Beyonc茅, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards. Just as joyously, dozens of creators largely sidelined for a year due to the pandemic got to make music again.
The Grammys on Sunday broke through the Zoom trap that has bedeviled other awards shows with a surprisingly intimate evening that, at its best, felt like viewers were invited into a private club with their
Four different women won the four most prestigious Grammys. Swift's quiet surprise, 鈥渇olklore,鈥� was album of the year; Eilish's 鈥淓verything I Wanted鈥� was her second consecutive record of the year winner; H.E.R.'s topical 鈥淚 Can't Breathe鈥� won song of the year and Megan Thee Stallion was named best new artist.
Beyonc茅's four awards Sunday brought her up to 28 Grammys in her career, more than any other female artist. Her celebration of Black history, 鈥淏lack Parade,鈥� released last Juneteenth, won best R&B performance and she shared two awards for collaborating with Megan Thee Stallion on 鈥淪avage.鈥�
She ties Quincy Jones for second most Grammys ever and has the leader 鈥� the late conductor George Solti, who won 31 鈥� in her sights.
Further crowding the family trophy case is husband Jay-Z, whose songwriting on 鈥淪avage鈥� earned him his 23rd Grammy on Sunday, and even their 9-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, who won best music video together with mom.
鈥淭his is such a magical night,鈥� Beyonc茅 said.
Swift, who also found time during the pandemic to make another album and re-record one of her old ones, became the first woman to win the album of the year Grammy for the third time. Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Frank Sinatra have also done it. She won in 2009 for 鈥淔earless鈥� and 2015 for 鈥�1989.鈥�
She sang a medley of three songs on the Grammys, 鈥渃ardigan鈥� and 鈥渁ugust鈥� from 鈥渇olklore鈥� and 鈥渨illow鈥� from its follow-up disc, 鈥渆vermore,鈥� with collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.
鈥淚 want to thank the fans,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou guys met us in this magical world that we created.鈥�
After her sweep last year, Eilish became only the third artist to win back-to-back record of the year Grammys. Roberta Flack won in 1973 for 鈥淭he First Time Ever I Saw Your Face鈥� and in 1974 for 鈥淜illing Me Softly With His Song,鈥� while U2 won in 2001 and 2002 for 鈥淏eautiful Day鈥� and 鈥淲alk On.鈥�
Then, when Eilish and her collaborator-brother Finneas accepted the award, she almost gave it away. She brought Megan Thee Stallion to tears by saying the rapper deserved the Grammy for 鈥淪avage.鈥�
Because of the pandemic, CBS host Trevor Noah handed out the Grammys at an outdoor stage set up across from Los Angeles' Staples Center, with relatively few nominees and guests in the audience.
Most performances took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, but multiple artists were often on the cavernous stage at the same time, like when Harry Styles, HAIM and Eilish opened the show. Cameras caught artists enjoying their fellow nominees, like when country singer Mickey Guyton sang along quietly to Miranda Lambert, and Post Malone held up a red cup in glee at Cardi B and Stallion's performance of 鈥淲AP.鈥�
It made for an atmosphere unlike any other Grammy show, British singer Jacob Collier told reporters.
鈥淭here was something very special about how intimate it was and to have everything stripped back and just to be hanging out with those fellow nominees was just fantastic,鈥� said Collier, who won his fifth Grammy. 鈥淭o me, there's something so special about communal celebration, especially after all this time of silence and being on our own.鈥�
Lambert said that 鈥淚 can't wait to get out as a band.鈥� Lizzo, even though she was giving out an award and not performing, couldn't hold back: 鈥淚'm presenting because I L-O-O-O-V-E you,鈥� she belted.
Some of the performances, like Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak's Silk Sonic and Dua Lipa, felt like they were on the soundstage of 鈥淪oul Train鈥� 鈥� ask your parents, kids.
Even with the stripped-down setting, there was still room for spectacle: the giant bed for 鈥淲AP鈥� belongs in the Grammy hall of fame. Lil Baby's 鈥淭he Bigger Picture鈥� had an elaborately choreographed scene recreating the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks and subsequent unrest.
The latter joined with 鈥淏lack Parade,鈥� which Beyonc茅 said was created to
鈥淭he fight that we had in us in the summer of 2020 鈥� keep that energy,鈥� H.E.R. said.
A particularly effective 鈥渋n memoriam鈥� section 鈥� lengthened because of coronavirus deaths 鈥� featured Lionel Richie paying tribute Kenny Rogers, Silk Sonic raising the spirit of Little Richard, Brandi Carlile
Other performances that impressed included DaBaby's 鈥淩ockstar,鈥� country singer Guyton, the first Black woman nominated for best country solo performance, on 鈥淏lack Like Me,鈥� and Black Pumas' 鈥�
H.E.R., Fiona Apple and Kaytranda won two Grammys each. Prine and Chick Corea also won two awards each posthumously.
Other notable Grammy winners were Kanye West, whose 鈥淛esus is King鈥� won best contemporary Christian album; Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, who shared in Dan + Shay's country award for the collaboration 鈥�10,000 Hours鈥�; and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who won best spoken word album for 鈥淏lowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth.鈥�
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Associated Press music writer Mesfin Fekadu and entertainment writer Kristin M. Hall contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show the ceremony was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, not Staples Center.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
