The 66th Annual Grammy Awards were held this past Sunday, February 4, 2024. The members of the
Recording Academy gave awards for all musical achievements between October 1, 2022, and September 15, 2023. Throughout the night, there were both controversial wins as well as historical ones.
To begin with, a significant award, Album of the Year, was won by Taylor Swift for Midnights. This achievement made Taylor Swift the first artist to win Album of the Year four times. However, this win brought a mix of feelings from the public, considering the respected nominees such as Lana del Ray and Olivia Rodrigo.
In her career, Lana Del Ray has been nominated for 11 Grammys and won 0. In contrast, Taylor Swift has won 14, with many won over Lana. After Lana’s nominated album Did You Know that There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd lost against Swift, fans were frustrated and felt Lana should be getting more recognition.
In all fairness, Swift’s “ Midnights” sold over 6 million units worldwide while Del Ray’s Did You Know that There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd sold over 1 million. Also in the running for this title was Olivia Rodrigo for her second album, Guts. After Rodrigo’s success and three Grammy wins from her debut album Sour, fans were shocked that although Rodrigo was nominated for six significant awards, she didn’t receive any wins.
Victoria Monét, an R&B artist, won Best New Artist. Some criticize Monét’s win because her fellow nominees seem to have more impressive achievements over 2023. Noah Khan made it to No.1 on the Billboard and had an extremely successful concert tour, and Ice Spice not only made it to No.1 on Billboard but featured in Taylor Swift’s “Karma” which she performed at the biggest concert of the year, The Era’s Tour.
Fans don’t understand that while 2023 was Monet’s debut of her own album, she has been working behind the scenes as a writer. Her talents were even crucial to Ariana Grande’s “Thank You Next” and “Rings,” both of which are said to be part of the greatest pop hits of the 21st century.
Song of the Year was given to sibling duo Billie Eilish and FINNEAS for their original song “What Was I Made For?” This song was written for the 2023 Hit movie, Barbie. Since then, it’s been nominated for a musical Oscar and has won a Golden Globe. Billie Eilish also directed her own music video that received 106 million views.
During her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Album, Midnights, Taylor Swift announced that this was her 13th Grammy win. With 13 being her lucky number, she took this opportunity to announce her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which will be released on April 16. This surprised fans because many had been anticipating the announcement of Reputation (Taylor’s Version). But Swift had other things in mind and has been working on this album with Jack Antoff, winner of best producer, for the past two years.
Awards were also given for specific genres, including Paramore’s This is Why for rock, Killer Mike for his rap album Michael, and Lainey Wilson for country album. Lainey Wilson’s album “Bell Bottom Country” was an impressive win against nominees Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Brothers Osborne, and Kelsea Ballerini.
Overall, this year’s Grammys was extremely successful and even made history. So, what should you take away from the night? I would say that 2024 is the perfect opportunity to explore new genres. The array of new artists and talents in each genre ensures that no matter what style of music you try, you will enjoy it.
