Taylor Swift makes history at female-dominated Grammys: ‘A year to remember’

In a rare turn of events, women dominated the Grammys this year with Taylor Swift, SZA, Miley Cyrus, and Billie Eilish taking home the evening’s top prizes.

The 66th Grammy Awards took place at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night (4 February) with stars including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen in attendance.

Hosting duties fell to comedian Trevor Noah, who presented the music awards for the fourth consecutive year in the row. Noah, 39, called it “a year to remember”.

You can read the biggest talking points from the evening here and the full winners list here.

It was a history-making night for Swift, 34, who became the first artist to win Album of the Year for the fourth time for her 2022 album Midnights.

Earlier in the night, Swift also won Best Pop Vocal album, taking the opportunity to announce the release of her forthcoming 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, on 19 April.

Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance went to Cyrus, 31, for “Flowers” off her album Endless Summer Vacation.

Collecting the award, Cyrus said: “I really hope this doesn’t change anything as my life was beautiful yesterday. I don’t think I’ve forgotten anyone but I might have forgotten underwear!”

R&B singer-songwriter SZA, 34, led the night with nods in nine categories – of which she won three.

“I’m just really overwhelmed, you don’t really understand. I came really, really far and I can’t believe this is happening and it feels really fake,” she said when accepting the award for Best R&B Song for “Snooze”.

SZA – real name Solána Imani Rowe – also took the opportunity to shout out to Swift, waving to the popstar as she cheered from the audience.

It was a monumental night for fellow R&B artist Victoria Monét, who, despite having never won a Grammy before, went home with six statuettes, including Best New Artist.

The year of Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster Barbie has continued well into 2024, with the Margot Robbie-produced film getting a look-in at the Grammys.

Taken from the Barbie soundtrack, Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” was named Best Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media.

It is the first song from a film to win the award since Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” in 1999 from the Titanic soundtrack.

Dion, 55, delighted fans when she took to the stage to present Album of the Year. The singer has been forced to cancel all live performances in recent years as a result of her Stiff Person Syndrome.

Viewers were shocked to see Oscar-winner Meryl Streep at the music awards. The actor, 74, was in attendance with her son-in-law and nominee, the producer Mark Ronson.

Folk legend Joni Mitchell performed at the Grammys for the first time ever at the age of 80. The musician, who suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 and has had to learn how to walk again, brought fans to tears with her performance.

Introducing Mitchell, who won the award for Best Folk Album, Brandi Carlile called her “one of the most influential and emotionally generous creators in human history”.

Tracy Chapman also made an appearance, peforming in public for the first time since 2009, alongside country music singer Luke Combs, who covered her hit song “Fast Car” last year.

An extended In Memoriam section – featuring performances from Annie Lennox, Fantasia Barrino, Jon Batiste, and Stevie Wonder – remembered artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Clarence Avant, Wayne Kramer, and Burt Bachaarach.

Wonder, 73, led the tribute to American pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett, who died in July 2023 aged 96.

Performing “Nothing Compares 2 U” as a tribute to O’Connor, Lennox, 69,  called for a ceasefire in Gaza. “Artists for ceasefire, peace in the world,” Lennox said, concluding her rendition of O’Connor’s 1990 song.

Rapper Killer Mike was escorted out of the ceremony in handcuffs. The Atlanta-born rapper – real name Michael Render – was arrested and booked for “misdemeanour battery” after a physical altercation backstage, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The arrest took place just hours after the musician had won three prizes, including Best Rap Album for Michael. He later tweeted about his triumphs without reference to the incident, writing on X/Twitter: “Thank God” and “DREAMS COME TRUE – IT’S A SWEEP!”

Kylie Minogue picked up her second Grammy, this time for Best Pop Dance Recording for her upbeat track “Padam Padam”.

The ceremony, however, was not without its critics. When Jay-Z collected his Dr Dre Global Impact award for his personal and professional achievements, the rapper, 54, called out the Grammys on wife Beyoncé’s behalf.

“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has the most Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year,” he said. “So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that: the most Grammys. Never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”

Other winners of the night included Lainey Wilson for Best Country Album, Karol G for Best Música Urbana Album, Laufey for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Coco Jones for Best R&B Performance.