The highly anticipated and popular award show, the Grammys happened last month. This award season managed to keep everyone guessing and it most certainly did not disappoint. There were winners who no one saw coming, and some who were expected due to their incredible performance throughout 2024.
Kendrick Lamar won not only Record of the Year but also Song of the Year with “Not Like Us”, which I did not expect. I predicted that one of the holy trinity of 2024 (Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter) would have won one of these awards. I had only heard people talk about their respective albums and hit songs, such as “Brat”, “Espresso”, and “Hot To Go!”, but congratulations to Kendrick Lamar on this incredible win, especially with such a deserving song for these awards.
Album of the Year came with a big shock, as Beyoncé won it with her album Cowboy Carter making her the second black woman since Lauryn Hill in 1999 to win this award. To me, this was shocking. I fully expected that, once again, one of the holy trinity would win it. Additionally, a win from Taylor wouldn’t have been surprising, given her historic streak of winning Album of the Year—but alas, no! Beyoncé surprised us with a well-deserved win, especially after being snubbed after not winning this award for her album Renaissance. Beyoncé did not stop there; she also won Country Album of the Year, which, judging by her reaction at the awards, she did not expect. But this win made history as she was the first black woman to win in this category, which is an astounding accomplishment. So all in all, Beyoncé had quite a successful Grammy run this year.
The trio of Charli, Sabrina, and Chappell, have dominated the 2024 charts with their hit albums. Each of the girls did not disappoint whatsoever, as they all came out of this award season with a Grammy (or three) to their name for their incredible performances throughout 2024. Beginning with Charli XCX, she turned it out this award season by bringing home three Grammys with “Von Dutch”, winning Best Dance Pop Recording, and her album Brat winning Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Recording Package. These wins are beyond fantastic, especially for an artist who first debuted in 2008 on Myspace, and later signed onto a recording label in 2010. Throughout her career, Charli has performed hits that have brought her to the limelight briefly. Hopefully, these wins mean that Charli will maintain her current mainstream popularity for a good while, which will enable her to create more good music, giving her the push needed to release more. Sabrina Carpenter won two awards, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, which like Charli, are huge for her career. She first debuted in 2014 with her first EP, and saw a rise in popularity with the release of her previous album Emails I Can’t Send. She is now seeing massive success, evidenced by her awards for her album Short n’ Sweet. This shows that Sabrina is creating music that perfectly aligns with what her fans want from her, and hopefully, she will continue delivering similar pop songs to those her album brought into the spotlight. Finally, Chappell Roan, (your favourite artist’s favourite artist), came out of this award show with one Grammy to her name, that being Best New Artist. This is, frankly, amazing for her! Even though she should have come out with at least one more, this award is nothing short of good for her and her music career. This shows Chappell that she should continue in a similar direction with her music and career while maintaining her current popularity, as she has so much more to showcase in the future.
“Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga ft. Bruno Mars won “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” which is, in my opinion, deserved. Once released, the song was doing decently well, but it gradually gained more and more attention, until it became the record-breaking mega-hit that it is today. This award came just in time to create hype surrounding Gaga’s anticipated album. This award did have a good contender in the form of “Guess” by Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish. This song was also a big hit, being more popular than its original version.