Beyonce, Taylor Swift make Grammys history

(3rd UPDATE) Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish won the top prizes at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, March 14 (Monday, March 15 in Manila), in a ceremony that also saw Beyonce become the most awarded female artist in Grammy history.

Swift’s surprise lockdown record folklore was named Album of the Year and Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” won Record of the Year. The win made Swift, 31, the first woman to take home album of the year 3 times.

Beyonce’s 4 Grammys on Sunday took her total career wins to 28, surpassing the previous record for a woman set by bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

British singer Dua Lipa won Best Pop Vocal Album for her dance-y Future Nostalgia.

The writers of “I Can’t Breathe” by R&B artist H.E.R won Song of the Year. It was written in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States last summer.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion was named Best New Artist and the 26 year-old known for promoting women’s empowerment won two more Grammys for her rap performance of single “Savage,” featuring Beyonce

Hosted by Trevor Noah, the hybrid ceremony was packed with pre-recorded and live performances by the likes of Lipa, Swift, DaBaby, Black Pumas and Mickey Guyton.

It took place both indoors and outdoors in Downtown Los Angeles but mostly without the elaborate sets and special effects that traditionally mark the highest honors in the music business.

“We’re hoping that this is all about what 2021 can be, full of joy, new beginnings and coming together. Never forgetting what happened in 2020, but full of hope for what is to come,” Noah said.

Live music, touring and festivals were crushed in 2020 by the pandemic but some of Sunday’s awards were announced at small venues in cities like Nashville.

“Thank you to the Grammys for putting this together and letting us, at least, kind of be together,” said Miranda Lambert winner of best country album for Wildcard.

Earlier on Sunday, BTS lost in the Best Pop Duo or Group Performance against Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for their single “Rain on Me.”

The seven-member band from South Korea had been hoping to be the first K-pop act to win a Grammy after a breakthrough year in the United States for the genre. They will perform their hit English-language single “Dynamite” from South Korea later on the show.

Kanye West took the Grammy for his gospel album Jesus is King, while Beyonce also won best music video for “Brown Skin Girl,” which she shared with her nine-year-old daughter Blue Ivy. Eilish, 19, who dominated last year’s Grammys, won for her theme song to the upcoming James Bond film “No Time to Die.”

The winners are chosen by some 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy – Rappler.com