Beyonce sets social media ablaze when she takes to the stage with Megan Thee Stallion. Swift wins best album for the third time.
Female performers dominated top contemporary music awards Sunday night as Beyonce and Taylor Swift made Grammy’s history and 19-year-old Billie Eilish took home the Record of the Year award.
Beyonce broke the record for the most wins by a female performer, while Swift’s startling lockdown folklore was named album of the year and won Eilish’s Everything I Wanted record of the year. Sunday’s win made Swift, 31, the first woman to take home album of the year three times.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, known for promoting women’s empowerment, was named Best New Artist when she took three awards at the Social Distance ceremony.
The 26-year-old also won for her rap performance on the single Savage, featuring Beyonce.
Taylor Swift made history by winning album of the year for the third time [Kevin Mazur/The Recording Academy via EPA]
The writers of R&B artist HER’s I Can’t Breathe won the song of the year, which recognizes songwriters rather than artists, and was written on the occasion of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests in the United States.
“I couldn’t imagine my fear and my pain becoming an impact,” said the 23-year-old musician upon receiving the trophy. “That struggle that we had within us, the summer of 2020, is holding on to that same energy.
Hosted by Trevor Noah, who anchors The Daily Show, the ceremony took place a year after COVID-19 closed grounded tours and forced gigs and is part of the music world’s effort to try to get past a crushing 2020.
“We hope this is all about what 2021 can 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 performers and took home the award for best solo performance [Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy via EPA]
British singer Harry Styles, with a feather boa draped around his neck, kicked off the performances and took home the award for best solo performance for his song Watermelon Sugar. Stars like Dua Lipa, DaBaby, Swift and Eilish also took the stage.
Beyonce won her 28th Grammy for Black Parade, which was named best R&B song, earning four wins that night.
It wasn’t even clear at first that Beyonce would be attending the event, which was held outside in Los Angeles, but she set social media ablaze after appearing live on the Los Angeles stage with Megan Thee Stallion for their award for Savage.
“As an artist, I believe it is my job and all our jobs to reflect time. And it’s been such a rough time, ”Beyonce said, as her husband Jay-Z watched.
“So I wanted to see all the beautiful black queens and kings who continue to inspire me and inspire, uplift, encourage and celebrate the whole world.”
British star Dua Lipa won the best pop song album for Future Nostalgia, while Nigerian superstar Burna Boy took home the prize for the best worldwide music album for the first time.
He accepted the award, saying it was “a great victory for my generation of Africans around the world.”
Meanwhile, South Korean boy band BTS lost out in the best pop duo or group performance to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for their single Rain on Me.
The seven-piece band from South Korea had hoped to be the first K-Pop act to win a Grammy after a breakthrough year in the United States. During the show they played their hit English-language single Dynamite.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas receive the Record of the Year award for Everything I Wanted at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards [Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy via EPA]