Grammy night is officially over, and now that all the gowns have been swooned over, awards have been won, and social-media reactions have been logged, there’s only one thing left to do: Pour yourself a giant cup of coffee (why must award shows go so late, instead of tidily wrapping up by 9 p.m. ET?), and reflect on the biggest and best moments of the ceremony—from Taylor Swift’s surprise album reveal to Joni Mitchell’s sob-inducing live performance.
Taylor Swift turned the Grammys into an album reveal (and it worked)
Swifties around the world, rejoice. We’re getting a brand-new Taylor Swift album titled The Tortured Poets Department, and we found out while Swift was onstage accepting her 13th Grammy, for best pop vocal album. Not every artist could pull off an album announcement under these circumstances, but naturally Swift made it work by keeping it short and sweet, saying: “I’m gonna go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you. I love you. Thank you.”
Blue Ivy was the best-dressed tween alive, unsurprisingly
Showing up at events with your parents is normally a humiliating mainstay of teenage existence, but things clearly look a little different for Blue Ivy Carter, who accompanied her dad, Jay-Z, as he accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammys last night. Blue wore custom Vivienne Westwood and smiled gamely throughout Jay-Z’s sweet and corny dad jokes (as well as his explicit criticism of the Recording Academy for never giving Beyoncé album of the year), clinching her status as the world’s coolest 12-year-old.
Tracy Chapman showed up!
Last year was a big one for “Fast Car,” but those of us who wished the Tracy Chapman original, from 1988, got as much attention as the Luke Combs version were delighted to see Chapman herself show up to sing her song with Combs at the 2024 Grammys. The crowd’s standing ovation was lengthy, and I can attest that the one at my house went on equally as long.
SZA was deeply herself
“I’m not an attractive crier—have a good evening!” are the most charming words I could imagine a singer ending her Grammys speech with, and the fact that SZA almost missed the moment and had to run out from backstage, while clearly out of breath, to claim her prize for best R&B song was no less endearing. (Over the course of the night, she would also pick up best progressive R&B album (for SOS) and best pop duo/group performance (for “Ghost in the Machine” with Phoebe Bridgers).
Joni Mitchell made us all cry
Granted, Mitchell could appear in a toilet-paper commercial and make me sob, but her rendition of “Both Sides Now”—not to mention her beautiful introduction from Brandi Carlile—with Jacob Collier, Lucius, Blake Mills, Allison Russell, SistaStrings, and Carlile was next-level emotional. How had this woman never performed at the Grammys before?!?
Celine Dion made a surprise appearance
Every awards show could benefit from the presence of a few more legendary divas, as Celine Dion proved on Sunday when she showed up at the 2024 Grammys to present album of the year. Dion has been struggling with stiff-person syndrome, a neurological illness, since 2022, which only made her presence at the Grammys more powerful.
See every look from the 2024 Grammys red carpet here:
