Grammys 2021: 5 key moments from the historic awards ceremony
Beyonce and Taylor Swift each made Grammys history, while British artist Harry Styles scooped his first award
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The 2021 Grammys took place on Sunday (14 March), with Megan Thee Stallion, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift all scoring top awards in what was an eventful (yet socially distanced) ceremony.
Trevor Noah hosted the event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Despite a modified format due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the evening included several energetic performances from Harry Styles, Cardi B, BTS, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and more.
The ceremony marked the turning of a few pages of Grammys history, with Beyoncé becoming the female artist with the most trophies, Taylor Swift becoming the first woman to score three wins in the Album of the Year category, and Harry Styles taking home his first Grammy.
Here are the main talking points from the 2021 Grammy Awards:
1. Beyoncé becomes the female artist with the most Grammys ever
Beyoncé has officially become the female artist with the most Grammys ever, with 28 trophies to her name. Four of those wins came on Sunday, in the Best Music Video ("Brown Skin Girl"), Best R&B Performance ("Black Parade"), Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance (both for “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé) categories. In her acceptance speech, Beyoncé said she has been working towards this accomplishment her entire life, and dedicated her wins to her children – notably Blue Ivy Carter, who was a joint winner in the Best Music Video category.
2. Megan Thee Stallion dominates the 2021 ceremony
The 26-year-old rapper, whose year has been marked by the breakout single “Savage” as well as her featuring on Cardi B’s “WAP”, was crowned Best New Artist – becoming the first female rapper to do so in two decades. “Savage” then took Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. It really is no wonder that Billie Eilish dedicated her Record of the Year win to Megan Thee Stallion – who really would have been a deserving winner in that category too.
3. Taylor Swift becomes first female artist to win Album of the Year three times
Swift only scored one win on Sunday night, but it marked an important step in her career: she took home Album of the Year forFolklore, her surprise album recorded during the coronavirus pandemic. This marks the third time she has won this award. Swift took home the trophy in 2016 for 1989, and in 2010 for Fearless. She’s the first female artist to win in that category three times.
4. Harry Styles wins his first Grammy
It was a big night for Harry Styles too. The British singer won his first Grammy ever, taking home Best Pop Solo Performance for his chart-topping hit “Watermelon Sugar”. He’s the first former One Direction member to win one of the awards – and the band itself never won one, either. He defeated Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Taylor Swift in that category. Styles went into the evening with three nominations, but missed out on Best Pop Vocal Album (won by Dua Lipa) and Best Music Video (which went to "Brown Skin Girl" by Beyoncé, Saint Jhn and Wizkid featuring Blue Ivy Carter).
5. Billie Eilish takes Record of the Year and dedicates her speech to Megan Thee Stallion
Billie Eilish, who swept last year’s ceremony five wins, took home two trophies on Sunday: one for Best Song Written for Visual Media, for the James Bond theme “No Time To Die”, and the most high-profile award of the evening: Record of the Year, for “Everything I Wanted”. It’s the second year in a row Eilish wins this specific trophy; she took it home last year for “Bad Guy”.
In her acceptance speech, Eilish praised Megan Thee Stallion, telling her: “This is really embarrassing for me. Megan, girl... I was gonna write a speech about how you deserve this but then I was like, ‘There’s no way they’re going to choose me,’ I was like, ‘It’s hers.’ You deserve this. You had a year that I think is un-toppable. You are a queen—I want to cry thinking about how much I love you. You’re so beautiful. You’re so talented.”
The liveblog is now closed. See the full list of Grammy winners here.
Trophy alert! Taylor Swift’s Folklore just won Album of the Year. Swift defeats Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Haim, Jacob Collier, Coldplay, Black Pumas, and Jhené Aiko in the same category. Folklore was a surprise album crafted by Taylor Swift during the coronavirus pandemic. It came out in July 2020. In her acceptance speech, Swift thanks “James, Inez, and Betty and their parents”, aka her friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. All three children are name-checked on Swift’s album – in fact, the song “Betty” served as the confirmation of the name of the pair’s third child.
BTS are now performing. The K-Pop act has earned rare recognition on the international stage, and was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance this year, for their song “Dynamite”. They lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for “Rain On Me”.
Our final award for the evening, Record of the Year, is being presented by none other than Ringo Starr. The nominees are Beyoncé’s “Black Parade”, Black Pumas’ “Colors”, DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar”, Doja Cat’s “Say So”, Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted”, Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now”, Post Malone’s “Circles”, and Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé’s “Savage”.
And the winner is... Billie Eilish for “Everything I Wanted”! She dedicates her acceptance speech to Megan Thee Stallion, telling her she’s had professional year that cannot be topped and that she always roots for her. This is Eilish’s seventh Grammy. She took Best Song Written for Visual Media earlier today for “No Time To Die” and swept last year’s ceremony with five wins in the Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year categories.
After winning Record of the Year, Billie Eilish dedicated her acceptance speech to Megan Thee Stallion. You can watch it here:
This wraps up our 2021 Grammys live-blog! Thank you very much for following along.
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