• Beyoncé breaks record for most Grammys by a female artist
• Taylor Swift is the first woman to win album of the year three times
Beyoncé and Taylor Swift had a historic night at the Grammys, where the top four awards were won by female acts.
Swift became the first female performer to win album of the year three times and Beyoncé, with her 28th win, became the most decorated woman in Grammy history. She also ties Quincy Jones for second place among all Grammy winners.
H.E.R. won song of the year and Billie Eilish picked up record of the year, telling the audience that best new artist winner Megan Thee Stallion deserved the honour.
Though women have won all top four awards in the past – including
Eilish’s sweep last year
– it marked the first time four separate and solo women won the top four honours.
“We just want to thank the fans,” said Swift, who won the top prize with “folklore” and previously won album of the year with her albums “Fearless” and “1989”.
Beyoncé walked into the show with 24 wins and picked up four honours, including best R&B performance for Black Parade, best music video for Brown Skin Girl as well as best rap performance and best rap song for Savage, with Megan Thee Stallion.
“As an artist I believe it’s my job, and all of our jobs, to reflect time and it’s been such a difficult time,” Beyoncé said onstage as she won best R&B performance for Black Parade, which was released on Juneteenth (June 19), a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
She went on to say she created the song to honour the “beautiful Black kings and queens” in the world.
She added: “I have been working my whole life … this is such a magical night.”
Beyoncé is only behind the late conductor Georg Solti, who is the most decorated Grammy winner with 31 wins.
But Beyoncé didn’t only make history, her whole family did. The royal family of music all won honours Sunday: Jay-Z picked up his 23rd Grammy, sharing the best rap song win with his wife since he co-wrote Savage. And nine-year-old Blue Ivy Carter – who won best music video alongside her mother – became the second youngest act to win a Grammy in the show’s 63-year history. Leah Peasall was eight when The Peasall Sisters won album of the year at the 2002 show for their appearance on the T Bone Burnett-produced O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
Megan Thee Stallion, who won three honours, also made history and became the first female rapper to win best rap song. She’s also the fifth rap-based act to win best new artist.
Beyoncé was the night’s top contender with nine nominations. She didn’t perform but Swift did.
She sang cardigan and august from “folklore”, as well as willow from “evermore”, and was joined by the collaborators who helped her make the albums, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, who both won album of the year with Swift.
Black Parade joined a list of songs honouring that black experience that won Sunday, including H.E.R.’s protest anthem I Can’t Breathe and Anderson Paak’s Lockdown, which was released on Juneteenth like Black Parade.
Other performers Sunday included Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Bad Bunny, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Harry Styles, who won best pop solo performance for the hit Watermelon Sugar.
Host Trevor Noah kicked off the show telling jokes about the coronavirus pandemic and the year that was 2020. He was live from downtown Los Angeles, with attendees wearing masks and sitting, socially distanced, at small round tables.
Double winners included H.E.R., Fiona Apple, Kaytranada and late performers John Prine and Chick Corea.