, who was up for many awards with her sophomore album “GUTS,” performed her chart-topping hit “Vampire.” Rodrigo was seen wearing a red dress on stage with a forest in the background, a slight homage to her music video. Miley Cyrus, who won her first-ever Grammy earlier in the night, sang an upbeat and lively rendition of her Grammy-winning song “Flowers,” where she can be seen living her best life on stage. Joni Mitchell, the 80-year-old folk singer, did her first live Grammy performance singing “Both Sides Now” alongside other artists, including Brandi Carlile. One of the most talked about performances of the night was Luke Combs singing his Best Country Solo Performance-nominated cover of “Fast Car” with the original singer herself, Tracy Chapman. Combs later said in an interview that performing with the creator of the song was “a defining moment of [his] career” (Rolling Stone).
The Grammys also had many performances to honor the singers and members of the entertainment industry who passed away this past year. Jon Batiste, who had great success during the Grammys in 2022, performed the in-memoriam segment, which started slow and somber, and quickly turned into an upbeat celebration once other singers Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Ann Nesby, and Cory Henry joined him on stage. Annie Lennox was present to honor Sinead O’Connor, who passed away in July of 2023. Lennox sang a rendition of the Prince cover “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Another performance to honor the late artist Tina Turner was performed by Fantasia Barrino. Turner, who passed away in May of 2023, had her career honored with a bright, upbeat and entertaining rendition of “Rolling On A River,” which Fantasia sang and danced in true Turner essence. Each performance was able to honor those who were lost this past year with grace and beauty.
A memorable outcome of the 2024 Grammys was how many women dominated the wins. Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift walked away with some of the most successful and renowned awards of the evening, in addition to the Best New Artist award going to a woman, Victoria Monet, who is also a mother. Record of the Year went to Miley Cyrus for her pop hit “Flowers.” Billie Eilish won Song of the Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media for her successful and emotional song “What Was I Made For” which was written for the Barbie Movie. SZA, Phoebe Bridgers, Boygenius, Fred again…, Metallica, Paramore, Jack Antonoff, Coco Jones and Chris Stapleton were some of the many other artists who walked away with a shiny new Grammy.
The biggest and most anticipated award of the year, Album of the Year, went to record-breaking Taylor Swift for her October 2022 album, “Midnights.” This is Swift’s fourth time winning the award, having broken a record each time she has won the award. In 2009, Swift won the award for “Fearless,” being the youngest woman to win the award. For “1989” in 2015, she was the first woman with a repeat win, “folklore” in 2021, made her the first female to win the award three times. This win made her the first artist ever, man or woman, to win the award four times, beating Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, all of whom won three times. Swift’s success was not defined by her 14th Grammy win at the end of the night, as she announced a brand new album earlier in the evening following her 13th Grammy win. The Eras Tour performer will be debuting her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets’ Department” on April 19th, which has collaborations with Florence and the Machine and Post Malone. Many “Swifties” celebrated Taylor’s successful and chaotic night, with superfan and JCHS alum Cara Mia Oliveri saying that she believes “Midnights'” win “is well deserved since no one else charted all ten spots on the Billboard Top 10 from a singular album.”
The Grammys were ultimately very successful: Trevor Noah had funny and tasteful jokes, many performances were upbeat or tear-jerking, and there were many big wins for a variety of artists. This ceremony was a wonderful way to conclude a successful and eventful year for record-breaking music.
