On the night of Feb. 5, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles, Calif., honoring the best singers, composers and songs of the past year. For those who don’t know, the Grammys are a set of prestigious awards given annually in the United States by either the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences or the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. They are popularly known as the Grammys and are designed to acknowledge exceptional achievements in the music industry.
According to the Musical Instrument Museum, the idea for the Grammy’s appeared back in the late 1950s, when the music industry lacked an awards ceremony to recognize its most talented artists, composers and songwriters. To address this gap, the Gramophone Awards were rebranded as the Grammy Awards in 1958. The Grammy Awards have since become an important part of the music industry, honoring the best and brightest in the field every year.
The award itself has many categories, the number of which has been increasing every year. In the very first year of the Grammys, there were 28 categories, but, by 2019, there were 84. What’s interesting is that not all categories are awarded live, as only the most popular ones are broadcast on television, while those that are “less important” or not as popular are presented off-screen.
This year, Taylor Swift added another Grammy to her impressive career, winning Best Album for the fourth time and breaking the record, CBS reported. Swift also kept fans excited with the announcement of her new album, “The Dead Poets Department.” She was one of many female artists who shined at the 2024 Grammys, as a majority of this year’s nominations went to women. Phoebe Bridgers was another one of them, taking home the most awards for the entire 2024 Grammys (three of the awards were with her band boygenius). The female artist SZA was also nominated for nine Grammys, winning three, and Miller Monet became the Best New Artist this year. Also, Billie Eilish won a Grammy for Best Song of the Year for her song “What Was I Made For?” from the movie “Barbie.”
Miley Cyrus also won her first two Grammys ever for one of her most popular songs, “Flowers,” which surprised a lot of people on the Internet, as some people thought she had already won before. This is self-explanatory, since Miley Cyrus is one of the singers who shaped generations. In addition, she delighted the audience with her performance, where she sang the same song “Flowers,” for the second time ever in public. One FHS student, senior Ashley Heflin, was impressed by her performance and said, “She makes her performances really personable to those who are watching.”
The Grammy red carpet deserves no less attention, as it is where the artists and guests of the nomination display their fabulous outfits. It also is where the legendary glambot is, allowing viewers to appreciate all the beauty and zest of the artists in slow motion. Heflin added, “[Seeing] all the outfits is always my favorite thing at Grammys.”
In addition to the outfits, FHS students also liked this year’s nominations, as there were many worthy artists and the victories of most were justified. Senior Jake Miller was impressed with their recognition of many age groups, saying, “I love how they brought all the older artists back.”
Despite many seemingly deserved victories during the 2024 Grammys, there were still some unpleasant moments, among them including the defeat of singer Lana Del Rey. She has been nominated for various categories for many years, but has never won. This year was no exception, and it angered a lot of fans because she is considered a very talented singer and songwriter. The absence of at least one Grammy seems unfair to fans, and it says a lot that every year she has not won. “I knew that Lana Del Rey [would not] probably win because last time she got robbed, and I felt it’s gonna happen again,” said Freshman Emelina Kabilovic. In fact, some students feel that certain artists buy their awards, and those who really deserve them are left out. “I feel like people are [just] buying the awards,” said Freshman Amaya Hill.
