Grammys
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Billie Eilish is just as excited about Ariana Grande’s upcoming album as the rest of us. While chatting with CBS Mornings on the Grammy Awards red carpet on Sunday (Feb. 4), the star revealed that she’ll be releasing new music “soon,” but she’s waiting on Grande to release her seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, on March […]
Victoria Monét won her long overdue first Grammy on Sunday night (Feb. 4), beating Noah Kahan, Jelly Roll and Ice Spice, among others, for the coveted best new artist trophy. She also won best R&B album for Jaguar II and best engineered album, non-classical. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
The 2024 Grammy Awards held on Sunday night (Feb. 4) boasted a wealth of history-making moments: female artists took home trophies in each of the Big Four categories for the third time in just five years; Taylor Swift became the first artist to win album of the year four times; Miley Cyrus won her first-ever Grammy for best pop solo performance with “Flowers.”
But one such historic moment went quietly overlooked on Sunday night — three of the winners in the Big Four categories were queer women. Cyrus’s record of the year win with “Flowers,” Billie Eilish’s song of the year win for “What Was I Made For?” and Victoria Monét’s best new artist win mark the first time in recent memory that three different LGBTQ artists took home trophies in the evening’s main categories.
“It’s huge,” says Anthony Allen Ramos, vice president of communications and talent at LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD. “Seeing LGBTQ women dominate three of the biggest categories is something to be really excited about and proud of, especially today.”
Wins for queer artists weren’t relegated to the evening’s big categories, either — LGBTQ artists earned wins across a multitude of genres. Boygenius, the supergroup made up of queer superstars Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, took home three trophies for best rock performance, best rock song and best alternative music album; Bridgers, meanwhile, walked away as the most awarded artist of the night with her four wins. Monét nabbed a win for best R&B album with Jaguar II. Americana categories awarded trophies to LGBTQ stars like Allison Russell (best american roots performance for “Eve Was Black”), Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile (both in best Americana performance for “Dear Insecurity”).
Ramos points out that even in oft-undiscussed categories, LGBTQ artists saw huge wins. “We had Carla Patullo winning for best new age, ambient or chant album,” he tells Billboard. “It felt like we finally had wonderful representation in all genres, and I think that’s really important, because it’s not just about [queer artists] being in pop or dance. I never even thought about having LGBTQ inclusion in the best new age category!”
Representation for LGBTQ talent at the Grammys has steadily risen over the last few years, with the Recording Academy even debuting their new Academy Proud initiative this year to help “support and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices and drive queer representation at the Recording Academy and the music industry at-large.”
These major successes for queer folks at the 2024 Grammys come at a time of upheaval for the LGBTQ+ community at large — nearly 400 bills targeting the community have already been proposed this year in state legislatures around the United States, with more no doubt still to come. While LGBTQ+ artists earning record-high honors at an awards show might seem trivial in the face of direct attacks against queer and trans people around the world, the facts actually show otherwise.
According to data collected by The Trevor Project, 79% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that seeing musicians come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community made them feel better about their own identity. Meanwhile, 71% of respondents said that seeing straight, cisgender celebrities advocate for the LGBTQ+ community improved their own feelings on gender and sexuality.
Kevin Wong, the Trevor Project’s senior vice president of marketing, communications and content, tells Billboard in an emailed statement that representation at awards shows like the Grammys isn’t just about winning more trophies for queer-identifying artists — it’s about providing an example to kids in desperate need of hope in dark times.
“Seeing queer artists celebrated for their contributions to the music industry can make a positive impact on LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health,” he explains, adding that the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation makes that representation “especially meaningful for LGBTQ+ young people.”
Even in the realm of music, Ramos says that queer success only begets more queer success. “The more success and art that they put out into the universe, the more that will resonate and connect with other artists and [help them] feel empowered to be themselves and to tell their authentic stories,” he says. “I was speaking with TJ Osborne, and he said it’s incredible how many times people have come up to him and said, ‘I am part of the community, I never felt like I could be a fan of country music, but you are changing that.’”
While Ramos points to a continued lack of representation for transgender and non-binary artists at the annual ceremony as an “area for improvement,” he makes it clear that the road ahead for LGBTQ+ artists only gets brighter. “This is a moment for everyone to realize that accepting yourself affects the art that you put out in the best way.”
The Grammys kept with its annual tradition of paying tribute to musicians we lost in the past year, honoring Tina Turner, Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor and more at the 2024 ceremony. But one name was excluded from this year’s “In Memoriam” segment: Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell, who died at age 56 in September and was nominated alongside his band at the 2000 Grammys for “All Star.”
When asked about the omission on Monday (Feb. 5), Smash Mouth manager Robert Hayes told Billboard: “Does anyone watch the Grammys anymore? That show hasn’t been good in over 20 years. And they never acknowledged Steve when he was alive so why would we think they would honor him when he’s dead? Rude and disrespectful.”
Fans of the rock singer were quick to note on social media that Harwell’s name and face never appeared on air during the awards show’s mid-ceremony montage on Sunday night. “Really #Grammys? You forgot to include Steve Harwell from Smash Mouth during the In Memoriam segment?” one person posted to X shortly afterward. “He was a Grammy nominee!”
“Sad they forgot our friend Steve Harwell of @smashmouth,” wrote another fan, while a third person posted, “boycotting the Grammys until they tribute Steve Harwell.”
Billboard has reached out to the Recording Academy for comment.
Harwell and his band earned a 2000 Grammy nod for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for “All Star”; the award ended up going to Santana featuring The Project G&B for “Maria Maria.”
The frontman announced his retirement from Smash Mouth in 2021, writing in a statement, “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a rock star performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years. I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.”
On Sept. 4, 2023, Harwell died at his home in Boise, Idaho, after being in hospice care. Prior to his death, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy — a disease of the heart muscle that can make it hard for the heart to deliver blood to the body — and battled a number of health issues as a result.
“Steve Harwell was a true American original,” Hayes wrote in a statement following the musician’s death. “A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle. Steve should be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom.”
See how fans reacted to Harwell’s “In Memoriam” omission at the 2024 Grammys below.
Glad to see the Grammy’s remembered radio legend Jim Ladd. But sad they forgot our friend Steve Harwell of @smashmouth— Mav3rick (@Mav3rickRadio) February 5, 2024
boycotting the Grammys until they tribute Steve Harwell 😡😡😡😡— ben (@botsy_) February 5, 2024
Am I tripping or did they not include Steve Harwell? #Grammys— Vin Bálor(House Targaryen Supporter) (@VincentTondy) February 5, 2024
Teared up when the Grammys were remembering all the talented people we lost last year 😞 BUT didn’t see Steve Harwell mentioned 🥺 #smashmouth— bryna bevis bischoff (@binker74) February 5, 2024
Maybe they aren’t done yet or maybe I missed it but did the #Grammys skip Steve Harwell from @smashmouth in the “in memoriam” segment?— Kevin Dininger (@KDininger) February 5, 2024
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Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and The War and Treaty may be disappointed that they didn’t win the Grammy for best new artist on Sunday (Feb. 4), but they shouldn’t despair. No less a Grammy GOAT than Taylor Swift came up short when she was nominated in that category 16 years ago.
When Cyndi Lauper (who had won in the category in 1985) and Miley Cyrus (who won her first two Grammys just last night) announced the winner for best new artist at the 50th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, 2008, the award went to the gifted but troubled Amy Winehouse.
Winehouse was widely expected to win. She went into the night with six nominations, more than any of the other best new artist nominees that year. Fellow nominee Feist had four, Ledisi had two and the two remaining nominees, Swift and Paramore, each had just that one nod.
The bookings on the telecast reflected the nominations. Winehouse was invited to perform two songs, “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab.” (The performance was beamed in by satellite from a London studio when a work visa for Winehouse to enter the U.S. didn’t arrive in time.) Feist performed her hit “1234” on the telecast. Swift wasn’t invited to perform on the show, but she did at least get to co-present an award (best rap/sung collaboration) with Juanes.
Winehouse won five awards on the night. In addition to best new artist, she won record and song of the year and best female pop vocal performance for “Rehab” and best pop vocal album for Back in Black. She was the fifth female solo artist to land five awards in one night, following Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé.
Here’s the thing people sometimes forget: Awards are a snapshot in time. They can’t predict the future. Who could have known that Swift would build (and build and build) as an artist, demonstrating amazing resilience, determination, ambition, grit and focus? Who could have known that Winehouse’s career would come to a tragically premature end with her death at 27 in 2011?
Winehouse had fully broken through commercially and had shown her full creative potential by the time of Grammy voting that first year. Back to Black entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7 in March 2007 (ultimately peaking at No. 2 in the wake of the Grammys). “Rehab” reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in June 2007, well before the voting period began.
Swift’s development took much longer. Her debut album, Taylor Swift, didn’t crack the top 10 on the Billboard 200 until November 2007 (when it was in its 55th week on the chart). It ultimately peaked at No. 5 in January 2008. Swift didn’t land her first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 (“Change”) until August 2008.
The situation with Swift and Winehouse is similar in some ways to the situation with the Carpenters and Elton John at the very first live Grammy telecast on March 16, 1971. Karen and Richard won best new artist, besting Elton, country crossover star Anne Murray, R&B and Broadway star Melba Moore and The Partridge Family, then winding up the first season of their hit TV series. At the time of voting, Carpenters were headed for their third smash hit in a row, with “For All We Know” following “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” At that same point, Elton had just landed his first top 10 hit, “Your Song.”
Carpenters went into Grammy night with four nods, plus an additional nod for Richard for his arrangement of “Close to You,” a little-known Bacharach-David song from 1963 that he turned into a standard, earning the respect of no less an arranger than Bacharach himself. By comparison, Elton had three Grammy nods that year.
Voters at the time of course could not have known that Karen would later develop an eating disorder that she would battle for the last eight years of her life, leading to her death at age 32 in February 1983. (Elton also battled personal demons, as he has freely acknowledged.)
All four of these artists were/are tremendous talents. It’s a shame that they have to be pitted against each other like this, but that’s the nature of awards.
The thing to remember is that all career trajectories are different. To look once more at the best new artist nominees from 16 years ago, Feist has yet to land another nomination after the four nods that greeted her breakout hit “1234.” Winehouse won just one more Grammy after her five-award sweep – a posthumous win for best pop duo/group performance in 2012 for “Body and Soul,” a collaboration with Tony Bennett. Ledisi didn’t finally win her first Grammy until 2021. Paramore has won three Grammys – best rock song for “Ain’t It Fun” nine years ago and two more just last night: best rock album for This Is Why and best alternative music performance for the title track.
Swift is now up to 14 Grammys. In 2010, she became the youngest artist to win album of the year (a record that has since been eclipsed by Billie Eilish). In 2016, she became the first woman to win album of the year twice as a lead artist. In 2021, she became one of just four artists to win album of the year three times. And last night she became the first artist to win four times in that category.
I guess the old saying is true: It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.
Andra Day, Keke Palmer, Stevie Wonder and more continued with the celebrations after the 66th annual event.
Ice Spice checked off another item from her bucket list on Sunday night (Feb. 4) when she had the opportunity to meet Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards. In video shared by the Recording Academy, the “Munch” rapper pulls up on Bey, Jay-Z and their daughter Blue Ivy as the trio walks through Crypto.com Arena. Queen […]
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Jay-Z doesn’t make many public appearances where he speaks these days, but that shifted majorly over the weekend. During his acceptance speech at the annual Grammy Awards ceremony for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z took a slight shot at the Recording Academy and mentioned that his wife, Beyoncé, has a leading 32 Grammy Awards but has never won the coveted Album of The Year trophy.
Flanked by his daughter Blue Ivy, Jay-Z took to the stage but humbly thanked Dr. Dre, the man for whom the award is named. In a loose moment for both men, Hov is heard lavishing praise upon the veteran producer, who bashfully tried to keep the moment focused on the man on the stage.
From there, the rapper born Shawn Carter launched into a freewheeling speech where he mentioned Beyoncé, who looked on with a beaming smile, stating that he doesn’t understand how the Academy hasn’t voted for her to win the AOTY Grammy.
Jay then spoke about the nature of the award show itself, mentioning the historic win for DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince and their 1989 boycott of the ceremony. The Brooklyn bomber then made mention of how the pair went on to watch the Grammys anyway. He then turned the moment on himself after he boycotted the Grammys in 1998 for snubbing the last DMX, who had a monster year with two top-charting and acclaimed albums.
It didn’t end there as Jay continued to shoot from the hip, saying that some nominees will feel like they were robbed and that some might actually get robbed before wrapping it up and saying that some people probably didn’t deserve to be nominated.
Check out the speech from Jay-Z below. Keep scrolling for reactions from X, formerly Twitter.
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Photo: Getty
Jay-Z wanted to celebrate his Dr. Dre Global Impact Award win at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards with a drink, and he ended up filling his trophy with a shot of D’USSÉ.
After taking the Crypto.com Arena stage on Sunday night (Feb. 4) with his daughter Blue Ivy to defend Beyoncé with a candid acceptance speech that is sure to ruffle the feathers of the Recording Academy, Jay turned his gramophone into an expensive cup.
Footage emerged of the Brooklyn rap icon with a smile on his face as he poured some of his cognac into the trophy for a celebratory shot.
“That’s hilarious, man,” an onlooker said while Jay posed for photos with his newest accolade after taking a sip.
During his viral acceptance speech, Jay spoke his truth and jabbed the Recording Academy when it came to his wife never winning album of the yeardespite boasting the most Grammy Awards of all time.
“I’m just saying, we want y’all to get it right. We love y’all; we love y’all; we want you to get it right, or at least get it close to right, and obviously it’s subjective,” he said as Blue Ivy stood next to him. “Because it’s music and it’s opinion-based, but some things — I don’t want to embarrass this young lady [Beyoncè], but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year, so even by your own metrics that doesn’t work. Think about that: the most Grammys and never won an album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
“Some of you are going to go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed, some of you don’t belong in the category — when I get nervous I tell the truth.”
“But outside of that, we’ve gotta keep showing up,” he continued. “And forget the Grammys for a second, just in life — as my daughter sits and stares at me nervous as I am — just in life, you’ve gotta keep showing up and keep showing up. Forget the Grammys.”
“You’ve got to keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve, until they call you ‘chairman,’ until they call you a ‘genius,’ until they call you ‘the greatest of all time.’ You feel me?”
Watch Jay-Z’s entire speech below.
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