NEW YORK (AP) – As the pandemic ended live performances, Taylor Swift made up for a year off the road with a three-song set at the Grammy Awards, where she made history as the first woman to record an album of the year three times.
She sang ‘cardigan’ and ‘august’ from her nominated album ‘folklore’ and ‘willow’ from ‘evermore’. She was joined by the collaborators who helped her create the albums, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, both of whom have also been nominated for the grand prize alongside Swift.
Swift won album of the year with her albums ‘Fearless’ and ‘1989’. Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and Paul Simon are some of the male artists to have won album of the year three times. Several producers or engineers have also won the award three times and the only person to have won the award four times is mastering engineer Tom Coyne, who died in 2017.
Silk Sonic, aka Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, also performed and brought a throwback R&B vibe to the show with their smooth new single, “Leave the Door Open.” Dua Lipa proved her status as a pop star with a performance of her hits “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating,” where she was joined by the DaBaby, who was an all-star in his own performance of his guitar-tinged rap hit. ‘Rockstar’, where the song is flipped for an exceptional live performance with R&B singer Anthony Hamilton, an accomplished violinist and backing singers.
Other artists included Bad Bunny, HAIM, Black Pumas, Billie Eilish and Harry Styles, who won the best pop solo performance for the hit “Watermelon Sugar”.
“Thank you very much to everyone who made this record with me,” said Styles, the first One Direction member to win a Grammy.
Host Trevor Noah started the show and joked about the coronavirus pandemic and the year that was 2020. He lived from downtown Los Angeles, with masks in attendance and social distance at small round tables.
Megan Thee Stallion, who will be performing, won the first prize of the evening on television: best new artist. Silent and shocked, she stood in front of the microphone while the audience cheered her on. She thanked her fellow nominees, God and her mother, who died in 2019.
“I know she’s here with me in spirit,” she said.
Megan Thee Stallion won top rap performance for “Savage” in the pre-ceremony, shared the win with Beyoncé and helped the pop star earn her 26th Grammy, close to Alison Krauss’s 27-win record.
Beyoncé, this year’s top contender with nine nominations, also won the best music video for “Brown Skin Girl” and shared the prize with daughter Blue Ivy Carter, which is also experiencing a historic evening: at the age of 9, she is the second youngest to win a Grammy. Leah Peasall was 8 when The Peasall Sisters won Album of the Year at the 2002 show for their performance on the T Bone Burnett-produced “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack.
Beyoncé’s other nominations include song and record of the year, best R&B performance, and best rap song.
While Beyoncé is going to have a historic night, history could repeat itself and be barred from winning a top prize – a common occurrence for R&B and rap artists in Grammy history. Of her 26 wins, only one has been for one of the four major Grammys, number of the year. She has lost album of the year three times and record of the year five times.
Jay-Z has never won a top prize, and he and his wife are on a list of mostly black performers limited to wins in the rap and R&B categories, including Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Mariah Carey , Eminem, Drake, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige and more.
This year, The Weeknd was the one who got rejectedDespite having the biggest hit of 2020 with “Blinding Lights” and a best-selling multi-hit album, he didn’t earn any nominations. He’s won three Grammys so far – only in the R&B categories – but he has vowed to boycott the Grammys because he disagrees with how the Recording Academy selects the winners.
Still, “Savage” by Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion could become the second hip-hop song to win the record of the year.
Cardi B, BTS, Post Malone, Chris Martin, Lil Baby, John Mayer, Maren Morris and Doja Cat will also be performing.
During the pre-show, Fiona Apple and Kaytranda were also double winners on SundayJohn Prine and Chick Corea both had two posthumous victories. Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Dan + Shay, James Taylor, HER, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Burna Boy, Tiffany Haddish, and Rachel Maddow also won Grammys.
Artists competing with Swift for album of the year include Coldplay, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Jhené Aiko, HAIM, Black Pumas and Jacob Collier, who took victory in the pre-ceremony.
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