Grammys 2024: Taylor Swift makes history with major win - as it happened (2024)

With a final number from Billy Joel, that’s a wrap on the 2024 Grammys – a long, at times moving, often entertaining and overall smooth awards ceremony dominated by female artists. Almost all of the televised awards were won by women, including best pop solo performance and record of the year by Miley Cyrus, song of the year by Billie Eilish, best R&B song by SZA, best música urbana album by Karol G, best new artist by Victoria Monét and best country album by Lainey Wilson.

The night’s biggest story, as it has so often been lately, was Taylor Swift, who won best pop vocal album and album of the year for Midnights – and announced a new original album, The Tortured Poets Department, to boot. (Beyoncé was there in support of Jay-Z’s global icon award but said and gave nothing, as is her right.) Jay-Z made a point to note that Beyoncé has somehow never won album of the year. Swift, meanwhile, is now the only artist to have won album of the year four times.

The night’s performance highlights included a first-ever Grammy performance by the 80-year-old Joni Mitchell, the first single in 17 years from Billy Joel and a moving duet of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs. And there was a surprise, much-needed appearance from the one and only Celine Dion, who has been missing from public life in recent years owing to her having stiff person syndrome.

That’s all from us! Thanks for tuning in and see you next year.

My colleague Benjamin Lee has a nice summary of tonight’s female-dominated events:

It was a night light on general awards show fluff – not a lot of awards, light hosting duties by Trevor Noah – but there was a charming presenters’ bit between Mark Ronson and his mother-in-law, Meryl Streep:

Aaaand a gallery of all the red carpet arrivals:

And here’s a list of winners, including all the telecast awards:

Here’s full video of Celine Dion’s appearance, her first in a couple years:

Wow, so much here – first of all, the surprise announcer of the night was indeed Celine Dion, looking fabulous and vital in her first public appearance in several years owing to her fight with a rare neurological disorder.

“When I say that I’m happy to be here, I really mean it from my heart,” Dion says before presenting the night’s big award, album of the year, to Taylor Swift for Midnights. Swift is now the only person to win the category four times.

“I don’t know, man,” she says, looking surprised despite a year of massive, unprecedented success. She thanks “a once-in-a-generation producer” Jack Antonoff as well as collaborater Lana Del Rey, saying: “So many female artists would not be where they are and would not have the inspiration that they have if not for her work.”

“The award is the work, and all I want to do is to keep being able to do this,” she concludes. “Mind. Blown.”

They’ve been talking about it all evening, and the piano man is, indeed, back – Billy Joel performs his first single in 17 years, Turn the Lights Back On, after a long self-imposed retirement from songwriting. The performance is accompanied by a video explaining how a 35-year-old songwriter named Freddy Wexler “hounded” (self-described) the 74-year-old singer to return to songwriting and performing new music again.

A big win for Miley Cyrus, her second Grammy of both tonight and her career, for her smash hit Flowers. “I really hope that [this award] doesn’t change anything, because my life was beautiful yesterday,” she says. “Not everyone in the world will get a Grammy, but everyone is spectacular.”

True to form, Miley preaches self-love with a side of suggestion: “I don’t think I forgot anyone, but I might have forgotten underwear. Bye!” she says as farewell while wearing a thigh-high slit gown, which I feel is the 31-year-old winning a Grammy version of her VMA moment.

At 34 years old, Victoria Monét is an established songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and more. Now she finally has Grammy recognition as a solo artist after 15 years in the industry and her breakout debut studio album, Jaguar II.

“To everybody who has a dream, I want you to look at this as an example,” she says near tears. She talks about the 15-year journey to this point since moving to LA in 2009, comparing herself to a plant in questionably dirty LA soil. “My roots have been growing underneath ground unseen for so long. And I feel like today I’m sprouting finally above ground,” she says before a list of thanks that gets her played off the stage.

On to Afrobeats! Nigerian sensation Burna Boy takes the stage for an upbeat medley with Brandy (!) and 21 Savage, accompanied by several African dancers, that gets most of the audience (Gayle King included) on their feet.

The full performance of Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell accompanied by Brandi Carlile, if you’re ready to get in the feels:

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr provides another confusing tonal moment, at once shouting out the global reach of music and mourning the loss of music fans killed at concerts, including the Israelis killed at the Nova dance and music festival on 7 October.

“We mourn the loss of all innocent lives,” he says. “Music must remain the common ground on which we all stand.” As evidence, I guess, he points to a string quartet on stage who are of Palestinian and Israeli descent, playing together.

Somewhere out there, I assume, there are people who understood what Travis Scott is trying to do or trying to say with his performance of My Eyes. The Houston-bred rapper appears to be singing from … a gladiatorial tar pit? … that’s on fire. Wearing shoulder and knee pads and dropping several bleeped-out bars, Scott ends the typically chaotic performance by smashing several plastic chairs around the stage. I feel this would make more sense on drugs.

A candidate for the night’s final mystery “global icon” presenter, perhaps? Jokes aside, it would be genuinely heartwarming to see Celine Dion, who has struggled in recent years with stiff person syndrome, take the stage again.