Last month, on February 4 at 8 p.m., the nation watched in awe as the 66th Grammy Awards commenced.
The show began with an astounding performance by Dua Lipa, who performed several of her hit songs, such as Houdini, Dance The Night, and her new song, Training Season. Miley Cyrus also performed her hit-song, Flowers. Olivia Rodrigo performed one of her most popular songs from the past year, Vampire, from her album Guts. Luke Combs performed his famous cover of Fast Car with original singer Tracy Chapman. Billie Eilish did a beautiful rendition of her song from the Barbie movie, What Was I Made For?, which was followed by the shedding of many tears. Travis Scott, SZA, and Burna Boy also performed.
Phoebe Bridgers took home the most awards, winning four Grammys. We also witnessed Taylor Swift making history as the only artist ever to win Album of the Year a total of four times, surpassing the previous record of Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder, who have won Album of the Year three times. Victoria Monet won the award for Best New Artist. Miley Cyrus won Record of the Year for Flowers, Billie Eilish won Song of the Year with What Was I Made For?, Taylor Swift won Best Pop Vocal Album, SZA won the R&B Song Award with Snooze, Tyla won the award for Best African Music Performance, and Paramore won Best Rock Album for This Is Why. Astoundingly, the Beatles were also awarded a Grammy in 2024, winning the Best Music Video award for their 1966 song, I’m Only Sleeping. This past year has seen women make incredible history in the music industry, securing seven of eight Album of the Year nominations.
When Taylor Swift accepted her award for Album of the Year, for Midnights, she thanked her writing partner, Jack Antonoff, as well as others on her team. She then proceeded to thank Lana del Ray for her impact on modern music, stating “Lana del Ray was hiding [at the back of the stage] but I think so many female artists would not be where they are and would not have the inspiration they have if it weren’t for the work that she’s done. I think she’s a legacy artist, a legend in her prime right now, I’m so lucky to know you and to be your friend,” (Recording Academy, 2:06-2:27). She continued by discussing the joy she experiences when winning these types of awards and thanking everyone, saying, “For me the award is the work, all I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much, it makes me so happy, it makes me unbelievably blown away that it makes some people happy who voted for this award. All I want to do is keep doing this,” (Recording Academy, 2:45-3:03). Then, she concluded her speech by thanking the fans, the audience, and the Grammy voters.
The current consensus on most modern music is that modern songs are not nearly as catchy or as iconic as songs and albums from previous decades. However, perhaps the amazing performances and well-deserved awards will sway that common opinion, should contemporary artists be so lucky.
Works Cited
Recording Academy, “Taylor Swift Wins Album Of The Year For ‘Midnights’| 2024 GRAMMYS Acceptance Speech”, Youtube, uploaded by the Recording Academy, 05 February 2024, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-q-ZCZwxc>