The Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles was a triumph for women

The 66th Recording Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The evening was a triumph for women, and it couldn’t have been otherwise – they dominated the list of nominees. Tells Igor Gavrilov.

Rap and R’n’B singer SZA (Solana Imani Rowe) competed for nine awards, but took away three, and in the main category she gave way to other compatriots. Best New Artist called Victoria Monet. Best song became “What Was I Made For?” Billie Eilish, she also won in the category “Best Song from a Film.” It’s about the movie “Barbie”and if we sum up all the nominations in which the creators of the Barbie soundtrack were nominated in one way or another, then this team would leave all competitors far behind.

“What Was I Made For?” beat the song in the song nomination Miley Cyrus “Flowers”which, however, was also noted very seriously – with an award “Record of the Year”. This is the first Grammy in the singer’s career. Miley Cyrus performed “Flowers” ​​in the image of Tina Turner: her hairstyle and dress with a hem in the form of a silver noodle referred to the classic image of the singer, who left this world in 2023.

Receiving the award, Miley Cyrus thanked everyone involved with “Flowers” ​​and joked: “It seems like I haven’t forgotten anyone. But I might have forgotten to put on my panties.”

The laundry was fine, but Ms. Cyrus forgot one important thing: thanking her country star father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Without him, her career would hardly have been so fast, and commentators on social networks did not forget to remind her of this.

Miley Cyrus was presented with the award for Best Recording by actress Meryl Streep and producer Mark Ronson. In their dialogue, the creator of the soundtrack to “Barbie” and his mother-in-law (their family connection was a surprise for many viewers) ironized about the names of the nominations. Many Grammy fans are actually vague about the difference between “album of the year” and “record of the year.”

Taylor Swift received an award in the category “Best Pop Vocal Album” and, upon receiving it, announced that her next record, “The Tortured Poets Department,” would be released on April 19. Pre-orders were immediately opened on digital platforms, and literally within a few minutes a virtual queue lined up for the album. It took at least 45 minutes to complete a purchase, although this is usually done in one click.

U2 lead singer Bono presented Taylor Swift with the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. True, he did it virtually, right during the U2 concert as part of the Las Vegas residency at the Sphere Hall (“Kommersant” talked about her on October 3, 2023). U2 also performed their new song “Atomic City” live from Nevada.

Name of the laureate in the nomination “Album of the Year” named Celine Dion. Her appearance at Crypto.com Arena was a sensation. The singer suffers from a disease called muscle stiffness syndrome, and for this reason she has not performed for several years and almost never appears in public. “Midnight” again received an award for the album of 2022 Taylor Swift. She brought onto the stage not only her co-writer Jack Antonoff, but also his other client, Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey didn’t win any awards this year, so Taylor Swift shared her glory with her friend, with whom she recorded one of the songs on her Grammy-winning album, “Snow On The Beach.”

Folk trio Boygenius, which was bypassed in the main categories, took its toll in the rock music category. Just as Meryl Streep did not understand the difference between a “record” and an “album,” ordinary rock fans were unlikely to feel Boygenius’ superiority over Metallica in the category “Best Rock Performance” and before The Rolling Stones in “Best Rock Song”. Probably, we just had to come to terms with the fact that this year the fair sex is winning everywhere.

Interestingly, women were not represented at all in the producer category; Jack Antonoff won. And in the nomination “Songwriter of the Year”which, like Producer of the Year, is now in the “mainstream” category, the only girl, country songwriter Jesse Jo Dillon, lost to hip-hopper Theron Thomas.

That is, representatives of the fair sex may sing better than men, but the Recording Academy has not yet been able to invent a “top producer” out of nowhere.

Three women’s numbers at the last ceremony were truly valuable, literally related to eternity.

Tracy Chapman, who hasn’t released new music since 2008, performed her song “Fast Car” with country singer Luke Comes. In 2023, Coms took first place with this song on the American radio charts. This is the first time this has happened with a song by a black female songwriter. Tracey Chapman was missed, as was evident in the reactions of those present of all colors.

Folk legend Joni Mitchell performed at the Grammys for the first time. She received her first Grammy in 1969 for the album “Clouds.” It released the song “Both Sides Now,” which Brandi Carlile, Jacob Collier and other colleagues of different generations helped her perform at the current ceremony.

Annie Lennox called for a ceasefire in Palestine and sang “Nothing Compares 2U” in memory of Sinead O’Connor. Mascara ran down her cheek, and this shot was more memorable than all the songs and dances that evening.