The 2024 Grammys wrapped with Taylor Swift winning one of the biggest awards of the night and making history as the first artist to win album of the year four times.
After Celine Dion made a surprise appearance at the award show, the music legend announced Swift to be the winner, Swift took the stage and was speechless at first.
She began her acceptance speech by thanking producer Jack Antonoff, who she referred to as her best friend and "a once in a generation producer."
Swift also thanked longtime friend Lana Del Rey who is featured on the "Midnights" track "Snow On The Beach."
She poked fun at Del Rey for "hiding" behind the rest of the "Midnights" collaborators on stage and praised her for being a "legacy artist" and a "legend in her prime right now." Del Rey was nominated for album of the year too, but lost.
"I would love to tell you that this is the best moment in my life," she continued. "But I feel this happy when I finished a song or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love or when I'm shot listing a music video, or when I'm rehearsing with my dancers or my band or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show."
She told the crowd, "For me, the award is the work. All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much. It makes me so happy. It makes me unbelievably blown away that it makes some people happy who voted for this award, too. All I want to do is keep doing this. So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do what I love so much.
Swift faced tough competition in a category filled with some other nominees who also could’ve made history at the 66th Grammy Awards on Feb. 4. Boygenius (“The Record”), Janelle Monáe (“The Age of Pleasure”), Jon Batiste (“World Music Radio”), Lana Del Rey (“Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”), Miley Cyrus (“Endless Summer Vacation”), Olivia Rodrigo (“Guts”), SZA (“SOS”) and Taylor Swift (“Midnights”) all received nominations for their impressive LPs.
With six album of the year nominations, Swift had tied with Barbra Streisand as the female artist with the most nods in that category when the Grammy nominees were announced in November. With her win, the pop superstar became the first ever artist to win album of the year four times.
She previously won for “Fearless,” “1989” and “Folklore.” Her win for “Folklore” made her the first and only woman solo artist to win the award three times.
SZA or Monáe could have become the first Black woman since 1999 to win the top prize. Although Beyoncé, H.E.R., Lizzo, Rihanna, Mariah Carey and more staples in the music industry have been nominated in recent years, Lauryn Hill was the last Black woman to collect the golden gramophone for album of the year for her monumental solo debut, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
Throughout the history of the prestigious music award show, only two other Black women have shared that honor: Natalie Cole in 1992 for “Unforgettable…with Love” and Whitney Houston in 1994 for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack.
Swift was nominated alongside Cyrus, who received her first album of the year nod for this year’s ceremony. The two pop stars previously performed together in 2009 at the 51st Grammys and sang Swift’s song “Fifteen.”
Cyrus won the first award of the night, best pop solo performance, her song “Flowers.” She also performed the track for the first time live on television earlier in the night and won for record of the year.
Aside from Swift, Batiste was the only other artist who had a slight edge in the category. He already has an album of the year win under his belt. The soulful singer was named the recipient of the honor at the 64th Grammys in 2022 for his album “We Are.”
Swift's win follows Harry Styles taking home the Grammy for album of the year for “Harry’s House” in 2023.
At the time, Styles’ win was controversial for his speech and his triumph over “Beyoncé,” who was nominated for “Renaissance.” When he gave his acceptance speech, members of the audience started to chant Beyonce’s name.
Before the audience celebrated Swift's win, the crowd happily applauded after Dion graced the stage and recalled winning album of the year 27 years ago for "Falling into You." Diana Ross and Sting presented her with the award at the time.
"When I say that happy to be here, I really mean it in my heart," Dion said. "Those who have been blessed enough to be here at the Grammy Awards must never take for granted the tremendous love and joy music bring to our lives and to people all around the world."