Under the biggest thunderstorm of this year yet, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, hosted by Trevor Noah, was held in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 3. Shoes were soaked, carpets were walked, and protests were formed. The Grammy Awards have been a well-anticipated awards show for well over 20 years, an event in which various nominated famous artists attend and accept awards for their remarkable performances and talents in musical productions and endeavors. This year’s Grammys took an aquatic turn when it collided with this year’s biggest rain shower yet, leaving attendees wondering if they should have brought their swimsuits to the ceremony.

To start off the night, the ceremony harmoniously opened with a theatrical, and acrobatical performance by Dua Lipa where she performed a few of her songs from this year, such as her song “Dance The Night,” which featured in “Barbie.” Following Lipa’s performance, the first award of the night went to a first-time Grammy winner, but certainly no stranger to the Grammys, Miley Cyrus, who won her first Grammy, 15 years after the launch of her career for her 2023 hit, “Flowers”. The Grammys awarded Cyrus Song of the Year. Cyrus’s sweep didn’t end there though, as she later even went on to win a second Grammy for Best Record. 

Although arriving fashionably late to the ceremony, Taylor Swift gracefully made her entrance to the ceremony alongside Lana Del Rey. On the morning of the Grammys, many fans worldwide anticipated that Swift would announce the re-recording of her sixth studio album, “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” at the Grammys. This prediction went out of control when Swift changed the color on all of her social platforms’ profile pictures to black and white, which fans connect to the colors of her album “Reputation,” after Swift was known to drop easter eggs ahead of the release of her upcoming albums. When Swift took the stage to accept her 13th Grammy for Best New Pop Vocal Album, fans expecting an announcement for “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” was taken by absolute shock, surprise, and excitement when Swift instead announced a completely brand new album called “The Tortured Poets Department,” which many believe to be a breakup album about her ex-boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn. This is Swift’s second time announcing a brand new album at the Grammys after she previously did this at the 2022 Grammys when she announced her album “Midnights,” which won her the Grammy for Album of the Year at the end of the night. 

“Although I’m not a full-on Swiftie, the idea that  [Swift] would make an album centered around poetry made me really happy, especially as a poet myself.” Gabrielle Wong, a Keppel junior. 

The Grammy for Best Rap Album also took viewers by surprise, as many well-known nominees for the category did not win, such as artists like Sza, Drake, 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, and more. Though the Grammy’s Academy accidentally caused an outrage by mistakenly announcing Minaj and Ice Spice won this award, this category was unexpectedly awarded to American rapper and activist, Killer Mike. This is Mike’s first Grammy, and not the last as his sixth rap album, “Michael” won two other Grammys at the ceremony before he was removed off the premises by authorities in handcuffs, and arrested on the site after a Grammy’s security guard alleged that Mike knocked her onto the ground during a heated confrontation, injuring her severely. 

Many were anticipating their favorite artist would win Album of the Year, as many striking albums were nominated for this category, such as Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation”, Sza’s “SOS, ”Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS,” Jon Batiste’s “World Music Radio,” boygenius’s “The Record”, Swift’s Midnights and Del Ray’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.”  The Grammys also brought out a rare celebrity who hadn’t seen the public eye in a minute, Celine Dion, who recently suffers from Stiff Person Syndrome and would present the final and most anticipated award of the night, Album of the Year. Though it seemed to be a close battle, the Grammy was awarded to Swift for her 10th studio album, Midnights, causing an uproar among music fans. When accepting her award, the “Anti-Hero” singer brought Del Ray to the stage along with her, recognizing Del Ray for her inclusion in “Midnights.” This endearing moment was however hindered by fans pointing out that Del Ray appeared to be on the brink of tears when she hid in the shadows of the corner of the stage. Fans continued to bash Swift for “dragging” Del Ray onto the stage after losing Album of the Year. The bashing continued when fans also tried to construe a narrative online about Swift avoiding a hug from Dion, however, the two appeared on social media later that night with a soft hug disproving that narrative. It was very likely that Swift was advised not to hug or touch Dion during her acceptance due to concerns about Dion’s health condition.

“Personally, I’m glad that [Midnights] won Album of the Year, because it was one of my favorite albums from Taylor Swift,” Alice Wang, a Keppel Senior, shares her opinion on the winner of Album of the Year. “She’s also the only nominee I like to listen to, so she deserves it. Midnights had some of the best music of this century. There’s no one out there doing it like Taylor.”