Taylor Swift had a memorable night
at the 2024 Grammys, making history and surprising fans with an announcement.
The singer was nominated for six awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album for
"Midnights," Best Pop Solo Performance for "Anti-Hero," and
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Karma" with Ice Spice, who was
also nominated for Best New Artist.
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| Taylor Swift KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE RECORDING ACADEMY |
Throughout the Grammys, Swift was visibly enjoying herself, dancing and singing along to various performances. In a significant achievement, she won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for "Midnights," released in 2022. The night not only marked a successful awards haul for Swift but also left fans anticipating her surprise announcement.
During her acceptance speech for
winning Best Pop Vocal Album, Taylor Swift surprised fans by announcing the
release of a new album in April. This marked Swift's 13th Grammy win, a
significant number for her.
Swift expressed gratitude to the
Recording Academy and her fans, noting that the fans' passion is reflected in
the Academy's votes. She then unveiled the secret she had been keeping for two
years: her new album, titled "The
Tortured Poet’s Department," is set to be released on April 19. Swift
also shared the album's cover on social media following her announcement.
Leading up to the Grammys, fans had speculated online about a potential announcement from Swift, with some anticipating the re-recording of her "reputation" album. Various Easter Eggs, including a tweet from the Empire State Building quoting lyrics from the album, fueled these speculations.
In typical Taylor Swift fashion,
the album announcement for "The Tortured Poets Department" came with
another surprise. Sharing the album cover featuring Swift lying on a bed, she
wrote, “All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.
Out April 19.”
Swift also posted a photo of her
handwritten notes online, providing additional glimpses into the album. The
notes included lines such as, “And so I
enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like
bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My
veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry.” The message
concluded with, “Sincerely, The Chairman
of the Tortured Poets Department.” The standard tracklist for the album
features 16 songs, as revealed on Swift’s website.
Taylor Swift wins her 13th Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 16th Annual #Grammys pic.twitter.com/u2tHGRLn0w
Later in the night, Taylor Swift achieved another milestone by winning the coveted Album of the Year Grammy, making history as the first performer to secure this award four times. Swift had previously won Album of the Year for "Fearless" in 2010, "1989" in 2015, and "folklore" in 2021.
Swift and Adele stand as the only women
to have received this award more than once, with Adele winning for
"21" and "25." Notably, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and
Paul Simon have each won the Album of the Year award three times.
During her acceptance speech for
Album of the Year, Swift expressed her immense happiness, stating, “I would love to tell you that this is the
best moment of my life. But I feel this happy when I finish a song or when I
crack the code to a bridge that I love or when I’m shotlisting a music video or
when I’m rehearsing with my dancers or with my band or getting ready to go to
Tokyo to play a show. All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it
so much. It makes me so happy.”
Apart from being a nominee, Taylor Swift was a focal point during host Trevor Noah’s opening monologue. Noah took a moment to defend the singer-songwriter against criticism from some NFL fans who complained about her frequent appearance on camera during Kansas City Chiefs games, considering she is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Noah humorously addressed the
situation, stating, “Like she’s
controlling the cameras at the games, right? Let her live.” He then pledged
to give Swift a break and humorously declared, “Every time they mention Taylor Swift, I’m gonna get revenge. Every time
someone says Taylor Swift, I’m gonna cut the cameras to someone who played
football.” Noah followed through on his joke by cutting to Terry Crews
sitting in the audience. Swift was seen laughing in response to Noah’s playful
banter.
Trevor Noah continued his playful banter during his opening monologue, addressing Terry Crews in the audience after cutting to him. Noah jokingly commented, “You like that, Terry Crews? You better fix your face, Terry. Do you work for the CIA, Terry? I can read lips, Terry. You better watch what you say.”
The Grammys for this year showcased
a significant presence of female acts among the top nominees, with seven out of
the eight nominees in the top three categories being women. SZA led with nine
nominations, followed by Victoria Monét and Phoebe Bridgers with seven each.
Swift, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo earned six nominations each.
The Grammy Awards were telecast
live from Los Angeles on the CBS Television Network, with streaming available
on Paramount+. Trevor Noah served as the host for the event.
