Chloe Gerhard | Writer
February 8, 2024
On February 4th, 2024, the 66th Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles with second-time host Trevor Noah. The 2024 Grammy Awards brought notable moments in pop culture and historic milestones in the music industry. This year was huge for women, with the four major awards all being won by women.
“I love watching all of the fashion looks before the Grammys!” sophomore Kai Wells commented. “Especially because I get to see artists I may not have seen in a while.”
At 3:00 PM Pacific Time, the pre-show for the Grammys premiered, showing the highly anticipated fashion looks from each attendee of the prestigious award show. However, the stormy weather had every celebrity arrive with an entourage of umbrellas to protect their designer clothing and freshly styled hair. By far, the most talked about red carpet look was worn by Miley Cyrus. The singer-songwriter and actress wore a dress of golden safety pins and rocked voluminous hair possibly inspired by her godmother, Dolly Parton.
From the “Best New Artist” category, Victoria Monét sported a stunning bronze corset-style Versace dress. Of course, the dynamic trio Pheobe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus from the hit supergroup Boygenius walked the red carpet in matching white suits decorated with pink carnation boutonnieres. The looks referenced a lyric from their song “We’re in Love” and paid tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliot Smith.
Dua Lipa started the awards with a bang by performing her new song “Training Season.” Many other notable performances occurred later in the evening, including Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas performing her song from Barbie, “What Was I Made For.” There were also many tributes to an earlier era of music, with a duet of “Fast Car” with the song’s creator, Tracy Chapman, and Luke Combs, who made a cover of “Fast Car” that went viral. This was not the only nostalgic performance, as Billy Joel showcased his first new song in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On.” Joni Mitchell performed her song “Both Sides Now” with Brandi Carlie and a few other notable artists.
“It was a lovely event to watch and not do my homework,” confessed senior Sophia Miller. “I was very excited to see Boygenius get some well-deserved Grammys!” she expressed. “Overall, it was a huge win for people with good taste in music!”
The awards this year made history. With Midnights, Taylor Swift became the first artist to win Album of the Year four times. Miley Cyrus won her first Grammy for her song “Flowers” and then had the crowd on its feet as she sang the song vibrantly on stage. SZA had the most nominations of any other artist this year and won Best R&B Song for “Snooze,” Best Progressive R&B Album with SOS, and Best Pop Duo Performance with “Ghost in the Machine” featuring Pheobe Bridgers. Boygenuis took home three Grammys, including an award for Best Rock Song. Others like Lana Del Rey went home empty-handed.
The Grammy Awards viewership was up by thirty-four percent from the previous year. This heightened interest increased the post-Grammy commentary. While women dominated the Grammys for the first time, many critics tried to pin female stars against each other. Comments focused on gossip and speculation about Taylor Swift not hugging Celine Dion, Taylor Swift pulling Lana del Rey onto the stage during her acceptance speech, Olivia Rodrigo not smiling enough, and questioning whether Boygenius was a rock band. While the female artists supported and lifted each other, the internet worked to tear them apart. Regardless, this year’s Grammys celebrated music as no other event can.
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