Olivia Barone
Arts & Entertainment Editor
The 66th annual Grammy Awards presented some of the most iconic figures in media and pop culture with awards for their most outstanding achievements. Wondering what all of the buzz is about? Here is The Anchor’s guide to the most influential Grammy winners and nominees of 2024.
It’s no surprise that Taylor Swift has continued to soar above and beyond stardom. The recent award ceremony provided Swift with her thirteenth and fourteenth Grammys, both for the fan favorite album released in 2022, “Midnights.” Described as an insight into Swift’s sleepless nights, this autobiographical album explores perceptions of the international pop star from both the public and within herself. Awarded for being both Album and Pop Vocal Album of the year, the enthusiasm that followed its release, provided by self-proclaimed “Swifties,” proved to be worth it. Having reached over 180 million streams on Spotify within the first day of release, “Midnights” was going to be almost impossible to beat.
Swifties and fans of the popular indie supergroup, Boygenius, tend to overlap. Most known for their artful lyrics, impeccable style and for being icons of the LGBTQ+ community, Boygenius stormed the music scene in 2023. Made up of an unbeatable triad of indie rock stars: Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, the band was formed in 2018 alongside their individual music careers. Entering this year’s award ceremony with six nominations and three wins, Boygenius cleaned up the competition with their single “Not Strong Enough” winning Best Rock Song and Best Performance and the album it belongs to winning Best Alternative Music Album. However, it seems Boygenius plans to go out with a bang as just days before the Grammys aired, they announced an indefinite hiatus to a crowd of fans in Los Angeles, saying: “we’re going away for the foreseeable future.”
Upon seeing a Billie Eilish song on the soundtrack for this summer’s blockbuster, “Barbie,” fans were skeptical. But Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” completed the film’s already monumental score. This emotional ballad earned Eilish her ninth Grammy. Written in collaboration with her brother, FINNEAS, “What Was I Made For?” won Best Song Written for Visual Media. It narrowly beat the three other “Barbie” nominees, Mark Ronson’s “I’m Just Ken,” Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie World” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night Away,” but all four nominations proved the impact “Barbie” had on film and music fans alike.
Miley Cyrus won her second Grammy this year for her response to Bruno Mars’s “When I Was Your Man,” a song that put a twist on Mars’s soulful melody. Cyrus’s “Flowers” became an inescapable earworm for anyone who heard it, and quickly became the 2023’s breakup theme song. Awarded for Best Pop Solo Performance, the popular melody evaded four brutal competitors including Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and Swift’s “Anti-Hero.” Adorning a shimmering dress, Cyrus accepted the award and thanked her team, mother and loved ones.
The Grammy Awards celebrated some of the biggest names in pop culture, rewarding not only artists for their talent but their fans for their dedication. Did your favorite see the spotlight in 2024?