Beyonce ignites social media while appearing on stage with Megan Thee Stallion. Swift wins best album for the third time.
Female artists dominated the best awards of contemporary music on Sunday night when Beyonce and Taylor Swift made Grammys’ history and 19-year-old Billie Eilish took home the record of the year award.
Beyonce broke the record for most wins by a female artist, while Swift’s surprising folklore record was named album of the year and Eilish’s Everything I Wanted won the record of the year. Sunday’s victory made Swift, 31, the first woman to take home the album of the year three times.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, known for promoting women’s empowerment, was named best new artist because she won three awards at the socially distanced ceremony.
The 26-year-old also won for her rap performance of the single “Savage”, starring Beyonce.
Taylor Swift made history by winning album of the year for the third time [Kevin Mazur/The Recording Academy via EPA]
The authors of I Can’t Breathe by R&B artist HERE won song of the year, recognizing songwriters rather than artists, and was written to celebrate Black Lives Matter’s protests in the United States last year.
“I did not think that my fear and that my pain would have an impact,” the 23-year-old musician accepted the trophy. “The struggle we had in the summer of 2020 holds the same energy.
The ceremony, hosted by Trevor Noah, who anchors The Daily Show, took place a year after COVID 19 tours and forced performance centers had to close, and is part of the music world’s effort to move past a devastating 2020.
‘We hope it’s all about what 2021 could be, full of joy, new beginnings and coming together. “Never forget what happened in 2020, but full of hope for what is to come,” said Noah.
Harry Styles was one of Sunday’s artists and took home the award for best solo performance. [Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy via EPA]
British singer Harry Styles, a featherweight around his neck, kicked off the performances and took home the award for best solo performance for his song Watermelon Sugar. Stars, including Dua Lipa, DaBaby, Swift and Eilish, also took to the stage.
Beyonce won her 28th Grammy for Black Parade, which was named best R&B song, and won her four times on the night.
It was not even clear at first that Beyonce would attend the event, which would be held outside in Los Angeles, but she set social media on fire after she appeared on the Los Angeles stage with Megan Thee Stallion to price for Savage to accept.
‘As an artist, I believe it’s my job and all our work to reflect the times. And it was such a difficult time, ‘Beyonce said as her husband Jay-Z watched.
“So I wanted to uplift, encourage, celebrate all the beautiful black queens and kings, who still inspire me and inspire the whole world.”
British star Dua Lipa won the best pop album for Future Nostalgia, while Nigerian superstar Burna Boy was a first winner to take home the award for best global music album.
When he accepted the award, he said it was “a great victory for my generation of Africans around the world”.
The South Korean boy band BTS has meanwhile lost with the best pop duo or group show to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for their single Rain on Me.
The group of seven members from South Korea hoped to be the first K-Pop tournament to win a Grammy after a breakthrough year in the United States. They performed their hit English single Dynamite during the show.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas receive the record for the record of the year for everything I wanted at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards [Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy via EPA]