On the night of February 4, 2024, celebrities from all across the globe pulled up to the “Grammys” red carpet. Big names like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, Ice Spice, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, and Olivia Rodrigo struck poses for the paparazzi’s blinding camera flashes.
The 64th annual “Grammy” Awards were about to begin, and tensions were high. This year’s awards boasted some of the strongest, and largely female-dominated, competition in the program’s history.
The main categories were filled to the brim with colossal names. “Song of the Year” nominated tracks included mega chart hits such as Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Rodrigo’s “Vampire”, while also including quieter, critically-acclaimed alternative music such as Del Rey’s sweeping 7 minute balled-turned-trip-hop song “A&W”.
Record-breaking possibilities were on the line; with an “Album of the Year” win for Swift’s “Midnights”, the songstress would have the most wins in said category of all time.
An abundance of pending first-time winners were present at the ceremony too; Victoria Monet for “Best New Artist”, boygenius for both “Record of the Year” and “Album of the Year”, and more.
The night began with an electrifying performance by Dua Lipa. The star performed her unreleased track “Training Season”, while entangled in a large cube made of metal bars, being lifted up in the air and turned from side to side. The performance continued as Lipa made her way to the main stage to serenade the crowd with “Houdini”, her latest chart-topping single.
The attention quickly shifted from the pop star to the “Record of the Year” presenter- none other than Mariah Carey! As she listed the nominees, both those nominated and the audience at the edge of their seats. The winner: Miley Cyrus with “Flowers”. Despite the general agreement that the track has been extremely overplayed, fans and non-fans alike were proud of Cyrus, as this was her first “Grammy” award.
The night proceeded with a tear-jerking performance of “Fast Car” by both the cover artist Luke Combs and the original singer Tracy Chapman. Comb’s version shot up to number one on the “Billboard Hot 100” charts last year, and watching him perform it with Chapman was monumental.
Next up was “Best Pop Vocal Album”, not to be confused with “Album of the Year”. Swift’s megalith of an album “Midnights” took the award home, and after a few words of gratitude to her fans and collaborators, she took the moment to announce a new album.
An array of performers serenaded the “Grammys” stage, including SZA with her chart-toppers “Snooze” and “Kill Bill”. Billie Eilish gave a mesmerizing rendition of her track off of the “Barbie” soundtrack, “What Was I Made For”.
Next came Olivia Rodrigo performing the swooping ballad “Vampire”. She chose a simple route for her performance as she stood in front of the star-studded audience in a bright red dress with just a microphone in front of her.
The showstopper of the night was 80 year-old Joni Mitchell who was performing at the “Grammys” for the first time, despite having 12 awards already under her belt. The singer suffered from a brain aneurysm and had to relearn all her motor skills including singing, walking, and talking.
The singer, perched upon a throne of gold, wearing a velvety silk outfit, bedazzled with sequins and gemstones, gave a beautiful rendition of her 1969 track “Both Sides Now”.
“…They only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone, so many things I would have done, but clouds got in the way,” crooned the songstress. The performance brought celebrities like Meryl Streep and Beyonce to tears.
A controversial point of the event was rapper Jay-Z’s speech accepting his “Dr. Dre Global Impact Award”. In his speech, he brought light to the fact that Beyonce, who has the most “Grammy” awards of all time, has never once won “Album of the Year”. The rapper’s point was even more drastic when you consider the fact that Beyonce has lost the award to a white artist all five times she was nominated.
This would stir up controversy when the “Album of the Year” award, presented by the wonderful Celine Dion, went to Swift’s “Midnights”, beating out her counterparts, such as SZA with “SOS”. Fans of SZA were rightfully disappointed, considering her album was undoubtedly the biggest of the year.
Fans of Lana Del Rey were also furious as she received zero awards out of her six nominations. The singer has yet to win a single award at the program.
Despite the losses, there was an abundant amount of wins for women. All major category winners were female; the first time in “Grammys” history.