Beyoncé Wins Album of the Year for COWBOY CARTER and More Grammy Moments

It was an exceptional year at the 67th Grammys, with long overdue awards and history making firsts.

After the devastating Los Angeles fires, uncertainty loomed about whether the Grammy ceremonies would take place as usual. Despite blazes still burning in California, the organisers were able to put on the show on the planned date but not without acknowledging the ongoing disaster. The ceremonies host, Trevor Noah, repeatedly called upon viewers, brands and music industry professionals to donate, the adverts featured stories from those who had lost their businesses and needed help, artists gushed over their love for the city and their sadness at the situation and music did what it does best, bringing fans and artists together to connect and attempt to celebrate during a tough time.

Full of highs and lows, celebration and heartbreak, this years Grammys left us with some truly memorable moments; let’s take a look at some of them.

Doechii Makes Grammys History

Best Rap Album went to the incredible rising star Doechii, for her record Alligator Bites Never Heal, who delivered a moving acceptance speech, noting that since the category was first introduced in 1989, only ‘two women have won’. Doechii began to name Lauryn Hill as one of them, before quickly correcting herself to say ‘three women have won’, realising she could now include herself in that, frustratingly short, list. The other female artist to win in the category was Cardi B in 2019, who presented Doechii with the award and seemed just as overjoyed for her as us at home when she excitedly read her name from the card.

She also made her Grammys live debut with a jaw-dropping performance of her songs Catfish and Denial Is a River which was met with passionate reactions and standing ovations amongst celebs in attendance, including artists such as SZA and Billie Eilish. It has certainly cemented her as the next big artist and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Pop Girls Win Big

Following what had been deemed as the year of the ‘pop girls’, we couldn’t wait to see them take home their deserved prizes. Three of the biggest artists from 2024 – Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX – each left the awards with some incredible accolades.

Before the official ceremony could even start, Carpenter had won her first ever Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance in the Premiere Ceremony for her hit lead single, Espresso. Later in the night, she went on to win Best Pop Vocal Album. Nearly 15 years of releasing music later, it was heartwarming to see her finally get her recognition.

Charli XCX took home Best Dance/Electronic Album along with two more awards, all of which were announced during the Premiere Ceremony and accepted by her collaborators. While this meant we sadly missed seeing her collecting the awards, we are sure that there are more Grammys in her future.

After much debate among fans and listeners about who deserves Best New Artist, Chappell Roan was the one to take the crown. Never missing a chance to speak up, Roan called on the music industry, and music labels especially, to pay artists a fair living wage and offer healthcare to them. Ending her speech she spoke to them directly asking, ‘Labels: We got you, but do you got us?’, a powerful message that elicited support from her peers throughout the room.

Not only did they win big, they also delivered some electrifying performances from Charli XCX’s energetic live rendition of her hits Von Dutch and Guess to Carpenter’s playful yet stunning mashup of Please Please Please and Espresso to the countrified Pink Pony Club party from Chappell Roan.

Kendrick Takes Home The Most Wins

Going home with the most awards this year was hip-hop sensation, Kendrick Lamar. The rapper swept up all five of the nominations for his track Not Like Us, winning Best Music Video, Best Rap Song, Rap Performance and two of the main categories, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. This made him only the second artist to win the latter two categories, after Childish Gambino took them home for This is America in 2019. Lamar’s song was released as a diss track toward rapper Drake, admist a public feud and was met with high praise from critics and industry peers, being hailed as one of the best diss tracks of all time.

Queen Beyoncé Finally Gets Her AOTY

It was a monumental moment as Beyoncé was finally awarded with Album of the Year, making it her fifth nomination in the category. She has previously lost to the artists, Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele and Harry Styles and the topic has been the source of previous controversy, with many claiming she was snubbed year after year. Adele herself was at a loss for words when she won the award in 2017, believing that she couldn’t truly accept it as she felt Beyoncé deserved it over her. Last year, Beyoncé’s husband, and rapper, Jay-Z called out the Grammys, drawing attention away from his own major award towards his wife, noting, ‘she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year’.

Nonetheless, it seems COWBOY CARTER was the album to win over Grammys voters and she accepted the award from Los Angeles Firefighters in a truly moving moment. It is the first time since 1999 that a black women has taken home the coveted award and Beyoncé is an artist who continues to make history, also becoming the first black woman to ever take home a golden gramophone for Best Country Album. For too long, country music has been associated with racism and conservatism. Beyoncé herself felt she was previously ostracised from the genre, which encouraged her to explore Black people’s part in country music history and ultimately led to the creation of this album. Her win here provides some hope that the country genre is shifting, becoming more accepting and inclusive.

Other artists nominated in the category were Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson and Post Malone. Whilst he may not have taken home the award for his own record, Malone was involved in COWBOY CARTER’s success, featuring on LEVII’S JEANS. Musgraves had even previously co-written songs with one of the album’s producers, INK, which were intended for the record but unfortunately didn’t end up making the track-listing. We would have loved to have heard those tracks though, with Musgraves being another artist previously outcasted from the country genre for her supposedly controversial lyrics in her track, Follow Your Arrow, featured on her debut album. Musgraves believes, however, that they were ‘no darker than’ those written by the likes of Willie Nelson and Hank Williams, accusing the genre of double standards. Musgraves didn’t walk away empty handed this year either, winning Best Country Song for her thought-provoking and existential song, The Architect.

The 67th Grammy Awards felt a little different to usual, with Los Angeles’ tragedy at the forefront, but they granted a moment of reflection and appreciation for music and its ability to unite us all.

If you’d like to donate to help the citizens and fire departments affected by the fires in Los Angeles, please follow the link below for a suggested list of charities from Billboard.