By Justin Curto and Jennifer Zhan for Vulture –
On Sunday evening, the Grammys were upstaged by a force of their own making — Taylor Swift announced her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, as she accepted Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights. Other than that, music’s biggest night tried its darndest to hang on to its self-proclaimed title. The show featured the largest slew of legends in recent memory, including performances by Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder and appearances by Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, Oprah Winfrey, and Meryl Streep. Today’s stars were out, too, with SZA, Miley Cyrus, and Olivia Rodrigo performing the year’s biggest hits and Dua Lipa also launching a new era. And, of course, it all came back to Swift herself rewriting history.
WHOA: Women sweep up the Rock and Alternative awards.
Just a few years after nominating a slate of all women in Best Rock Performance, it was a bit bizarre to see the Academy deciding that, actually, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and a little band called the Rolling Stones deserved more attention in the categories this year. But at least voters righted things a bit by making sure a woman walked away with every Rock and Alternative trophy. Boygenius won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Not Strong Enough” and Best Alternative Album for The Record, while the Hayley Williams–fronted Paramore won Best Rock Album for This Is Why and Best Alternative Performance for its title track. (Add in a win for her SZA duet “Ghost in the Machine,” and Phoebe Bridgers is the top winner of the night — wild!) Bonus: Pre-show watchers were treated to three charming Boygenius speeches.
