Great food, good company, flowing drinks and performances of a lifetime are all in store for just one night each year. This isn’t just your average dinner party — it’s the Grammy Awards. Aside from the yearly claims about which musical artists were robbed, there were plenty of historical and empowering moments to highlight from this year’s premiere.
The 2024 Grammys yielded nearly 17 million views, becoming its most-watched installment since 2020, according to the Associated Press. This year, for the first time ever, all televised awards were presented to a female artist. With performances from stars like Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and SZA, it was a can’t-miss event.
In one glorious moment — one that marked a significant milestone in her career — Cyrus won her very first Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers.”
Mariah Carey presented the award as Cyrus fawned over sharing a stage with the “Songbird Supreme.” Cyrus’ performance of her hit was so enthusiastic that even Oprah Winfrey stood and sang along. To express her excitement, Cyrus — strutting across the stage in a dazzling vintage fringe Bob Mackie dress — changed the lyrics of “Flowers” to “Started to cry, but then remembered I just won my first Grammy.”
This was a huge moment for those who grew up with Cyrus and her character, Hannah Montana. As a kid, I watched her journey to stardom, and intense feelings of nostalgia came pouring back when she accepted her award.
When she accepted the award, Cyrus thanked her producers, team and family before ending with: “Thank you all so much. I don’t think I forgot anyone … but I might have forgotten underwear. Bye!”
As any Cyrus fan would say, she’s just being Miley.
Another artist who has also played an important part in the music industry since the early 2000s is the one and only Taylor Swift.
Making history once again, Swift graciously accepted the award for Album of the Year for “Midnights,” making her the only person to win this category four times. Swift, who now has 14 Grammys in total, is one of those artists who genuinely enjoys her job and adores her fans, giving Swifties even more reason to love her.
“For me, the award is the work,” Swift said. “All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much.”
When she won Best Pop Vocal Album for “Midnights” earlier that evening —hitting lucky No. 13 in Grammy wins — she announced her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which will be available on April 19. Many fans thought she was going to announce “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” but got something much more shocking instead.
On the younger side of the industry, Billie Eilish continued to grow her trophy collection with an additional two Grammy wins.
Eilish won Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” soundtrack— and deservingly so. Accompanied by her brother Finneas on piano, Eilish performed the ballad while replicating the outfit of the 1965 “Poodle Parade Barbie.”
When “Barbie” came to theaters last summer, the song brought an incredibly emotional touch to the film, causing women everywhere — including me — to reflect on moments of self-discovery. While she wrote this song for the film, Eilish found inspiration within pieces of her own journey to find her purpose in society and passion in music.
The standing ovation after Eilish’s performance perfectly embodied the impact this song has had.
And — surprise, surprise — the most wins of the night also went to a woman who won her first Grammy and three additional awards.
Phoebe Bridgers tallied up four total wins, winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her feature on SZA’s “Ghost in the Machine” and Best Alternative Music Album with her band, boygenius, for “the record.” boygenius also won Best Rock song and Best Rock Performance for “Not Strong Enough.” The brilliant energy in the room didn’t go unnoticed.
“There’s a band that has already won today called ‘boygenius,’” Trevor Noah, the Grammys host, said. “It’s three women. That’s how good a year it is for women.”
There was one outstanding artist who had never been awarded for her own work up until the 2024 Grammys.
Neo-soul artist SZA racked up the most nominations — nine — and won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost in the Machine” with Phoebe Bridgers, best R&B Song for “Snooze” and Best Progressive R&B Album for “SOS.”
She performed a vocally beautiful but thrilling samurai-like rendition of “Kill Bill,” inspired by the Quentin Tarantino film. SZA is one of the only artists who has the type of charisma to sing a song about homicide but still look sweet and innocent while doing it.
The Grammys isn’t just about pop music — we obviously can’t forget about the biggest country stars.
For the first time in four years, Tracy Chapman returned to the stage to perform a duet with Luke Combs to her 1998 hit “Fast Car.” There wasn’t a dry eye in that room — it was simply spiritual.
As his favorite childhood song, Combs released a cover version last year, introducing new audiences to Chapman’s work. Combs’ cover caused a massive resurgence of interest in the song, topping the country music charts shortly after its release. Combs could have easily performed solo, but he instead decided to give credit where it was due and gave one of the greatest female artists the recognition she deserved.
The 2024 Grammys was a monumental year for women in the music industry. The incredible performances and history-making moments showed what these women are capable of.
This year’s defying moments proved that, despite the ongoing challenges facing the music industry, women are still making waves and dominating the game.
